Will non-surgical procedures complicate future facelifts?

Question

Hi, I heard that threads, hifu, RF & Sculptra can complicate future facelifts, is this true & what would be the best collagen inducing & skin tightening procedures for those wanting to potentially have a future facelift? Hoping a plastic surgeon can offer some insight. Thanks. 35yo female for reference.

Nk Park, MD · Answer

Hello, this is Dr. NK Park from Noonopi Plastic Surgery in Korea.From a surgeon’s perspective, you are right &mdash; repeated thread lifts, HIFU, RF treatments, or injectables can indeed interfere with future facelift surgery. However, I also fully understand that from a patient’s perspective, it’s not easy to forgo all aesthetic treatments in the present just to preserve the possibility of future surgery.
That said, it is generally advisable to avoid those procedures for at least one year prior to facelift surgery. In fact, many respected facelift surgeons recommend refraining from any minimally invasive procedures for a year or more before undergoing a facelift.
Among the popular treatments in today’s aesthetic market, the one that least interferes with facelift outcomes is BBL SkinTyte. This treatment promotes collagen regeneration by targeting the superficial skin layers only, without affecting the deeper layers like RF or HIFU does.

Stephen Prendiville, MD · Answer

The simple answer is, Yes, noninvasive procedures do complicate facelifts in an adverse fashion.  The worst offenders are the energy devices such as Ultherapy, Morpheus and other ultrasound, RF based energy related devices designed to heat deeper soft tissues ( I am not trying to pick on any specific "brand" of device; I view them all as equally bad). The reality is that these modalities are often underwhelming in terms of clinical benefit, while introducing deeper scar tissue which make the surgical dissection in a facelift more difficult.  For an experienced facelift Surgeon, this is usually a surmountable problem.  However, it often takes what I would describe as an assumed "virgin" facelift seem much more like a complicated revision procedure.

Ronald J. Edelson, MD · Answer

Those non surgical options will not interfere with a facelift done later. However those options are not particularly beneficial in my opinion. You’re better off saving the money and putting toward a facelift later

Richard Baxter, MD · Answer

Nonsurgical procedures such as threadlift, HIFU (Ultherapy), and Sculptra are often used to postpone the need for a surgical facelift in patients who are younger. I would not recommend threadlifts however because they can interfere with the dissection, and the results of Sculptra are temporary even if long lasting. A facelift usually involves volume restoration so you want to make sure that  there has been plenty of time for Sculptra or any other fillers to wear off.

Will non-surgical procedures complicate future facelifts?

Answers (4)

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