Outcomes in Threadlift for Facial Rejuvenation

Abstract

The search for less invasive surgical techniques to address the effects of facial aging led to the development of barbed polypropylene sutures for facial suspension. Theoretical advantages of these "threadlifts" included limited scarring, rapid recovery, relative safety, and reduced cost when compared with a standard rhytidectomy. The goal of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of patients undergoing threadlifts to determine the actual complication rates, the durability of results, and the rates of reoperative surgery. A single surgeon's initial 2-year experience with 72 patients undergoing threadlifts was retrospectively reviewed. Preoperative patient demographical and clinical data, operative information, and postoperative outcomes data were compiled and evaluated. A total of 72 thread lifts were performed by 1 surgeon over a 24-month period. Of these patients, 76% underwent threadlift alone, whereas concomitant procedures were performed in 24% of patients. Minor complications were common and usually self-limited. Forty-two percent of patients underwent a secondary procedure after primary threadlift, an average of 8.4 months after the original surgery. Thirty-one percent of patients required revisional surgery for cosmetic reasons an average of 8.7 months after their threadlift. Eleven percent of the patients ultimately required removal of palpable threads. Threadlift is a safe procedure associated with minor complications. Rates of revisional surgery for cosmesis are high after threadlift. Time to revisional surgery for cosmesis is short. Results achieved by threadlift are subtle and short-lived. Threadlift is not a minimally invasive replacement of surgical rhytidectomy. Patients should understand the limitations of this technique and its high rates of revisional surgery.

Outcomes in Thread Lift for Facial Rejuvenation: a Study Performed with Happy Lift™ Revitalizing

“…For overabundant tissue, the prescription remains to be traditional lifting. Nevertheless, it must be underlined that the results encountered with different barber suture lifting have shown a significant number of adverse events and early recurrence [16, 17]. Therefore, the results of this study suggest that increasing the number of patients treated with the “Happy Lift™ Revitalizing” would confirm the good results obtained in this study.…”

Tissue Reactions to Cog Structure and Pure Gold in Lifting Threads: A Histological Study in Rats

“…12 Thus, the role of barbed sutures in cosmetic surgery is still open to debate because of the unpredictability of long-term results and lack of scientific data from basic and clinical studies. Herein, we report the results of a comparative study of long-term tissue reactions (seven months) to thread implantation in a rat dorsal cutaneous implantation model.…”

Facial Rejuvenation with Absorbable and Barbed Thread Lift: Case Series with Mint Lift™

“…We observed in this study the presence of edema and ecchymoses, which are considered common and transient complications after the surgical procedures [9]. Our patients did not show other types of complications reported in the literature, such as asymmetry, extrusion, palpable and visible yarns, neuropraxia, infection and poor results [1,9,10].…”

“…Our patients did not show other types of complications reported in the literature, such as asymmetry, extrusion, palpable and visible yarns, neuropraxia, infection and poor results [1,9,10].…”