A Face-Lift Without Surgery?

COURTESY PHOTO

When Rebecca Thering talks about her garden, she’s not just speaking about the area around her Merritt Island home, where she’s growing plants and pretty flowers. She’s also referring to an area by Indian River Lagoon, where she’s growing oysters.

Rebecca is among a host of volunteers in an environmental restoration program sponsored by the Brevard Zoo in which waterfront homeowners are trained to care for oyster gardens in the hope of increasing the lagoon’s native population.

“I’m an oyster mother,” Rebecca proclaims. “We currently have two specially made cages of oyster shells that we’re looking after, and there’s about 30 shells in each cage.

“Our job is to look after the shells and keep them clean by getting all the barnacles and predators off them. We’ll do that every week until early summer. Then, in June, the zoo will call us, and we’ll take everything back to them to use for rebuilding an oyster bed off Eau Gallie. It’s a really neat thing to be doing, and we’re having a lot of fun with it.”

Like those oysters in the lagoon, Rebecca has often felt the need for her own tender loving care. The past few years, she’s received that attention from the staff at Island Family Health, the practice of Nikolaos Kanellopoulos, MD.

Dr. Kanellopoulos offers a concierge medicine model in which he provides primary care, family medicine and medical aesthetic services such as supervised weight loss, body contouring and skin rejuvenation.

Until recently, Rebecca mostly sought treatments featuring the PicoSure® Pro, a laser designed to safely clear all skin types of sun damage, melasma, hyperpigmentation, wrinkles, acne scars and even tattoos.

“I was doing the PicoSure Pro treatments for the brown age spots I had on my skin, for some acne scars I had, and because it also helps with fine lines and wrinkles,” Rebecca shares. “And that worked great. I really loved the results I got from that.

“But one day, as I was going through a procedure, I asked Dr. K if there was something other than an actual face-lift that I could do to kind of turn back the hands of time a little bit, something that could do a little magic.

“The problem was that I was getting some thinning in my cheeks. They were dropping, but I didn’t want to do anything that wasn’t going to leave me looking like me, and I didn’t want to do fillers. That’s when Dr. K told me about PDO thread lifts.”

Thread in Time

For those seeking a more youthful look without going under the knife, PDO thread treatments have emerged as a leading-edge solution. These threads provide a nonsurgical method to lift and rejuvenate the face, offering a refreshed appearance without the need for invasive procedures and extended recovery periods.

PDO threads are essentially absorbable sutures crafted from a biocompatible material known as polydioxanone. Widely used in surgeries due to its safety, this material forms the basis of threads that are strategically placed in the skin to create a supportive framework. Beyond just lifting sagging facial tissues, PDO threads stand out for their ability to stimulate production of collagen, a key protein responsible for skin elasticity.

What makes PDO thread treatments so appealing is their versatility in addressing multiple facial areas. From lifting sagging eyebrows to defining the jawline and reducing nasolabial folds and marionette lines, these threads prove effective. They also work wonders on loose neck skin, enhancing overall facial contours.

The procedure is quick and minimally invasive, which is part of what makes it an attractive choice for anyone seeking a youthful transformation without surgery. It begins with a medical professional assessing the patient’s needs and administering a small amount of local anesthesia (similar to lidocaine) to ensure comfort.

A thin blunt needle called a cannula is then used to strategically insert the PDO threads beneath the skin, where they provide lift and support to targeted areas. The cannula is then removed, leaving the PDO threads securely in place.

The true magic of PDO threads lies not only in their immediate lifting effect, but also in their long-term benefits.

As the threads gradually dissolve, they stimulate collagen production in the treated areas, which leads to improved skin texture and firmness over time.

After the procedure, patients may experience mild swelling or bruising that typically resolves within a few days. With minimal recovery time, individuals can swiftly return to their daily routines.

Looking Good

Rebecca first learned of PDO threads while receiving another facial treatment last summer. She lauds Dr. Kanellopoulos for the job he did explaining the treatment.

“Dr. K explained how the threads are inserted and how they pull and dissolve, and he even showed me the threads,” Rebecca remembers. “I was surprised at how small they were, but even after all that, I was still a bit skeptical about having the procedure.

“So, I went home and read everything I could about them and finally decided, Yeah, I’m going to do this. And I’m glad I did. It was a quick procedure, virtually painless, and the results are immediate. As soon as he was done, I could already tell a difference.

“I didn’t look different, but my skin instantly looked more lifted, and everything looked more defined and refreshed. I think the best way to explain it is to say that it left me looking more youthful, which was exactly what I wanted.”

Rebecca’s PDO thread lift was done in October. The next day, she hosted a birthday party, and she notes that while several attendees complemented her on her refreshed look, there was nothing to suggest she’d been treated hours earlier.

“My skin just looked plumper and fuller and healthier, but there was no bruising or anything like that, so unless I told them that I’d just had the thread treatment, no one could tell that I’d had something done to my face,” she says.

Rebecca says that by year’s end, the threads had left her looking several years younger, and she’s excited that the treatment could last 12 to 18 months.

“That’s because the threads help the body build more collagen, and that’s what keeps the wrinkles from getting deeper,” she says. “I was starting to get some of those around my mouth, but now I have that more youthful look, and it just keeps improving.

“And the best part is, I look very natural. It’s not like someone looks at you and says, Oh, you look like you did something. They’re like, What are you doing that makes you look youthful? You look so healthy.

“So, I could not be happier with the results. I really couldn’t. I’ve even had strangers say to me, Your skin looks so good, so I would absolutely recommend the PDO thread treatment to others, and I absolutely recommend Dr. K and Island Family Health, too. They’re just great.”