Thread lift with PDO threads is a cosmetic facial rejuvenation procedure using FDA-approved polydioxanone (PDO Threads) sutures, which surgeons have safely used for decades to lift, tighten, firm, and smooth the skin.
Thread lift with PDO threads perform lifting and volumizing by generating new collagen and enabling your skin care professional to lift and mold sagging skin into a more youthful position.
The results are instant and improve with time. They can last for years and leave no scars. Best of all, a thread lift with PDO threads is a minimally invasive injectable option and a wonderful alternative or adjunct to surgical procedures and other skin rejuvenation treatments.
Thread Lifts are the latest facial rejuvenation treatment and one of the hottest trends in cosmetic surgery. It’s the perfect choice if you are looking for instant results, with little to no downtime.
In about an hour, a thread lift with PDO threads can visibly improve appearance, delivering long-lasting results with no scars.
How Does a Thread Lift with PDO Threads Work?
PDO Threads stimulate your body to build collagen in the area where the thread is placed. Over a few months the thread is absorbed by the body, but the collagen produced remains in place providing volume and lift that last and last!
Your injector selects the right combination of threads and carefully places them. The provider may position them directionally to lift sagging skin or use a cross-hatch pattern to create a supportive structure for skin improvement. A Thread Lift improves visible signs of aging in two ways:
- Immediate lifting: Fine lines and wrinkles are immediately lifted and smoothed for rejuvenation that you can see right away!
- Increased collagen: Over a few months, the skin’s healing response produces younger, fresher collagen around the sutures for stronger, firmer, more flexible skin that looks younger and smoother even after the threads are absorbed safely by the body.
For many patients, the biggest advantage of having a thread lift rather than a facelift is the greatly reduced recovery time associated with thread lifts.
When a patient has facelift surgery, he or she must be heavily sedated; as such, the patient must arrange for someone to drive him or her home from the hospital. Most facelift patients also require around the clock assistance from a caretaker for at least three days after they have surgery. Furthermore, if the patient still has children at home, childcare aid may also be needed. Facelift patients usually need to take one to two weeks off of work, too, in order to heal.
Recovery from a thread lift, on the other hand, is comparatively easy.
Providers perform Thread Lift procedures under local anesthesia, not general anesthesia. This means most patients can drive themselves home and resume normal activities the same day. While some patients will experience a little bit of soreness, redness and swelling after having a thread lift and therefore wish to take the rest of the day off, most can return to work immediately. Strong pain medication is seldom needed after having a thread lift, making it easier for patients to return to their normal routine. This procedure is therefore ideal for people who have children at home or those who have busy, demanding careers.
While thread lift recovery is not particularly intensive, patients will still have to take a few minor precautions while healing.
It’s important to make sure that you don’t rub your face vigorously while cleansing it or applying moisturizer for at least a week after having threads placed. You should also try to prop your head up slightly so that you don't roll over directly onto your face while sleeping.
Thread lifts are low risk, thanks to how noninvasive they are. There is virtually no risk of scarring, severe bruising, bleeding or other complications after having a thread lift. In rare cases, patients may experience irritation, infection or their sutures becoming visible under their skin. If this occurs, however, the sutures can simply be removed and the patient’s face will return to its prior state.
Finally, because thread lifts are much easier to perform than facelift surgery, they are much more affordable.
Advantageous though thread lifts are, it’s important for patients to maintain realistic expectations for this procedure. While thread lifts certainly produce visible changes, they will generally only lift the face by a few millimeters; as such, they create a more subtle and natural looking end result than facelift surgery. Thread lifts are therefore best suited to patients who are dealing with mild to moderate, rather than severe, signs of skin laxity.
The ideal thread lift candidate is usually in his or her late thirties to early fifties, whereas most patients over the age of about 55 will benefit more profoundly from facelift surgery.
Thread lifts can, however, provide a facelift alternative for older patients who are unable to have surgery for medical reasons. Because thread lifts can be performed under local anesthesia, many people who have age-related conditions that make them ineligible for surgery (like high blood pressure, type two diabetes and cardiovascular disease) can safely have this treatment. If you have any outstanding health conditions, make sure to talk to your doctor about whether or not a thread lift might be right for you.
It’s important to understand that while no lifting technique can produce permanent results, facelift surgery will usually produce longer lasting results than a thread lift.
The results of facelift surgery can last up to a decade, whereas a thread lift will generally last from one to three years. However, because the thread lift procedure is so low-risk, patients who like the results of their thread lift can usually opt to have a fresh set of temporary sutures placed once their old sutures are absorbed by the body.