Imagine a face lift without the invasiveness of surgery and almost no down time. Imagine taking ten years off your face for less than $2000. Too good to be true? Well, maybe a little.
The Contour Thread Lift was brand-spanking new when I heard about it and I rushed in to talk to my cosmetic surgeon Dr. Stephen Bayne about the procedure. I was excited! I saw “before and after” photos online. I read the brochures promising miraculous results. I watched a woman appear on the Today Show, looking great, the very next morning after her Thread Lift. I have never really considered a face lift – too much time, too much money, and way too much cutting. This new procedure was definitely for me.
Dr. Bayne attempted to put a damper on my enthusiasm. “It’s not quite that easy,” he warned. “I wouldn’t plan anything for at least two weeks after the procedure.” TWO WEEKS?? I was convinced he was just exercising doctor-ly caution. If I saw it on the Today Show it must be true. I scheduled the procedure just two weeks prior to a speaking engagement in Florida.
Dr. Bayne drew 12 lines on my face where the threads would be inserted with a very long needle and pulled back with my saggy skin attached. The anesthesiologist started a drip that he promised would make me feel a little drunk. So, I would get to be drunk for an hour and walk out looking like a youngster again – not bad.
The procedure was being videotaped for broadcast on the Well Past 50 TV series – my husband is the director. When Dr. Bayne started cutting small slits along my hairline and inserting the six inch needles, my husband left the room. Less invasive didn’t mean “not gross”.
The procedure took about an hour and was followed by a Blue Peel to help tighten the skin even more. So instead of walking out of the office looking ten years younger, I walked out looking like a Smurf who had been rolled by a street gang. I was quite swollen, bruised and bright blue.
Since the blue skin would take several days to peel away, I didn’t know how bad I looked underneath. When the layers of blue skin were finally gone, the bruises and lumpiness were suddenly very obvious. Makeup made the bruises even more noticeable. Certain facial expressions created deep furrows in my cheeks and smiling made lumps pop out on my cheeks. I was certain I had made a huge mistake.
When I went to Dr. Bayne for my follow-up visit he assured me that the bruising and swelling that looked like “lumpiness” would go away. “People heal differently,” he explained. “You can’t ever promise someone how quickly their bruises will disappear – bruises are not created equal.”
By this time I had been forced to speak to an audience of over 100 people, entertain my entire family at a reunion in my home, and have multiple meetings with client groups – all with a face that looked like I had been battered. I was convinced I would look like this forever, and I was getting depressed.
After nearly three months Dr. Bayne suggested I see a physical therapist for facial massage and Ultra Sound treatments, even though many people told me the bruises were hardly noticeable. I went for my first appointment and was embarrassed when the physical therapist couldn’t see the bruises and lumpiness I had described on the phone. I had to admit, they seemed to have disappeared overnight. My face looked almost completely smooth and bruise-free.
It has been 6 months since the procedure and there are no remnants of the battering my face took. The naso-labial folds are greatly diminished, my neck is considerably tighter and the jowls are gone. The results are not miraculous, but pretty good. I have been told I look several years younger, and I am wearing v-neck sweaters with more confidence. The procedure cost $1600, but that varies from market to market. Although the brochure promised longer results, Dr. Bayne tells me I should expect about three years before gravity once again drags my skin into its natural state.
I would have been much more satisfied with the procedure is the propaganda had not over-promised. My doctor did a wonderful job with the procedure. It’s just too bad I didn’t listen to him when he tried to warn me that I shouldn’t believe everything I hear.
View the first video of my Contour Thread Lift experience >> Download 04_threadpt1ipod_lo.mp4
