Also, if you are considering losing weight you may want to wait until after your desired weight is met.  You may need additional lifting or skin removal surgery to alleviate excess skin after you have lost the desired weight which would mean that the money spent on the procedure may be wasted.

What To Expect At Your Consultation
After deciding on a few doctors, you will make appointments for pre-operative consultations.  These appointments are basically interviews to help you decide which doctor you wish to have your procedure with.  At your consultations you should discuss your expectations, desires and complaints that you may have.  Make sure you give your doctor full medical disclosure.  This is very important, if you do not alert your doctor to your specific medical history you may have problems which arise at very critical times.  Or may experience complications due to decisions made on the information (or lack thereof) your doctor was given.

*Please disclose all medications you are presently taking and have taken within the last 6 to 9 months,  This can be very important.  Do not be embarrassed as your health can depend upon these factors.  This includes vitamins, supplements and over the counter medications.

The doctor should discuss in detail the procedure and its risks and complications and what to expect during the procedure. You will also discuss the available anesthesia that will be used for your procedure.  Most feather Lift procedures are performed under regional or local anesthesia with the addition of an oral sedative.  However, increasingly, doctors are using twilight sedation with local anesthesia.  

You will discuss what areas will be treated such as the brow lift, the cheek or jowl lift or even the neck lift.  Not everyone will need all of these.  A full set consists of 18 APTOS threads.  A full face lift requires all 18 although not everyone may need a full lifting procedure.  The threads required per area would be 2 for each brow, 3 for each cheek, 2 for each jaw line and 2 for each side of the neck -- equaling 18 threads.

You will discuss treatment protocol and discuss what to expect immediately post-op and over the following few days after treatment.  You should also discuss the procedure fees and pre-op/post-op medications, and topical creams, if necessary.  Your doctor may take before photos of the area to be treated, but usually this is reserved for the day of the procedure. 

Your Pre-operative Appointment 
You may or may not have a pre-operative appointment for the Feather Lift.  Often you will book the same day as your consultation, should you decide on that particular doctor and then be given a date after partial or full payment.  You may either receive your info packet, medications and/or instructions at your pr-operative appointment or at your consultation once you pay.  All offices are different so please discuss this at your consultation should you decide to book.

You will be told how to care for yourself and what to expect after your procedure.  Your doctor should tell you to avoid certain medications which may increase your chances of bleeding, bruising, or even a negative reaction with certain anesthetics and medications.  If you are not told well in advance of any of the above before your procedure, please ask your doctor for specifics. 

Vitamin C is considered helpful in collagen synthesis and health by some doctors so please ask your doctor if you may take this vitamin and what dosage.  Some doctors suggest that their patients take Arnica Montana or Bromelain to help with bruising and swelling.  However, it is very important to ask of your own doctor's approval before consuming any of the above.

Make arrangements for someone to drive you to and from your procedure.  The medications and experience will make you drowsy and dizzy, thereby being very dangerous for you to drive.  You more than likely may not be able to drive yourself home after your procedure.  

As far as directly before your treatment, you may be given an oral sedative an hour in advance or be asked to take it before you arrive.  

How Feather Lift (APTOS Thread Lift) Is Performed  
The face is swabbed and scrubbed usually a Betadine solution to decrease the amount of surface bacteria to help avoid infection.   After you are dried your face is carefully felt and measured and will be marked for the placement of the threads.  If the marker used is single use there is usually no need for a re-washing of your face.  If not or just to be doubly careful, the face may be wiped again, leaving a faint but definitive lines are on your face as a guide for your doctor.

Your doctor then begins to infiltrate the area using a hypodermic needle with a local anesthetic mixture comprised usually of Lidocaine, epinephrine, normal saline and a sodium carbonate buffer.  This ensures that you will not feel any pain and also the epinephrine decreases the amount of blood loss and anesthetic absorbed during the procedure.  The epinephrine does this by temporarily narrowing the bore (vasoconstriction) of the blood vessel.

After you are adequately anesthetized, your surgeon inserts a hollow trocar (a stainless tube with a needle-sharp end) at the specified entry points and through the subcutaneous fat along a specified plane.  The tissue is dissected along this plane as needed based upon the individual patient.  The exit point is then made and the APTOS thread is then inserted into the trocar.  The thread is pulled through the other side of the trocar and the trocar removed, with the thread staying in place.  The thread is positioned, tugging and testing its placement and finally anchored when the needed placement is achieved, the threads are cut just at the skin and inserted under the surface of the skin.

Each area is treated and the treatment areas normally taped to prevent movement in the first few days.  Excessive movement can dislodge the intended placement of the threads, altering the desired result.

Remember that all doctors have different surgical protocols so please discuss with your surgeon his or her surgical technique as but may very well be different than the above.

The Road To Recovery 
Although not as invasive as other lifting procedures, this procedure will cause swelling and possibly bruising. The area will be sore, and puffy and possibly discolored from the minor intraoperative bleeding (aka a bruise).  You are told not to make exaggerated facial expressions, massage the face, rub the face in anyway, not the sleep on the face or disturb the face if at all possible.  Any of the above can, again, disrupt the placement of the threads.

You can resume normal activities (light walking, sitting up, watching television, computer, etc.) within the hour and are told to take it easy during the first few days.  This means no exercise, no sexual activities, no excessive talking or exaggerated facial movements, again no facial massage, no shaving of your face, scrubbing, rubbing, chemical peels, harsh cleansers, or facial sleeping for 5 days.

In The Months Ahead 
There is often immediate results however, the results continue to improve over a 3 to 6 months period.  This improvement is due to the collagen synthesis and lifting/bunching effect.  

There are individuals where the lift may not have taken effect at all.  Please discuss your options beforehand with your doctor in the event this may occur (or not occur for that matter).

Risks & Complications Of Feather Lift (APTOS Thread Lift) 
Risks include an allergic reaction to the anesthetic, hematoma, seroma, infection, palpability pf the APTOS threads resulting in a telltale line.  Sometimes a thread end my poke through the skin, if this should happen contact your doctor immediately for an in-office visit.  Do not attempt to re-insert the thread yourself, at any time.  This may possibly result in an infection.

Dislodging of the thread may occur resulting in a lopsided or crooked result (asymmetry). Please contact your surgeon as soon as possible for an in office visit. Please discuss your options beforehand with your doctor in the event this may occur (or not occur for that matter).