Facelift Q&A
85%
WORTH IT RATING
"Worth It Rating" shows the % of consumer reviewers that stated the procedure was "Worth It" or not. See more RealSelf Worth It Ratings or Add Your Review
316 Reviews
Faceliftbefore & after photos
View Before and Afters

Average Facelift Cost: $11,225

Learn about Facelift

1,211 people and 808 doctors are talking about Facelift

Get Free Email Updates

What is a Thread Face Lift ?

asked 1 year ago by Aspen6611 in Aspen, CO
Latest answer by Sam Naficy, MD
Question viewed 699 times
Tags: technique, thread

24 answers to What is a Thread Face Lift ?

+1

Threadlift

A thread lift is a technique using barbed sutures to lift the face in lieu of the more traditional facelift surgery. It has been done intermittently over the past 20 years, but very few surgeons in the United States do this procedure because of frequent complications and  the the fact that results are short-lived.
Richard W. Fleming, MD

Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.bevhills.com

+2

What's a Thread Lift

Thread Lift for Facelift is a technique using special barbed sutures to pull on the facial tissues, usually without incisions. The technique has been largely abandoned because the results were inconsistent, didn't last, and because of complications. I recommend you not consider this technique.
Paul C. Zwiebel, MD

Denver Plastic Surgeon
+1

Thread lifts

Suspension lifts such as Threadlifts, Contour lifts, Featherlift, Silhouette lift, are fairly ineffective and very short lasting. Not the best value for the money spent.
Sam Naficy, MD

Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1

What's a thread face lift?

A thread face lift uses sutures or barbed threads to lift the muscle and tissue layers instead of dissecting, lifting, trimming and tightening them as is typically done in any viable and useful version of a Face Lift, IMHO. IMHO, these are more hype than effective face lifts as are some other marketed versions like the stem cell fat lifts that are nothing more than fat transfers IMO.
Francis R. Palmer, III, MD

Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1

A Threadlift is a non-invasive type of cheeklift...

A threadlift is a great way to reverse the effects of gravity over time on the cheeks.  As time goes by, the cheeks gradually fall to create a more sullen look.  The threadlift utilizes a small incision in the hairline to place long sutures that grab the cheek tissue and lift it back up.  This can be done under local anesthesia and the recovery is about 5 days.  It is important to have a specialist that performs a lot of them to know where exactly to place the threads... more
Andrew Miller, MD

Edison Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.associatesinplasticsurgery.com

+1

Beware of the Threadlift-recurrent laxity and occaisional deformity a problem

The Threadlift invoved using permanet sutures (Thread) which were barbed and placed through the skin and fixated higher up on the Temple to pull loose facial skin in an upwatrd direction. Some companies have stopped making the Threadlift "threads" because of common complications. Many proponents of the Threadlift have reported failure or recurrent facial sagging after the procedure. In addition, complications such as deforming unequal pulling of the face have been... more
Brooke R. Seckel, MD

Boston Plastic Surgeon

www.drseckel.com

+1

Thread lift? Worth it?

A "thread lift", "lunch lift", or "lifestyle lift" all rely in "barbed-wire" sutures, or threads placed in the skin to resuspend the sagging face. It is promoted as "non-surgical" with minimal cost and minimal downtime. Here are my concerns: You need 3-12 "threads" placed on each side of your face to have noticeable results. These threads are usually permanent, placed in the deep layers of... more
William A. Wallace, MD, FACS

Jacksonville Plastic Surgeon
+1

Thread lift

A thread lift usually encompasses a limited incision proceudre that passes barbed sutures through the soft tissues to lift the soft tisue mounds of the face. They so far have not impressed me because they do not seem to last very long.
Steven Wallach, MD

Manhattan Plastic Surgeon
+1

Thread lifts - Not a good solution

In short, a thread facelift is done by making very small incisions, through which barbed sutures are placed.  As the sutures are pulled through the tissues, the barbs catch the tissues.  The sutures are then tightened and the tissues and skin are elevated.  This procedure was heavily marketed as an alternative to a facelift but has been nearly discarded as the results are very short lived and there were problems with the threads breaking and being visible.  A facelift... more
Jeffrey M. Darrow, MD

Boston Plastic Surgeon
+1

Thread face lift

A thread facelift involves taking barbwire sutures and tucking skin with those sutures in an attempt to tighten jowls and the neck area. This type of facelift gives temporary results as it is only tightening skin and not addressing any muscles in the face and neck. It also does not address any fat removal of the neck.  
William Portuese, MD

Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.seattlefacial.com

+1

Threadlift

This is a procedure that was the talk of the town for along while until it became obvious that it did not hold up very long.The idea was novel but it was expensive and didn't last.It involved putting some barbed sutures under your skin to lift it up.Great concept but not ling lasting.
Robert Brueck, MD

