Contour Threads

Facelift without the knife
By Dr. Tess Mauricio

With sun damage and aging, we inevitably fall victim to gravity and with age, we watch our once youthful appearance slowly fade. Wrinkles start to appear, skin starts losing its tightness and tone. As my patients say, “everything starts to sag”. Eyelids, cheeks, jaws and neck start to droop.

Have you ever looked at the mirror, pulled the skin on your cheeks, neck and eyebrows up and wished the lift would stay? In the past, the only choice was expensive, major, open facelift requiring general anesthesia, lengthy complicated procedure(s), painful recovery and the very real risk of looking “overdone” and unnatural. Many of my patients who have considered face and neck lifts are scared of turning out “worse” because of what they see in people who have had surgical facelifts. We need not look further than our televisions to see how surgical facelifts and major plastic surgery have turned some Hollywood personalities from looking attractive to just plain “weird.”

I am excited to report that major, open facelifts, browlifts and necklifts are not the only choice anymore when patients want to reverse the wrinkling, sagging and drooping that comes with age. With the FDA approval of Contour Threads this year, the Contour Thread Lift is giving hope to many patients wanting a natural, noninvasive, simple, “no scalpel” alternative to a surgical facelift.

Contour Threads are the only non-absorbable barbed suture product cleared by the FDA for the elevation and fixation of midface, brow and neck areas. These specifically designed sutures are fashioned from clear polypropylene, a material that has been safely used in the body for many years in other medical products.

Contour Threads have tiny teeth-like (barb-like) cogs that will grasp on to and lift the soft tissues. The threads are inserted in strategic precise locations, the cogs open in an umbrella fashion to form a support structure that gently lifts and repositions the tissues into a more vertical and youthful position.

The nonabsorbable threads stay within the deep tissues and provide support as the body creates new collagen around the threads creating a long lasting lift.

Most patients are completely comfortable with light IV sedation (twilight) and local anesthesia during the procedure which usually takes about one hour for the brows and cheeks. Pain is minimal during recovery from the procedure and most patients take only Tylenol for pain relief. Patients can go back to work in 2-3 days. Depending on the patient, some bruising and swelling is expected. Most patients look good in makeup after one week.

After the procedure, patients have to be careful not to traumatize or dislodge the sutures by avoiding forceful facial rubbing or trauma, sleeping on the back and minimizing facial expressions for the first 2 weeks.

CONTOUR THREADLIFT SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Droopy, heavy eyelids:

Many patients come to me complaining about their droopy, heavy upper eyelids. This can start happening for some of us in our thirties. Most patients think the best approach to heavy eyelids is to remove excess skin and fat pads from the eyelids. This may be the answer for a few patients, but in fact, the majority of patients will get a more natural, youthful, a ‘more awake” and rejuvenated look if they had their brows lifted up (without removing excess skin). Lifting the brow will result in elevating excess droopy skin on the upper eyelids and in addition opening the eyes wider.

A simple 30 minute Contour Threadlift of the brows will accomplish this result for patients. In fact, the first thing my Contour Threadlift patients comment on after the procedure is that they can see so much better and truly appreciate the cosmetic effect of the brow lift. In addition, Contour Thread lift is a much safer procedure without the risk of blindness associated with blepharoplasties (cutting of excess skin of the eyelids) and the final look is very natural. Most importantly, as opposed to traditional blepharoplasty which always leaves a scar, the Contour threadlift of the brows is performed without leaving any visible scars.

Acne scarring:

Many patients present to me with severe cases of acne scarring. I still perform deep laser resurfacing and subcision (breaking up scar tissue from under the skin) for the best possible results. With these techniques, patients can improve their acne scarring about 80%.

My acne scarring patients see me in their forties when they also have issues with sagging, drooping and wrinkles. It is a known fact that when skin is tight and not sagging, acne scars are less visible. But it is overkill to ask acne patients to get surgical facelifts to improve scarring.

With the introduction of Contour threads, acne patients can have lifted, tighter skin and significantly less noticeable acne scars in an hour. Combined with laser treatment and subcision, we can now offer acne scarring patients a much better chance at a great result.

Call (858) 689-4990 for your complimentary cosmetic consultation with Dr. Tess Mauricio.

www.scrippsderm.com

For more information, check out www.contourthreads.com