MINIMALLY INVASIVE FACIAL REJUVENATION: THREADLIFTING with Long Threads
Please see our quick 5 minute summary about long threads below
Indications
- Skin Collagen Stimulation,
- Facial Rejuvenation (Midface, Lower Face and Jawline contouring),
- Neck Rejuvenation and
- Brow Lift.
Patient selection
Better improvement on candidates with good skin quality and moderate skin sagging
Products used
Absorbable threads such as PDO (Polydioxanone) and PLLA (Poly-L-Lactic Acid) threads.
Effects
Effects are mechanical and biochemical:
- Immediate results of mechanical lifting with barbed long threads when implanted properly in the subcutaneous fat layer of the skin. The barbs catch on the fat tissue as the ends are pulled in the opposite direction to a desired lifting effect on the day of the procedure.
- Neocollagenesis- Fibrosis around traction causes new collagen formation as the threads dissolve showing contraction of the fibrous tissue thus firms up the skin.
- PDO and PLLA are collagen stimulants, theoretically will provide skin rejuvenation long term.
Complications
- Infection and granuloma formation,
- Pain,
- Swelling,
- Bruising,
- Complications due to traction effect such as skin dimpling and irregularities, and
- Rare injury to vessels/ nerves
- Patients should be informed of its temporary lifting effect that needs repeating if re sagging occurs according to skin quality, effect of gravity and aftercare activities.
Procedure
The long threads are inserted via a cannula under sterile conditions using local anaesthesia. It is pulled up to provide lifting then secured properly by a square knot. The ends are trimmed and the knot buried so it will not protrude out of the skin, to avoid complications such as infection and granuloma formation. The procedure is well tolerated by most. Preparation before the procedure takes 10 minutes. The procedure itself takes another 10 min. Post- procedure, you may spend another 20 minutes under the red light to help with the healing process.
Aftercare
Avoid exaggerated facial muscle movements as to not disturb the barbed threads until it settles in the surrounding tissues.
No makeup for 48 hours
Patient Satisfaction
Threadlifting is very popular due to its facial rejuvenation effect brought about by the neocollagenesis it produces on the areas treated as the threads dissolve. It is not a replacement for surgical rhytidectomy if patient has severe sagging. A two-year retrospective study of 72 patients who underwent threadlifting of one Surgeon was reviewed. It showed that 42% of his patients underwent a repeat procedure after the first procedure, 8.4 months after ( on average)