Fort Myers Plastic Surgeon
+1

Thread Lifts Don't Replace Face Lift Surgery to Improve the Lower Face and Neck

Hi Aspen6611 in Aspen, CO, Facelift refers to cosmetic surgery of the lower face (jowls) & neck. Although there are many different face lift procedure terms, there are really only a few different types. These basic face lift types are the SMAS, deep, or composite. Face lift may be combined with other cosmetic surgery such as a neck lift, fat transfer, or others. A thread lift attempts to achieve face lift results without surgery. A barbed suture is threaded around the... more
Houtan Chaboki, MD

Washington DC Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.potomacplasticsurgery.com

+1

What is a Threadlift

Hi, As you may know by now, a thread lift is a lift that uses sutures ( threads) with cogs on them. As the threads pass through the subcutaneous layer of the skin ( fat tissue just under the skin - dermal layer), the cogs catch and pull the tissue (and therefore the skin) up. The problem with this is that: 1) no redundant skin is removed 2) the cogs dissolve over time releasing the tissue 3) you end up with a permanent thread in your face that is really doing nothing 4)  the... more
Oleh Slupchynskyj, MD

New York Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.facechange.org

+1

Contour thread lift

Contour Thread Lift is a technique that I used to perform that involves NO separation of the skin but uses small punctures to place the threads. Patients tended to complain about the visibility, palpability, or awareness of the permanent threads and the results did not seem to be long-lasting nor predictable
Otto Joseph Placik, MD

Chicago Plastic Surgeon
+1

Thread lift- what is it?

It was  a name given to a type of facelift that most experienced facelift surgeons did not use. It did minimal improvement  of the cheek and almost nothing for the neck--long term.
Toby Mayer, MD

Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1

Thread Facelifts-Why They Did Not Work

Thread facelifts, also sometimes known as a featherlift, was designed to lift the tissues of the face by simply pulling up with a suture.  In order for a facelift to be effective, the tissues of the face must be released, repositioned, and then heal in a new location.  A lift that attempts to do that with just a suture, such as the threadlift, will result in nearly complete ineffectiveness, one of the reasons the FDA has revoked its approved status.
Anil R. Shah, MD

Chicago Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1

Thread Lift: The Emporer's New Clothes

Thread-lifts now belong in the proverbial garbage can of cosmetic surgical gimmicks. The Thread-lift concept is valueless from a surgical standpoint, but it does hold value as a cautionary tale about overblown marketing in cosmetic surgery.   Unfortunately, a certain percentage of the "latest and greatest" cosmetic surgical procedures are over marketed, unproven, and stay on the shelf for a year or two before being discarded.  The "Thread-Lift" was, perhaps... more
Stephen Prendiville, MD

Fort Myers Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.drprendiville.com

+1

Thread Lift and Problem with Longevity

Really a procedure that is "out of fad".  It lacks the longevity and durability.  It may look good initially but after a month or two the results are non-existant. Save your money and get a better procedure that would last. Good luck.
Farbod Esmailian, MD

Orange County Plastic Surgeon
+1

Threadlifts would seem like a good idea, but in practice do not work.

While a threadlift looks good initially, the problem is very poor longevity, even if there are no technical problems such as show through of the sutures or irregular pulls. The initial better look is lost due to "cheezewiring" because the threads are stronger than the tissue and slowly work their way through allowing the tissue to slip. Dr. Mayl Fort Lauderdale
Nathan Mayl, MD

Fort Lauderdale Plastic Surgeon
+1

What is a Thread Face Lift

A waste of time and money. It is using barded threads to try to lift the skin of the face with very TEMPORARY success. Be careful there is no non surgery to lift a face. 
Darryl J. Blinski, MD

Miami Plastic Surgeon
+1

Threadlift

This is a procedure that has fallen out of favor with many surgeons.  The problems start with lack of longevity , sutures that you can sometimes see or feel under the skin, and eventually the need to remove the sutures at potentially more cost.  If you want a quick fix, this will work.  If you want something more durable, you should consider a more traditional procedure such as a mini-facelift or even full facelift, depending on what concerns you may have about your aging... more
Curtis Wong, MD

Redding Plastic Surgeon
+1

Thread face lift

This is a procedure that is typically done through minimal incisions where a barbed type of suture is used to elevate the mid and lower face regions. It uses tiny barbs to grasp the deep tissue to act as an anchor. It is rarely performed anymore in lieu of other better procedures. I hope this information helps.
Scott Trimas, MD

Jacksonville Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1

Threadlift no longer FDA approved

The thread lift was a procedure that involved insertion of permanent sutures under the skin that were supposed to lift the forehead, face, jowels and neck, depending on where the sutures were placed. The procedure was performed under local anesthesia. The sutures had little barbs with small  laser-cuts which allowed them to snag the skin from the under surface and pull it up. Unfortunately, the results were short-lived and the permanent sutures often extruded. The Contour Thread... more
Theda C. Kontis, MD

Baltimore Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1

No more Threadlift facelifts

The Threadlift was a procedure that tried to elevate the face without surgery by placing a variety of barbed sutures into the tissue to elevate the tissues and hold them.  There are many reasons, but suffice to say that the idea didn't work well enough or for long enough to be worth doing.  I am not aware that anybody still does this procedure.
Richard P. Rand, MD, FACS

Seattle Plastic Surgeon

Ask a question