Seamless facelift with aptos thread: the Belo Medical Group experience

With aging, the face loses volume and contour in all dimensions. The classic methods of face lifting would normally leave unsightly scars especially on Asian skin. Aptos threads are made of polypropelene sutures with dents or cogs. These were used by Sulamanidze (Russia) in restoring normal contours of the face and had excellent results without any visible scars. From Nov 2002-Nov 2003, 257 patients with age range 28 to 73 years were treated with this procedure. For the purpose of this study, we used threads with convergent cogs in order to fix tissues in their required position. Threads were inserted through the skin using a spinal needle. Most areas done were the cheeks and jowls. The procedure is easy and quick to perform with minimal damage to tissues. Outcome is seen as early as on the operating table. Rehabilitation time is as short as 5–7 days. The use of APTOS threads in successfully treating facial ptosis in 257 patients of The Belo Medical Group was a simple, conservative and time-saving procedure that left no visible scars even on Asian skin. Our experience proved that this technique may be an alternative to the classic methods of lifting and contour plasty.