Silhouette: Threadlift Revisited?

For many people it has long been a goal to achieve at least some of the benefits of a face-lift without sognificant surgery or downtime. The tightening of tissues in a face-lift or MACS-lift is achieved by using sutures to elevate the deeper tissues (SMAS) and the skin comes along for the ride. For a number of years surgeons have explored the idea of inserting a suture through the skin, hooking and tightening the deeper tissues and burying the tied ends of the sutures under the skin.

The first of these devices was the Aptos barbed threads, invented in Russia. These were used to elevate the brows, jowls and cheeks, but signifant problems soon became apparent. The threads often released the tissues within a relatively short time. Threads broke and migrated. Sometimes there was inflammation and infection associated with the burried knots, and at times the burried sutures became visible through the overlying skin.
The next variant was the Contour threadlift, which was similar to the Aptos threads except that the barbs were larger and there were needles attached to each end of the thread. Although there was initial optimism, fuled in part by less than truthful marketing, the Contour threads proved to have problems similar to the Aptos threads. Eventually they were withdrawn from the market due to declining sales.
Now, in the latest issue of "Dermatologic Surgery" there is a report on the results with the Silhouette threads used in 20 patients. The Silhouette threads have absorbable cones held in place by knots in the suture. It's the cones that grab on to the tissue.
The longest patient results were 6 months out. The authors claimed that 17 out of the 20 had excellent results. The sutures were used only to tighten the jowls and the neck, and the pictures showed good results. Swelling, bruising and tenderness were common, and one patient had abnormal sensation lasting 2 weeks. The authore stressed that only patients with good skin elasticity were suitable candidates, and said that the procedure was not a substitute for a face-lift.
Some day there will be a method that suspends tissue adequately, without significant surgery. It's still too early to know if the Silhouette threads will be that device.

Gerald N. Bock MD
California Skin & Laser Center
Stockton & Lodi, CA

Comments

[Hobosic]

Hello, Everything dynamic and very positively! :)