Featherlift or Threadlift procedures are barbed suture techniques via minimal incisions, usually performed under local anesthesia, often by doctors who do not have complete plastic surgical training. The results are usually minimal, don't last very long, and the threads can break (causing one side to droop or sag) or the barbs can "poke through" the surface of the skin. This can cause inflammation, irritation, and even infection. The threads can be visible beneath the surface of the skin, and many threads (at significant cost) are usually needed to achieve any kind of uniform lift at all. Sometimes the barbs bend backwards, lose their attachment with the skin, and the skin then re-sags.Here in the USA we have been taking out these failed sutures for many years, and these procedures have largely been abandoned by most reputable plastic surgeons, if they ever tried them in the first place.After spending thousands of dollars, then paying someone else to remove them, these women have then had to undergo "real" facelifts by fully-trained plastic surgeons. Why not just have the best your plastic surgeon can offer--not the easiest, fewest-incisions, or local anesthesia-only operation? Sometimes the cost is nearly the price of a full, standard "real" facelift, but the seduction of "easier, less scarring, and less expensive" often causes women to "try this out." Later they find it doesn't work well at all, and even has some complications as noted above. Not recommended. Glad you asked BEFORE having this waste of time, money, and risk. Best wishes! Dr. Tholen
