Thread Lift
This is a type of cosmetic surgery procedure, wherein temporary sutures are used to produce a subtle but visible “lift” in the facial skin. Your cosmetic surgeon will not surgically remove your loose facial skin but will suspend it by stitching up portions of it.
This procedure pulls the skin back slightly, thereby lifting and tightening the face. Besides this, a thread lift combats aging in another way…it provokes the body’s healing response and this results in large amounts of collagen being directed to the treated areas. This helps you in looking more youthful, as collagen plays an important role in retarding aging.
Collagen supports “growth factors” that greatly affect the condition of your skin. Collagen keeps your skin strong, supple, and voluminous. A Thread Lift not only stimulates collagen to improve your skin’s tone and firmness but also provides ongoing and progressive rejuvenation of the facial tissues.
While a thread lift procedure can address eyebrow and cheek sagging, it can also fix sagging of the midface, jowl, and neck. Your cosmetic surgeon may recommend a thread lift for your double chin, a jaw thread lift, or then, an eyebrow thread lift. A thread lift repositions skin tissues, thereby restoring a youthful appearance to the face, neck, and even body.
Before your Thread Lift
You should choose the right cosmetic surgeon for your thread lift. Dr. S. Suma has several years of in-depth experience performing thread lifts. She is a caring and empathetic cosmetic surgeon who will work closely with you even as she performs your thread lift with a great deal of skill.
You should meet with Dr. S. Suma well before the thread lift procedure in order to determine the best plan of action for your skin type. As a thread lift candidate, you should avoid all alcohol and should avoid smoking for about a week before your procedure. You should also follow your cosmetic surgeon’s instructions and should let her know about the medications you may be taking, if any, and whether you should stop or continue them.
During your Thread Lift
The lifting and tightening of the facial skin are done by Dr. S. Suma, who will insert a needle into the skin and will then thread it bi-directionally through the soft tissues of the face and neck to grasp, lift, and suspend the facial area.
Your surgeon will probably use a “cross-hatch” or “basket weave” pattern to achieve the desired lifting effect in the targeted areas. Before a thread lift begins, you will be given local anaesthesia in the area where the thread lifting will be performed…the midface, jowl, or neck.
Dr. S. Suma will insert a pre-threaded needle into the subdermal level of the facial tissues. This means that the needle will go underneath the visible layer of skin. This needle is inserted in a curved direction into the area to be lifted. Directly above this first needle, another needle is inserted about 1 to 1.5 cm above the first needle.
The purpose of these needles is to insert bi-directional threads into the targeted areas. These threads are referred to as PDO threads and are made of polypropylene. The procedure is often called a PDO Thread Lift. While these are the most common type of threads, your cosmetic surgeon may choose to use another type.
PDO threads have small barbs along the surface. These act as “cogs” to grasp, lift, and suspend the facial area under treatment. As the needle is slowly withdrawn, it creates a suture lift, with the tissue gathering over the thread, thereby achieving the desired effect. The long ends of the thread can then be cut off.
New fibrous tissue and collagen forms around the PDO sutures. This holds up and tightens the skin tissue. The growth of this collagen takes place around the threads of the treated area, resulting in the long-term results typical of a thread lift.
The threads left under the skin dissolve completely within about 6 months through a natural process called hydrolysis. This is painless and is a chemical breakdown caused by a reaction with water. After the threads have dissolved, new collagen and fibrous tissues will already have formed around the treated areas, thereby restoring youthfulness to the area by a lifted effect of the skin.
Precautions and Procedures before and after your Thread Lift
You should always meet with Dr. S. Suma to discuss the best plan of action for your specific skin type, there are certain precautions to be carried out before surgery. All thread lift candidates should avoid alcohol and smoke for at least a week before the procedure. This is because both smoking and alcohol will dehydrate the skin and will interfere with the anesthetic.
All aspirin-based products should also be avoided, as they may cause unnecessary bleeding, leading to complications and side effects. Blood-thinning products such as Ibuprofen and other anti-inflammatory drugs should also be avoided. You should frankly discuss with Dr. S. Suma which medications to continue and which to discontinue before the procedure.
Also, if your skin tends to swell and bruise, you can apply ice over the area for about 30 minutes, four to five times a day for about five days.
You should also limit facial motion for about 24 hours and should avoid facial creams and makeup for about 48 hours. You should not drink with a straw and should keep your head elevated at a 45-degree angle for about five to seven days. Also, eat soft foods and liquids for seven to ten days, avoid chewing gum for two weeks, avoid heavy exertion for two to three weeks, and avoid pulling down the face or massaging it for three weeks.
You can also return to work depending on how strenuous your job is. You are not advised to wet your face for about 12 hours after the thread lift. You can also resume light exercise, such as walking after about a week post-procedure. Heavy exercise should be avoided until it is cleared by your surgeon.
Dr. S. Suma will work closely with you before, during, and after your thread lift procedure. She is an expert surgeon, who communicates and empathizes with each of her patients, prescribing the procedure that is right for them.
Thread Lift Result
If you are like most people, you will notice the results immediately after your thread lift. A thread lift is one of the best face rejuvenation although there may be swelling and bunching of skin for around 3 weeks. As the face heals, new collagen forms in the treated areas, making an obvious difference. The results from a thread lift are quite long-term, but it may be necessary to receive maintenance treatments every 6 to 12 months, depending on your specific age-reversal needs.
While choosing the right cosmetic surgeon may be a daunting task, if you consult with Dr. S. Suma, you know you are in safe hands. You will feel instantly comfortable when consulting with her, as she will take your specific needs into account and work with you to achieve the most successful thread lift procedure.