Oh, if you could just lift the skin on your face a bit — without surgery. What was once a pipe dream is now a reality. Amazing PDO threads restore more youthful contours in your face without the trauma and recovery of a surgical procedure.
Dissolvable sutures known as polydioxanone (PDO) threads have revolutionized the aesthetics industry. If you’re ready for a facelift, but not for facelift surgery, PDO threads — safely used as medical sutures since the 1980s — are a minimally invasive, effective way to rejuvenate lax or sagging skin.
Joon Lee, MD, and our team of medical and aesthetics specialists at SeeBeyond Beauty in Scarsdale, New York, recommend PDO threads for women and men who have early signs of facial skin laxity and sagging. Why are PDO threads such an effective nonsurgical facelift solution? Here are five amazing reasons.
1. PDO threads immediately lift your skin
The most gratifying aspect of a PDO thread lift is that the results are immediate. Rather than wait for months — even up to a year — for your surgical facelift to heal, after your PDO thread procedure, you leave our office with a lifted, rejuvenated face. You can treat one or several areas:
- Cheeks
- Jawline/jowls
- Neck
- Eye areas
Your lift lasts up to nine years, but results depend partly on how healthy and strong your skin is to begin with. If you wait until your skin is already thin or has lost elasticity, you may need to replace your threads more often.
Of course, you can also combine PDO threads with other rejuvenating therapies, such as Botox and fillers and Ultherapy®. Combining nonsurgical therapies gives a more dramatic, longer-lasting effect.
2. The PDO thread procedure is virtually pain-free
Rather than undergoing general anesthesia for a facelift and then enduring the trauma of scalpel cuts and stitches to your skin, PDO threads are minimally invasive and almost pain-free. We first numb your skin with an anesthetic, which is probably the most uncomfortable part of the procedure.
We then make small punctures in the areas where we’re going to lift your skin upward and thread in a narrow tube called a cannula. Through the cannula, we insert the PDO thread and then anchor and tie the suture, lifting the skin upward, before we remove the cannula and cut the thread.
The entire procedure only takes about 45 minutes. You can return to most of your normal daily activities after your procedure, feeling and looking more lifted.
3. PDO threads leave no scars and require no downtime
When you undergo a facelift, your surgeon does their best to hide your scars behind your ears or under your chin. However, you may be limited in the kinds of hairstyles you can wear. This is especially problematic if you have short hair.
With a PDO thread lift, there are no scars. The small incisions heal on their own, without stitches. You may feel swollen and sore for a day or two, but there’s no need for a special recovery time or anything more than moderate adjustments to your routine.
4. PDO threads stimulate collagen for long-time lift
Although the dissolvable PDO threads are made of a type of colorless polyester that your body eventually breaks down after about six months, the benefits of threads last longer than that. The process of inserting the threads and the presence of the PDO sutures triggers a wound-healing response in your skin.
When your skin starts to rebuild itself at the PDO sites, it produces more collagen and elastin. Collagen is the protein that forms the matrix of your skin, making it thicker, stronger, and tighter. Elastin is another protein, connected to collagen, that allows your skin to stretch out and then snap back into place.
In fact, even though the PDO threads give you the initial lift, most of the heavy lifting is, in fact, carried by the increase in collagen and elastin. After your PDO threads dissolve, your skin has improved its health and strength.
5. PDO thread lifts are cost-effective
A facelift may cost $7,000-$10,000, and that doesn’t include the cost of a neck lift, eye lift, or other procedures you may desire. In contrast, a PDO thread lift may cost about one-tenth of that price. Adding in other skin rejuvenation therapies helps increase and extend the benefit of a PDO thread lift.
Are you thinking about a PDO thread lift? Don’t wait to have a more uplifted face and spirit. Book your consultation today by contacting our aesthetics team. Phone our helpful staff during office hours or request an appointment online anytime.