Safety and complications of absorbable threads made of poly-L-lactic acid and poly lactide/glycolide: Experience with 148 consecutive patients.

BACKGROUND

Thread lifting is a minimally invasive procedure for lifting and repositioning tissues. Few articles with absorbable sutures exist in the literature. Furthermore there is no study focusing on complications of absorbable sutures.

OBJECTIVE

To describe complications of thread lifting using a totally absorbable suture composed of poly-L-lactic acid affixed with poly lactide/glycolide cones.

METHODS

Data regarding complications were analyzed retrospectively for 148 patients underwent thread lifting between June 2014 and February 2017.

RESULTS

A total of 321 pairs of sutures used in the 148 patients studied. Overall 40 (27%) patients had complications regarded as minimal or moderate without permanent sequela. The most common complication was skin dimpling and irregularity (n = 17, 11.4%) followed by ecchymosis (n = 12, 8.1%), suture extrusion (n = 4, 2.7%), and pain (n = 4, 2.7%) Except one patient, dimpling, and irregularity resolved in all patients after 3-7 days spontaneously. Suture migration was observed in 2 (1.35%) patients. Hematoma and infection were seen in 2 patients one for each.

CONCLUSIONS

The procedure using sutures made of absorbable poly-L-lactic acid and poly lactide/glycolide is a relatively safe procedure without major complications.