| Other Non Surgical Procedures: | ||
| Dermal Fillers | Botox | Restylane |
| Skin Resurfacing | Surgical Procedures | |
Thread lifts for cosmetic facial rejuvenation is carried out using threads from the patients inner facial tissues. The surgeon will take care to hide the scars under the chin and on the hairline.
The thread lift was invented by Dr. Gregory L. Ruff, a plastic surgeon in Chapel Hill, N.C., in 1992. Searching for a way to raise the crushed cheek of a car-accident victim, he cut little notches into a few of his surgical sutures, threaded the sutures under her skin and used them as a sling to move her cheek back into position.
After using hand-notched sutures in many reconstructive surgeries, Dr. Ruff decided they would also make a useful cosmetic tool. In 2004 he introduced Contour Threads, which are transparent sutures with one-directional barbs, designed to tighten sagging skin on the face and neck.
"The barbed threads are like clothes hangers that you hang tissue on," said Dr. Ruff, now the medical director of Surgical Specialties.
A thread lift involves no transplanting of tissue, so recovery can take as little as a week. The scar tissue that forms around the threads helps suspend the skin, but only for several months to a few years.
