A modest lift, without surgery

PDO threads are dissolvable polydioxanone sutures placed under the skin with a cannula or needle. Barbed (cog) threads grip tissue and hold it slightly higher, which is the “lift.” Smooth and twist threads sit in a mesh to stimulate collagen without lifting. All dissolve over months and leave a collagen track behind. They’re FDA-cleared as sutures, not for any named lift.

It depends on how many threads, which type (barbed lifting threads cost more than smooth ones), how many areas, and whether filler or Botox is added in the same visit. A jawline alone is a smaller plan than jawline plus midface plus neck. Every treatment starts with a consultation and a written plan, so you’ll know before you commit.

We’ll set the number at your consult, in the mirror, based on how far the tissue has dropped, the length of the jawline, and your skin thickness. More threads don’t mean more lift past a point, because heavy tissue pulls barbs loose. Both sides are usually done in the same visit so the jawline matches.

Yes, modestly and for a while. A 2025 systematic review of 12 studies found scores improved in all cases right after the procedure, with mild complications, but said long-term data are lacking. A 2021 meta-analysis found satisfaction fell from 98 percent immediately to 88 percent later. You can expect a subtle lift that holds for months to about a year, plus firmer skin that lasts longer.

Serious problems are rare. Across 26 studies the pooled rates were swelling 35 percent, dimpling 10 percent, numbness or odd sensation 6 percent, a visible or feelable thread 4 percent, infection 2 percent, and thread extrusion 2 percent. Older patients had more dimpling and infection. Nerve or salivary duct injury is rare. Threads can leave scarring that complicates a later facelift, so please mention any surgical plans at your consult.

A PDO thread lift places barbed dissolvable sutures under the skin of the cheeks, jawline, or neck to hold sagging tissue a little higher and build collagen along each thread. It takes 45 to 90 minutes under local anesthetic, with no sedation. The lift shows on the day, settles by two weeks, and the collagen effect peaks at two to three months. It’s the treatment marketed as a “non-surgical facelift,” though the result is much smaller than a facelift’s.

A facelift repositions tissue and removes excess skin, lasts years, and takes weeks of recovery. A thread lift moves tissue a little, lasts months to about a year, and has a week of swelling. If you have early jowls and like a subtle change, threads are a good fit. For heavy jowls or a neck that hangs, a surgeon is the better choice. We don’t perform facelifts.

Threads move tissue. Filler replaces volume. If a flattened cheek is making the fold below it look like a jowl, cheek filler may fix it with nothing under the jaw. If the tissue has actually slid, a thread puts it back and filler would just add bulk. Many people get both, and a small 11-patient study measured contour changes from the pair at 24 months.

Expect to feel sore and tight for a few days, with mild swelling and bruising for up to a week and small marks at the entry points. Puckering along a thread is normal in week one and should resolve within it. Most people are back at a desk the next day. For the first week, sleep on your back, skip gum and hard foods, and avoid big expressions. For two to four weeks, it’s best to avoid facials and face massage.

Yes. Threads have no sun restriction, so the season doesn’t matter. What matters is the week after: swelling and bruising for up to seven days, no wide mouth opening, no photos you care about. We suggest booking a week without major events rather than the week before a wedding or other occasion.

The threads dissolve on their own in about six months and the lift goes with them, so time takes care of it. What we can’t undo in the meantime is where they were placed, which is why we keep a first set deliberately conservative.