Let me preface this by saying THIS IS MY OPINION. I have been a plastic surgeon for 25 years now, and I see the latest and greatest …. and then we see the negatives. This new trend is a riff on barbed suture threadlifts which never really gained traction. The new PDO threads are even less invasive- you tunnel a cannula under the skin in the office to place the threads.
Check out my journal articles on threadlifts. Our own Plastic Surgery Journal publications conclude “threadlifts are not worth it.”
I totally get the appeal. As a woman of a certain age now *ahem* I can’t stand seeing my face fall. And a facelift (which people call a lower facelift, necklift, jowl lift, or mini facelift) is a bigger procedure, is a surgery, has a recovery and a scar. So can we put a bandaid on this whole aging thing for a bit?
The good of PDO threads:
- They help raise your tissue, like marionette strings
- It can be done in the office.
- They dissolve over time
The bad of PDO threads:
- It isn’t creating a broad change- so if one slips its hold, it can be uneven
- They are dissolving suture material. So just like Sculptra, it likely is leaving scar tissue behind. I CANNOT FAT GRAFT AFTER SCULPTRA. I FEAR THE SAME IS TRUE AFTER THREADS. The way dissolving sutures dissolve is an inflammatory reaction. Inflammation = scar. It’s like throwing clay in the soil. If I ever try to do facial fat transfer in the future, It won’t survive. And if you read any of my blogs and website, you know I am in love with fat grafting and stem cells.
- It isn’t tightening the deeper tissue- the SMAS- which is what gives a facelift its longevity
- For the cost $$ I would rather see you do something longer lasting.
Please read the synopsis of threadlifts in our journal. I think it summarized it well. They concluded there was at best “very limited durability of the lifting effect.” The only two positive studies were sponsored by the manufacturers of the thread lift sutures.
My vote? A no go, unless you truly can’t do a facelift or will never ever do fat grafting.