Watch your face. Watch the faces of your friends and relatives. Look at old photos and old home videos. Bit by bit, year by year.....things sag.

Until very recently, nothing could be done about this aside from surgery. The question everyone faced was: do you "get done"? When do you "get done"? Should the face lift be done at age 40? 50? 60? If it is done too early, will it last? Can it be done again? If it is better put off to the last minute, what is to be done in the meantime? 

A face lift was in one respect similar to a big European holiday, it was a "trip of a lifetime". Only a few decades ago, a big European holiday was considered the crowning experience of a working man's life. 
Today, instead of a "trip of a lifetime" we can often enjoy a "lifetime of trips". Travel is so much more affordable that many can manage to go here this year, there the year after. 

And today, cosmetic work has also changed. Affordable, non-invasive therapies have transformed the discipline from thinking about a "treatment of a lifetime" to a "lifetime of treatments".

Aptos threads are a prime example. Aptos thread treatments were the first to attempt to fill the void between on one hand the lasers, injections and skin treatments of the physician and the scalpel work of the surgeon. Aptos threads were the first to offer a gentle lifting of the sagging face, appropriate for the younger patient who does not need and does not want a surgical lift and yet who needs something to maintain facial structures in a youthful position until a surgical lift becomes eventually warranted. Not a "treatment of a lifetime" but part of a "lifetime of treatments".

What are Aptos threads?

These are short, 15cm lengths of 2/0 polypropylene monofilament suture material with bidirectional suspensory cogs. But in plain English, the threads look like short bits of fishing line, probably 20lb, along which someone has cut little notches. 
We insert these under the skin so that they work like little suspension bridges; attaching, with the little cogs, to some firm skin at either end of the thread, so that the skin and subcutaneous tissue in the middle of the thread can be held higher.
Typically three are placed under each cheek to give these an even lift.

What would I feel? What happens when the threads are put in?

Firstly, Aptos threads are very straightforward to do under local anaesthetic. No need for a hospital visit, no formal operating theatre, no anaesthetist. You are awake for the whole thing as you might be at the dentist's (although if this causes anyone any anxiety, we can offer some medication to induce some relaxation, and we have laughing gas on hand if necessary.)
We like our patients to have some anaesthetic cream applied to the skin an hour prior to treatment time. This numbs the skin enough for the later anaesthetic injections to be pretty much painless.  Because the anaesthetic cream is thick and white, and needs to be covered with GladWrap, you would want to have this applied here in the practice and not at home.
We then photograph the area we want to treat, and then use a special marker to mark out exactly where we want the Aptos threads to go, then we apply some antiseptic solution and then we inject the local anaesthetic to ensure the actual treatment remains painless.

A special needle is used to help with the Aptos thread insertion. As this needle is being inserted, the skin through which the needle is passing is held elevated. The Aptos thread is placed inside the hollow needle, and the needle removed around the thread. 
The elevation force on the skin is then released. Because the thread has those little cogs on it, the cogs catch on to connective tissue fibres under the skin, thus preventing loss of the elevating effect that had been applied during thread insertion. The skin thus stays up!

During this time you might be aware of pushing and pulling on the skin, but there is no pain. 

What happens then?

The exposed free ends of the threads are then snipped off, so that the new, shorter thread end gets buried under the skin. Antisepsis is applied and a dressing. The treatment is over. 

You'll be given a script for medication to cover any pain you might experience later. Most people want nothing stronger than Panadol or something similar.

Follow up?

We'd like to see you a couple of days later, then a week later, just to ensure you are happy and that all proceeds smoothly. You might see some bruising develop at the treatment site. This persists only a few days. 
We would also encourage you to try to avoid excessive moving of the treatment area. The barbed threads are fine and strong, but the elevation they give you can be undone in the early stages if fail to keep your face relatively still, and if you allow excessive rubbing or other forces to disturb the threads. 

We'd like to take follow-up photos to record the facial elevation you achieve.

And the future?

The threads stay under your skin, giving your face support, forever. The material from which the threads are made does not break down with time. Of course, the threads cannot by themselves halt the progress of time, and your face will continue to age, but you will always look that bit better thanks to your threads.

Do any future problems occur?

Late side-effects are unusual, but easy to manage. Sometimes the end of a thread might become palpable or might nudge through the skin; a bit of local anaesthetic and the thread can be easily shortened again. Sometimes the thread may appear to be tethered to the skin; massage or subcision under local anaesthetic will fix this.
At worst, the thread can always be removed, and you'd be no worse off than you were prior to the thread's insertion.

Bookings?

Book an initial consultation by phoning 9368 0100, and we'll determine whether Aptos threads are for you. Treatments can usually proceed a week or two after your consultation.