The barbs open like an umbrella to form a support structure that lifts the sagging tissue. It has barbs along the thread that act as cogs to allow the surgeon to grasp, lift and suspend a relaxed facial area. The Contour Thread material, clear polypropylene, has been used in other medical applications for many years. Contour Threads are unidirectional and fixed in the area of initial access, whereas Aptos Threads are bidirectional. The main difference between the two is design. (The group no longer tracks statistics on thread lifts.) The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reports that its members performed more than 5,000 thread lifts in 2006. The Aptos Thread, which was developed overseas, received its premarket approval from the FDA in March 2005. Food and Drug Administration in September 2004, with current indications for elevation and fixation of midface, brow and neck. It’s estimated that as many as 9,000 thread lifts have been performed nationwide with Contour Threads, which were approved by the U.S. Two types of thread lift procedures are currently being performed in the United States: the Contour Threadlift and the FeatherLift or Aptos Thread lift. Additionally, barbed sutures can be used as an adjunct to a more traditional facelift. No incisions or stitches are required, and no scars are produced.
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The barbs on one end of the thread grab and lift the sagging skin, and the teeth on the other end anchor the skin to the underlying facial tissues. Your surgeon would use a thin needle to insert the sutures under the facial tissues. In a thread lift, barbed sutures (threads) are used to lift sagging eyebrows and eyelids, deep nasolabial folds (those furrows between your nose and the corners of your mouth) or aging neck tissues. To be an ideal thread lift candidate, you should understand and accept the possibility of the risks and complications outlined below. Many physicians combine thread lifts with other procedures, such as chin lifts, neck lifts and brow lifts, for a customized approach to facial rejuvenation. Other thread lift candidates include those who have had some relapse from a previous plastic surgery procedure such as a facelift or neck lift. Older people may undergo a thread lift during the more aggressive facelift procedure to provide additional support for the soft tissue area that was elevated in the facelift. They choose a thread lift because they have begun to see more prominence of the jaw, a relaxed (or minimally sagging) midfacial appearance or slight bags under the eyes or on the neck. Most people who undergo thread lifts are women between 35 and 45. Ideal candidates for thread lifts include people with minimal signs of aging who need just a small lift. For these people especially, a thread lift may be a good alternative to the more invasive procedures necessary to correct problems in older people’s faces. Younger people may experience cheek and brow ptosis (sagging caused by weakened muscles) as well. The result is a longer, older-looking face. The affected areas generally include the cheeks, the eyebrows and other areas around the eyes, the jowls and the neck. Who Should Consider a Thread Lift?Īs we age, our facial support structure weakens, and we lose facial fat. Some plastic surgeons promote the thread lift as a “lunchtime lift” or “weekend facelift.” Usually it can be performed in about one hour. Thread lifts cost less and require less downtime for many people. It is perhaps better considered as a lesser, or preliminary procedure. Thread lifts have decreased in popularity, but in proper hands they can still be a useful tool. Thread lifts emerged because many people - perhaps you - would like a facelift, but can’t afford it or don’t want the long recovery time of the standard facelift.