Never Again

It’s easy to judge myself harshly for thinking it was a good idea to pay someone to stab barbed threads through my face like some crazy Medieval torture practice. But, in truth, I believed I had done my research and proceeded under the assurances of a practitioner who “does them every day.” When I mentioned possible complications, I was told that the major complications “happened with the old threads” but that these were “new, improved, and dissolvable.”
The dissolvable aspect of PDO threads is a nice sentiment in theory, but I’m here to tell you that it is Hell in practice.
“Four to six months” is a nightmare waiting period when the swelling goes down and your face is left resembling someone’s bad attempt at Halloween skeleton makeup.
Before the procedure, I had slight sagging under my mouth and jawline. The procedure that was meant to address this pulled my face up so much that my left lower cheek is dented in and my right lower cheek has a deep dimple. When I complained about the dimple, the practitioner told me, “It looks like an enhancement.”
On the upper part of my right cheek, there is thread-buckling that looks like a cystic acne sore. I was told to massage it. Massage does nothing to ameliorate it.
Beneath the right corner of my lips, there is also thread-buckling. The thread seems to be hooked onto a blood vessel (?) so that I experience a painful sensation like an electric shock every time I open my mouth to eat. Just left of this thread-buckling, the area is numb from my lower lip down through half of my chin, so I suspect some (hopefully temporary) nerve damage. A few days after the procedure, this buckled spot swelled into a hematoma. The practitioner drained it and attempted to remove the thread, but was unable to get ahold of it.
On the left side of my chin, there is a curved, kind of horizontal, line where the thread is superficial - pushing up through my skin so as to make my former sagging look preferable. When I asked the practitioner about it, I was told that “it’s barely noticeable” and that “it will eventually go away when the threads dissolve.”
Like having one’s face jacked-up for four to six MONTHS is no big deal. I now find this dismissive attitude toward “minor” PDO thread lift complications to be disturbing.
When I move my face, there are raised tracks where the threads and their knots run through my cheeks. The entry points are pointy bumps - three on each side.
The practitioner graciously offered to make up for the unfortunate outcome by providing a service of higher value in the future after this thread lift fades. While I appreciate the gesture, I have decided to forego it in favor of more benign care like occasional facials.
My emotional distress due to this experience oscillates between moderate and severe. Crying myself to sleep at night (literally, not figuratively) has become the norm.
I’m writing this review in the hope that it might prevent another person from facing this horror.
Please do NOT RISK YOUR FACE with this procedure.

This week, I scheduled a consultation with a top plastic surgeon in our area. He had several negative things to say about my thread lift. One of the worst things was the possible (and likely) damage to the mental nerve located in the chin area. Because of the precarious placement of the threads that are causing the most trouble, he will need to sedate me to remove them. I’m frightened by this possibility, so I’m going to wait several more weeks to see if those areas improve. I took a pic today and compared it to a pic from a week ago and it actually looks WORSE this week. :-(
I’m really struggling with emotional distress over this.
Has anyone else had thread buckling and superficial threads showing? How long did it take before they were no longer visible?
I saw two studies online showing how hyaluronic acid caused rapid degradation of these threads (in vitro, microscopic, and clinical evidence). In the studies, it was applied directly to the threads. I ordered a high quality hyaluronic acid supplement and I hope it helps speed up the process of the threads dissolving.
Will update if there’s any improvement.

In my last update, I’d ordered a high quality hyaluronic acid supplement. I started the hyaluronic acid supplement less than a week ago. I’m already seeing some improvement. Especially with the dimple - I’d say it has resolved about 50%.
When I spent weeks waiting for “natural hydrolysis” to occur, my face just got more and more disfigured and there was NO improvement. So I know it’s the hyaluronic acid that’s helping.
Last week, the dimple and the thread buckling right below it looked worse than the first picture I posted here weeks ago. I’ll upload a new one now. The superficial thread on the other side still looks bad, but it has improved as well.
(I’ve lost some weight due to being emotionally distressed over this and also because the pain around my mouth makes it difficult to eat.)
...Oh, I want to add something else about this experience: They don’t tell you this, but it’s a psychologically disturbing phenomenon to touch your face (for ex., when washing), and feel the threads under your skin. They feel like bouncy lines/bumps of plastic. It’s a disgusting and unnerving sensation. I wish I could just have my face back the way it was before this horrific procedure.