A thread face lift is a plastic surgery procedure that provides a patient with a more youthful-looking face. Offered as an alternative to conventional face lift techniques, it is considered non-invasive. Instead of creating large incisions, removing fat, and rearranging muscle, thread face lift surgeons make only tiny incisions and use thread to reposition a person’s face. A person who opts for this procedure may require only local anesthesia and a short recovery time.
Typically, thread face lift surgery is reserved for individuals who have only minimal signs of facial aging. The procedure can be used to correct sagging facial skin, especially in areas like the cheeks and jaw. This procedure can even be used to tighten sagging skin in the neck area.
While some types of face lift surgeries require long incisions and leave noticeable scars, thread lift surgery requires neither. To perform this surgery, a plastic surgeon makes very small cuts in a patient’s face and then threads a special type of surgical thread through the cuts. The threads have tiny barbs on them that attach to the skin from the inside, allowing the surgeon to pull on the threads, lifting the skin. The effect is a slightly raised, smoother face, and the changes in appearance are often noticeable right away.
Many people refer to a thread face lift as a lunchtime lift because it can be completed in the amount of time many people take to eat an extended lunchtime meal. The procedure usually takes just an hour or two to complete and doesn’t require general anesthesia, which renders the patient unconscious. Patients usually receive only local anesthesia to numb the affected areas prior to the surgery, but some may also receive anti-anxiety medication to help them relax.
Though thread lift procedures are not considered major surgeries, there are some complication risks. For example, a patient may develop an infection, or one of the threads may break. Sometimes the threads become visible under the surface of the skin. They may even move about and make one side of the face look different from the other. Additionally, some patients may experience temporary numbness in the areas affected by the procedure.
Recovery times following thread face lifts are generally short. Patients may have to eat soft foods for several days and take over-the-counter pain relievers. Most people can resume their normal activities within a week of surgery.
