Face and neck lift with Aptos threads according to the Excellence Visage method

Face lift with threads – This is a modern, effective and low-traumatic method of lifting facial tissues, with the help of which specialists manage to achieve a pronounced effect of rejuvenation. The modern beauty market offers a fairly large selection of threads for & nbsp; lifting.

In today's article, estet-portal.com talks about one of the face and neck lift techniques with Aptos threads. Lifting using the Excellence Visage method in the face and neck area will help to effectively eliminate signs of skin laxity and soft tissue prolapse. Read more about this technique right now.

Features of face and neck lift with Aptos threads

Aptos thread lifting technologies have been popular among aesthetic medicine specialists for 20 years. Such  the demand is due to the high quality and efficiency of Aptos thread rejuvenation methods.

The use of Aptos   threads is always a natural result, minimal trauma, maximum safety and a quick visible lifting effect that lasts for a long time.

The Excellence Visage technique allows you to effectively tighten the tissues of the face and neck, in the absence of pronounced excess skin.

	Sulamanidze Marlen Andreevich, plastic surgeon, Member of the Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons of Russia, Georgia, IPRAS, Honorary Member of the National Society of Aesthetic Surgeons of France, Honorary President of the Japanese Liposuction Society, Member of the American Society of Dermatosurgeons.
	Georgy Marlenovich Sulamanidze, plastic surgeon, candidate of medical sciences, full member of the Russian Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons, as well as the Japanese Society of Liposuction.
	Sulamanidze Konstantin Marlenovich, plastic surgeon, dermatovenereologist, member of the International Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (IPRAS).

Aptos threads:

• indications for Aptos thread lift using the Excellence Visage method;
• contraindications for Aptos thread lift using the Excellence Visage method;
• face and neck lift technology with Aptos threads using the Excellence Visage method;
• how Aptos threads work in face and neck lift;
• Histological examination of tissues when installing a smooth thread.

You may be interested in: "History of soft tissue lifting with threads"

Indications for Aptos Thread Lift with Excellence Visage

Indications for lifting with Aptos Excellence Visage threads in the face and neck are mild and moderate signs of skin laxity, soft tissue ptosis (without pronounced excess skin):

• ptosis of the entire eyebrow or only its lateral third;
• sagging and separation of the soft tissues of the bucco-zygomatic areas;
• nasolabial folds, "marionette lines" due to/aggravated by soft tissue overhang;
• deformation of the oval of the face, mental areas, "second chin" (with severe hypertrophy of adipose tissue, it is necessary at the first stage to use methods of local reduction of adipose tissue);
• age-related changes in the neck, developing against the background of atrophic processes in the skin;
• atrophic changes and uneven relief of the skin and subcutaneous tissues;
• facial asymmetry.

You may be interested in: "Peculiarities of correction of the lower third of the face using thread techniques" 

Contraindications for Aptos Thread Lift with Excellence Visage

Contraindications to the use of medical technology Excellence Visage  aptos threads:

• autoimmune diseases;
• severe somatic diseases;
• blood diseases;
• collagenoses;
• ischemic heart disease;
• arterial hypertension II and III degrees; 
• hemophilia; 
• mental and neurotic disorders;
• inflammatory phenomena and neoplastic diseases in the area of ​​the proposed intervention; 
• the tendency to form keloid and hypertrophic scars;
• blood diseases (hemophilia), taking anticoagulants;
• exacerbation of any chronic disease;
• pregnancy, lactation; 
• previously inserted non-biodegradable injectable implants in the treatment area; 
• individual intolerance to the drugs used.

No preliminary preparation for the procedure is required. It is advisable to stop taking antiplatelet agents and dietary supplements that affect blood clotting about a week before the procedure.

Before the procedure, the patient is introduced to the materials and method, expected results and possible adverse events. After that, the patient signs a voluntary informed consent protocol for the procedure.

Logistics support of medical technology: dermatology and cosmetology room, operating room or treatment room; dermocosmetic chair, operating table or couch.

Of the necessary funds for the procedure, we used: a minimum set of sterile surgical instruments, dressings and medications.

Face and neck lift technology with Aptos threads using the Excellence Visage method

Pre-marking with a marker. We used new modified marking schemes that are already used or have been used to install other methods of Aptos thread lifts and have proven their superiority over the years. The main rules in this case are not to install  Aptos threads in active mimic zones, not to pass through several zones at the same time, to take into account the individual qualities of the skin and the relief of tissues. At the same time, it must be remembered that one injection in the lateral areas of the face is enough to install Excellence Visage threads.

Using Ultracaine 1%, a moderate infiltration anesthesia was performed on the intended lateral entry points of Excellence Visage, and a slight one along the intended lines. On average, 3 1.7 ml carpules were used to anesthetize tissues into which 10 threads of Excellence Visage were supposed to be injected.

