As very thin needles and threads are used, post-treatment swelling and downtime was minimal. As this new technique provided natural outcome and low risk, it was often introduced in the media and patients started to be interested. Some aesthetic magazines nicknamed the short thread lift “shopping thread” meaning you can go shopping in Myongdong or Itaewon immediately after receiving it. While the nickname emphasized the fact the procedure had little downtime, it also caused confusion among patients. However, short thread lift did become rapidly popular thanks to its exposure in mass media.

I was interested in Ultra V Lift developed by Dr. H. Kwon of Korea and visited his practice in Seoul to learn more about it. Around the same time, several Korean doctors also trained Japanese doctors on this procedure. As Ultra V Lift became rapidly popular, more Japanese doctors learned its techniques and the number of practices offering this procedure quickly rose in Japan.

 

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Threads not produced in Japanese are unlikely to be approved by The Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare of Japan. Therefore, doctors performing Ultra V Lift had to personally import the thread. PDO thread has already been approved as a suture material in Japan and was used in PDS-Ⅱ, a product that has been used in buried sutures in plastic surgery for a long time. Since there was little skepticism among Japanese doctors about the safety of the thread, Ultra V Lift could be quickly popular in Japan.

On the other hand, the outcome varied greatly across patients and patients already had high expectations due to overly aggressive advertising in the media which were difficult to live up to. The popularity of short thread lift was only temporary and the number of procedures performed quickly fell.

The catchy nickname of “shopping thread” gave the impression that the procedure had no downtime. Japanese patients are particularly averse to subcutaneous bleeding. Needle injection cannot avoid subcutaneous bleeding, however, advertisements did not mention this drawback. This caused a big gap between patients’ expectations and what the doctor explained about downtime. Moreover, advertisements also exaggerated the effect of the procedure. That is why it was difficult to objectively assess the outcome of the treatment.

Many Japanese doctors including myself prefer this procedure. And we have developed different insertion methods and other slight digressions from the original method to enhance patient satisfaction. Ultra V Lift may have the impression of a fad but I believe it will continue to be performed by many aesthetic clinicians.

The short thread lift pulls up sagging facial tissues from below the cheek. Threads also stimulate collagenesis to enhance the lifting effect. However, skepticism remains regarding whether subcutaneous insertion of multiple strands of thread can in fact lift the mid face area.

That skepticism can be resolved by explaining age-related structural changes of the face. The superficial fat compartment is divided and supported by retaining ligaments. These ligaments loosen with age, causing the fat layers to sag. On the other hand, deep tissues tend to resist the pull of gravity better. That is, the surface layer droops more than deeper layers. Correcting superficial fat layers and leaving out the loosened ligaments will not result in overall improvement.

Therefore, a three-dimensional approach may bring better results. With age, deep cheek fat pads and superficial fat tissues go out of alignment. This is why the superficial fat tissues need to be lifted and anchored onto deeper tissues.

As very thin needles and threads are used, post-treatment swelling and downtime was minimal. As this new technique provided natural outcome and low risk, it was often introduced in the media and patients started to be interested. Some aesthetic magazines nicknamed the short thread lift “shopping thread” meaning you can go shopping in Myongdong or Itaewon immediately after receiving it. While the nickname emphasized the fact the procedure had little downtime, it also caused confusion among patients. However, short thread lift did become rapidly popular thanks to its exposure in mass media.

I was interested in Ultra V Lift developed by Dr. H. Kwon of Korea and visited his practice in Seoul to learn more about it. Around the same time, several Korean doctors also trained Japanese doctors on this procedure. As Ultra V Lift became rapidly popular, more Japanese doctors learned its techniques and the number of practices offering this procedure quickly rose in Japan.

Threads not produced in Japanese are unlikely to be approved by The Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare of Japan. Therefore, doctors performing Ultra V Lift had to personally import the thread. PDO thread has already been approved as a suture material in Japan and was used in PDS-Ⅱ, a product that has been used in buried sutures in plastic surgery for a long time. Since there was little skepticism among Japanese doctors about the safety of the thread, Ultra V Lift could be quickly popular in Japan.

On the other hand, the outcome varied greatly across patients and patients already had high expectations due to overly aggressive advertising in the media which were difficult to live up to. The popularity of short thread lift was only temporary and the number of procedures performed quickly fell.

The catchy nickname of “shopping thread” gave the impression that the procedure had no downtime. Japanese patients are particularly averse to subcutaneous bleeding. Needle injection cannot avoid subcutaneous bleeding, however, advertisements did not mention this drawback. This caused a big gap between patients’ expectations and what the doctor explained about downtime. Moreover, advertisements also exaggerated the effect of the procedure. That is why it was difficult to objectively assess the outcome of the treatment.

Many Japanese doctors including myself prefer this procedure. And we have developed different insertion methods and other slight digressions from the original method to enhance patient satisfaction. Ultra V Lift may have the impression of a fad but I believe it will continue to be performed by many aesthetic clinicians.

The short thread lift pulls up sagging facial tissues from below the cheek. Threads also stimulate collagenesis to enhance the lifting effect. However, skepticism remains regarding whether subcutaneous insertion of multiple strands of thread can in fact lift the mid face area.

That skepticism can be resolved by explaining age-related structural changes of the face. The superficial fat compartment is divided and supported by retaining ligaments. These ligaments loosen with age, causing the fat layers to sag. On the other hand, deep tissues tend to resist the pull of gravity better. That is, the surface layer droops more than deeper layers. Correcting superficial fat layers and leaving out the loosened ligaments will not result in overall improvement.

Therefore, a three-dimensional approach may bring better results. With age, deep cheek fat pads and superficial fat tissues go out of alignment. This is why the superficial fat tissues need to be lifted and anchored onto deeper tissues.

 

-To be continued-