For many people (men and women alike) the attitude is not” if they will need a face lift but rather when”. I have had friends who simply planned it early on: “I will get my first face lift around age 45, then when I’m 60 and need another it won’t look so drastic”. As I approach the age where my friends are considering this move, more options are appearing.
Fillers and topicals, our previous mainstay for youthful appearance, can attain significant improvement in most people but sometimes it can be quite difficult to achieve enough “lift” and “contour” to make a considerable difference. Voluma and Restylane Lyft can pick up a face quite nicely but if someone already has significant volume, the look may appear inappropriate. Also, it does very little for sagging neck and jowls.
PDO threads (polydiaxanone) are absorbable threads that are designed to lift and reposition the skin and tissue gently but naturally (in the right hands) and will maintain the position while the body slowly absorbs the threads replacing them with your own collagen. This effect alone can last up to 18 months when a full correction is achieved and there is no contraindication to getting a small touch-up here and there. Unless someone has a huge amount of laxity, the threads could delay a facelift for…possibly forever.
Polydiaxanone sutures have been used in medicine for decades. They are harmless and promote the growth of natural collagen. The threads used for lifting have little (tiny) attachments on them that keep them where they were placed until they absorb. The procedure is comfortable with a small amount of anesthetic being used to make the procedure quick and easy.
The Golden Combo Tucking up the skin here and there is a great, natural way to return the skin to where it used to be. However, the fact that we have lost bone and fat in the face is leaving us deflated and hollow. Combining the PDO threads with the appropriate injectables can takes you back decades, rather than just a few years.
- Bone loss: Treatment with Sculptra (a collagen stimulant) just before thread placement will leave you looking better each day as your collagen replaces the bone volume lost in facial areas.
- Fat loss: Juvéderm Voluma® can provide the necessary filler to mimic what used to be fat. Smooth and youthful looking, it is placed immediately after the threads.
- Peri-oral rhytids (smokers lines around the mouth): This area is not addressed in a facelift unless a strong laser peel is given. Restylane Silk® or Juvéderm Volbella® will eliminate these pesky little lines without elevating the upper lip that then resembles a platypus.
- Crepey skin: In addition to the “lifting” threads, we have very small threads that when placed in these crepey areas will at first support the skin making it instantly smoother. Then as the body absorbs them new, healthy, firm collagen is created, basically eliminating that crepey surface.
- Marionette lines: Once the threads are inserted, the marionette lines are subdued. However since this is an area of significant volume loss due to muscle pull and constant movement, some replacement is usually necessary. Restylane Defyne® is an amazing product that is designed to move with the tissues in this extremely taxed area. This leaves the lower face looking fresh and smooth.
- Small dynamic lines: These are the lines formed most often in the lower face and around the mouth that are created every time you form a word or chew your food. Restylane Refyne® is the perfect answer to this little dilemma. Because this product is very elastic, it moves with every motion of your skin and muscles and integrates right into your tissue for invisible support that only you will know is not original. Now you can forget any fleeting thought of a facelift!