A special needle (from the product packaging) was used to pierce the skin at the starting point of the line along which the thread was planned to be inserted.

One package contains 10 straight blunt cannulas 19G, 17 cm long, inside which there are absorbable threads with notches. Through a pre-created injection along the marked lines, a cannula was passed with a thread in the subcutaneous fat, without touching deeper structures or passing too superficially in direct contact with the dermis, trying to go in one layer. Having reached the extreme distal marking point, the cannula was not punctured. Tightened tissues or created volume if necessary. At the same time, the guide cannula was removed from the initial injection point. The thread was pulled up and its end was cut so that the installed thread was finally sunk subcutaneously. All Excellence Visage threads from the package were installed in this way along the lines of the applied marking.

The protocol for post-procedure facial care for the patient was as follows:

• cold on the area of ​​thread installation for 24 hours after the procedure;
• Do not take hot drinks for 2-3 days, do not drink alcohol for more than 2 weeks.

After the procedure, the patient is advised to treat the skin puncture sites with alcohol solutions at home for the next 3 days. During the week, it is recommended to limit the activity of facial expressions, refrain from massage, fitness, visiting the bath, sauna and pool. Thermal procedures at the implantation sites should be abandoned for at least one month. Also, deep massage, physiotherapy and any intradermal manipulations are contraindicated for two months.

If pain persists, it is possible to use analgesics, to accelerate the resorption of hematomas, it is recommended to use drugs and procedures that reduce swelling (Traumeel, Heparin, microcurrent therapy, etc.).

If more than 1 package of Excellence Visage is administered or if immunity is reduced, it is advisable to take antibiotics of the cephalosporin group for 3-4 days.
A return visit to the doctor is planned on the 3rd, 7th and 14th day after the procedure.

How do Aptos threads work in face and neck lift

Aptos Nano threads – these are threads made of absorbable material that do not have fixing elements, but when not installed subcutaneously, they have the form of weaving.

Three weeks after installation, such a thread unwinds, lifting the fabrics above itself. It is much thinner and is intended not for tightening, but for reinforcing the skin. The method is intended mainly for doctors – dermatologists.

Histological studies conducted at the Russian Scientific Center for Surgery named after V.I. B.V. Petrovsky, showed that when installing absorbable braided, curly threads, or threads with notches, the following happens:

1. There is an increase in the number of vessels in the microvasculature compared to areas far from the thread.

2. Vessels of the microvasculature look overfilled with blood, i.e. they have an open lumen. Taking into account that this phenomenon takes place at all periods of observation, we can speak of the phenomenon of persistent hyperemia in the places of implantation of Aptos threads. Presumably, we can talk about improving the trophism of these areas.
3. Fibroblasts of loose connective tissue are in a functionally active state: the volume of nuclei and cytoplasm is increased, chromatin is finely dispersed.
4. When stained with toluidine blue in the loose layer of connective tissue, where the Aptos thread is located, the number of mast cells increases, while by localization mast cells are concentrated in the prevascular spaces of the microvasculature. 
5. mast cells contain hyaluronic acid in their granules – a complex polysaccharide that is found as a structural unit in the papillary dermis, the granular layer of the epidermis, as well as along the vessels and appendages of the skin.
6. It has been proven that a decrease in the amount of hyaluronic acid negatively affects the immune status of the skin, and its injection intradermal improves its structure.

Histological examination of tissues when installing a smooth thread

We also conducted a histological examination of tissues with the introduction of a smooth thread (classic suture material), and this is what it showed:

• smooth thread for a period of 40 days is surrounded by a thin connective tissue capsule;
• there are no elastic fibers in the capsule;
• the difference from the capsule formed during the implantation of the Aptos thread is that it is thinner here and at the same time more mature, i.e. the maturation of the capsule here is faster, obviously due to the less pronounced irritating effect of the smooth thread;
• in the tissue surrounding the smooth thread, there is an increased number of small blood vessels, but hyperemia is much less pronounced, compared with the Aptos thread, as well as the degree of vascularization is less pronounced here;
• when stained for mast cells, their number is less than when Aptos threads are implanted.

Over 16 years of experience with Aptos thread lifts, we have recorded over 1 million procedures. You can see some cases from our practice.

Aptos methods have not escaped critical publications and speeches, which mainly described cases of complications and negative aspects. But among them were also openly hostile and biased, who did not reflect objective reality or exalted the possibilities of their own methods. At the same time, authoritative analytical articles and books appeared that deserved attention and called for further research into thread lifting methods.

Installation of Aptos threads helps to effectively tighten the tissues of the face and neck, providing a pronounced anti-age effect.

Read more interesting articles about thread lifting and other face and neck tissue tightening methods on estet-portal.com.

The list of references is in the editorial office of estet-portal.com.