What is HAPPY LIFTT made of?

The thread is made of Polylattide & Caprolactone, or the same components that, for more than 50 years, have been used in all dissolvable sutures devised for sewing wounded blood vessels. However, ours have been processed so as to stay longer in the human tissue. The little bi-directional cogs are constituent parts of HAPPY LIFTT. In fact, when the threads are inserted under the skin, the cogs become a supporting structure for soft tissues as they allow their stable and lasting repositioning.


What's the shape of HAPPY LIFTT threads?

HAPPY LIFTT threads are dissolvable monofilament threads. These threads are modified as to resemble a fishbone with very small (almost invisible) and duly directed swells. When threads are inserted under the skin the cogs cling to the facial soft tissues, thus becoming a supporting structure, somehow preventing or delaying the facial skin aging.

Does HAPPY LIFTT threads act as a "foreign body" in the skin?

Yes, they do. In fact, the very presence of this "foreign body" in the skin produces fibrosis, which is necessary to create a supporting scaffold for the soft tissues. The same thing happens in traditional lifting too but in that case the technique is much more complicated and the post-operative recovery takes longer: about 25 days or even more if there are complications.

Can HAPPY LIFTT Revitalizing be considered a safe procedure?

Yes! It is generally considered the safest lifting procedure.


Is General Anesthesia required?

No, only local or truncular anesthesias are required

Does the operation change the patient's facial features?

It is the traditional lifting that usually does induce the typical "Lifting Face". HAPPY LIFTT Revitalizing, instead, rejuvenates the patient's face without changing his/her natural features. Facial soft tissues are just repositioned to their original location, where they used to be before gravity, mastication, mimic and aging dislocated them in a different anatomical place. If the patients ever ask: "What will I be like after the operation?" The answer will be: "Get back to the pictures of yourself some years ago: you will be like that again thanks to HAPPY LIFTT".


Is it always performed in an operating theatre?

No, it is not compulsory. You can perform the operation in theatres equipped for easy operations, medical outpatients' departments or in day surgeries centers.

How is the thread inserted?

The thread is inserted into the skin (hypodermis) by means of a 21 GG thin needle.


How long does the operation take?

Approximately 10-15 minutes for small areas, 30-40 minutes for the whole face: this is true for qualified experts and doctors already used to the surgical technique.

Does the procedure leave visible scars on skin?

No scars or traces of operation are left on face.


How long does the HAPPY LIFTT effect last?

2 to 3 years, also depending on some factors: age at the first operation; lifestyle; food; smoking; sleeping; genetic patrimony (genotype) inherited from the parents; entity of oxidative stress; etc.

How long does the patient have to stay at home to recover after the procedure?

The patient is not made to stay at home: it's a matter of personal choice. But it is very important, during the first days, neither to stress the operated facial areas nor to exercise pressure on the treated zones.
It is advisable to sleep on two or three pillows for 3 or 4 days to raise shoulders. A neck pillow can also be used. Face cleaning, during these days, has to be practiced in an extremely soft way; creams have to be applied in a very gentle way, almost grazing the skin; make up has to be put on gently After 15-20 days you can gradually get back to your usual habits.
After this period, you can resume a moderate sport activity; while a more intense activity can be resumed 35-40 days later.


Are there any side effects with the HAPPY LIFTT?

Collateral effects are very rare and slight: light bruises disappearing in1 or 2 days at the most (which is the normal absorption period for small contusions or bruises).If the patient has done the preventive therapies based on Arnica plus, vitamin K, before and after the operation, the small hematoma resolution period is reduced to 60%. Rarest cases of small infections, located all around the small areas of the thread extremities, often appear when the patient has not practiced the medical therapy prescribed by the surgeon.

Is there any therapy to be practiced before the intervention?

Yes, there is. Endermologie or infiltrative therapies with CO2 or O2, or O3 reduce the risk of hematomas (caused by operation).Patients using anti-coagulants are recommended to stop using them at least ten days before the operation. If they can't, they are required to inform their surgeon before the operation. Patients suffering from vessel embrittlement, have to do the preventive therapies that their surgeon will prescribe them in order to reduce the risk of post-operation small haematomas. However, this is just a precautionary therapy. Ultrasounds can help reduce post-operation swelling and edema, but this procedure has to be carried out as delicately as possible, grazing the face skin and by interposing an anti-algic gel.


Can a patient undergo another HAPPY LIFTT operation after the first one? Can other threads be implanted in other areas of face?

Other facial areas can be operated two months after the first operation. More threads can be even implanted into the very same areas to better underline the first result or eventually correct asymmetries (differences between right and left parts of the face).Asymmetries usually appear on patients undergoing traditional lifting. "Theoretically" speaking there is no limit to the number of threads which can be implanted, especially with HAPPY LIFTT dissolvable threads.

How long do patients have to wait before undergoing another HAPPY LIFTT procedure?

Approximately between 6 and 8 weeks

Can this procedure be combined with other ones?

Yes, it can be combined to both Aesthetic Medicine and Plastic Surgery techniques such as: facial auto lipo lifting (transplantation of one's fat to other areas of face when there is remarkable loss of cutaneous thickness due to ageing), laser resurfacing, photo rejuvenation, etc. The threads can also be implanted in an open-sky setting: while doing other traditional surgical lifting or blepharoplasty on the malar area.


Who is the best candidate for this operation?

The best candidate is the patient responding to these requirements:
Aged between 17 and 77, for specific indications of plastic surgery
Aged between 30 and 45 and, sometimes also between 45 - 55, for indications of aesthetic surgery

Is there any further indication about this operation?

This operation is good for:

• Face soft tissues; Neck ptosis featured by sagging tissues; Early ageing due, among other things, to sun exposure
• Badly defined facial contours: Amorphous, Flat and Flabby face
• Treating all facial paresis deriving from facial nerve lesions

How does HAPPY LIFTT Revitalizing differ from the traditional lifting? Is it difficult to perform?

The technique is fast and easy to perform for an expert surgeon. Local anesthesia is required, with or without slight sedation. During the threads implant, the patient is awake. HAPPY LIFTT Threads are inserted into the subcutaneous fat by means of a thin cannula needle: it is important to insert them at the correct depth. Besides, it is important to follow the paths which the doctor has previously marked along the supporting lines of the skin by means of a marker.

Which are the areas of the face undergoing the procedure?

• Eyebrow lifting: Middle, Central, Lateral, Combined and Universal.
• Malar lifting;
• Jaw lifting; Neck lifting;
• Temporal lifting;
• Forehead and temporal endoscopic lifting;
• Bichat's Fat Pad lifting;
• Endoscopic lifting of the mid-face;
• All congenital, traumatic and iatrogenic paresis of facial nerves as well as face or sectorial paresis