What type of sutures do you use for a platysmaplasty? Permanent/dissolving? Mono/braided? Any specific reason for your choices?

Question

My question is about the suture material used when doing a platsymaplasty; are there any reasons to be concerned with the use of permanent, monofilament being used by a double board certified, faces-only plastic surgeon? Any bio-film infection or rejection issues with non dissolving sutures esp the braided type? And could absorbable ones be used in this neck lifting procedure?

Michael Orseck, MD · Answer

Each surgeon has her/his own preference for approximating the platysma.  Monofilament permanent suture should be fine.  I personally use PDS, and have seen no problems from its use in the neck, requiring its removal.

James Bonaparte, MD, MSc, FRCSC · Answer

You obviously have read about sutures or you are in the medical field. The use of sutures for this procedure is an issue of choice and opinion. In fact, there is no evidence suggesting one works over the other. You can make arguments for and against all them. For a perminant suture, you have risks of injections, granulomas and overtime the suture, if too tight can eventually pull through the muscle. Also, what if its painfull? It doesn't dissolve. Temporary sutures have a risk of breaking too early or your body having a negative reaction.In the end, to me, sutures are the least of the concern with a neck lift. You can do the most amazing job and use poor sutures and the odds are it'll look great.  Also, for a neck lift there are different areas where you place sutures, some behind the ear and some in the middle portion of the neck. the ones behind the ear are under more tension so you need to be carefull back here. My thought, is that there are steps in a neck lift that are more important than the suturing. The major concern in neck lifts are platysmal banding (which is when you can see the lines in the front part of the neck) and failure of the surgery. If you release the platysma properly the odds are your results will be great.

Philip Solomon, MD, FRCS · Answer

I use a non absorbable braided suture.  I like the way it holds the edges of the platysma together long term. I also like the way it  holds during the procedure as the muse is brought together from below the chin down to the lower neck..  Long acting temporary sutures likely would give similar results.

Greg Chernoff, MD · Answer

You could pole ten surgeons and get ten answers here. Many surgeons  use a permanent monofilament suture in a buried fashion without problems. The longevity is likely greater with this type of suture. There are no large population, long-term studies showing negative results. A fibrous reaction or a suture working its way out are easy fixes. Some doctors use absorbable sutures. These can also cause a fibrous reaction in some patients.If your surgeon has experience with thousands of successful results, you can likely trust that the method used for you will be appropriate.

Gregory T. Lynam, MD · Answer

They all work and will have a low risk of infection due to the highly vascularized facial region. I do not know of any scientific paper that is concerned with infection in the facelift population due to a particular suture. I know docs who use silk suture for over 30 years and no problems for their platysma and SMAS work. Good Luck!

What type of sutures do you use for a platysmaplasty? Permanent/dissolving? Mono/braided? Any specific reason for your choices?

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Answer: Platysmaplasty Sutures

Answer: Platysmaplasty Sutures

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What type of sutures do you use for a platysmaplasty? Permanent/dissolving? Mono/braided? Any specific reason for your choices?

Answers (9)

Answer: Platysmaplasty Sutures

Answer: Platysmaplasty Sutures

Answer: Suture question

Answer: Suture question

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Recommended reading

Everything you need to know about Neck Lift

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.