SEONGNAM, South Korea--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Medi Futures, a leader of biomedical devices using ultrasound technology, announces a new generation of Polydioxanone (PDO) Lifting threads made via ultrasonic vibration.
The desire for a youthful looking face and body has long been a main topic of concern, for both men and women, regardless of age, geography or culture. As technology continues to develop over the years, there have been many spiraling tides of procedure trends that have come and gone out of fashion. Depending on one’s risk appetite, de facto state of their looks and perhaps the robustness of their bank accounts, you have on one end, those that opt only for skin care products and personal beauty appliances, and on the other, full-on surgical facial and body lifts. Then you have the remaining vast majority of those who are rather lost in the sea of contradicting information on whether certain procedures work vs. do not work, whether they’re worth the money vs. not, etc. depending on each doctor’s professional values, personal preferences, and medical priorities.
The unmet need is growing for everyone in the center of the bell curve: those who want to cancel out the signs of aging on their face and body, but in a non-invasive and safe way, while guaranteeing a satisfactory result over a longer period than the usual 4-5 months. The answer is the latest and hottest technology emerging on the PDO Lifting Thread sphere, fresh from the cosmetic surgery mecca of South Korea. It is the “6th generation” PDO Lifting Thread made via ultrasonic vibration, which: 1) has unprecedented tensile force and anchoring strength; 2) allows for a great deal of flexibility in barb designs at fraction of the cost, hence allowing greater latitude to doctors that want to get creative with various designs to best address their patients’ needs and their own procedural preferences.
*Disclaimer: Although these Ultrasonic PDO Lifting Threads are CE and KFDA approved and are being used in approximately 300 clinics throughout Europe and Asia, U.S. FDA clearance is to be completed by 4Q 2021.
Among various lifting thread materials in the market, PDO is the most commonly used and preferred due to its affordability. However, the downside of this material is that the lifting results are mostly short-lived, usually up to only 4-5 months on average. This is no longer duration than a typical BOTOX injection---granted, thread lifts do provide a more substantial lifting effect, e.g. aging midface, jowls, sagging neck/double chin compared to the fine line/prominent muscle alleviation of BOTOX---which many point out to call into question the justification of the higher price tag. At $5-10K USD cost per procedure (costs vary based on individual clinics), one can hardly call it a cost-effective option.
This diminishing effect over-time is mainly driven by the disintegration of the barbs on PDO Lifting Threads in vivo, hence the loss of anchor force that was holding the tissues up against the force of gravity. However, as one can see in the product image provided, the barbs created using ultrasonic vibrations are demonstratively denser, sharper, and more robust than any other products in the market. Because of this, doctors are now able to guarantee: 1) exact application of lifting (as opposed to excessive and awkward lifting many doctors initially apply in order to compensate for the inevitable tissue settlement, which is caused by loss of anchoring strength over a 2-week downtime); 2) longer-lasting lifting effect (prominent barbs take longer to dissolve into surrounding tissue than other existing barbed suture lifting products) with Medi Futures’ Ultrasonic PDO Lifting Threads, rendering the previous “PDO Lifting Threads are a waste of money” claim obsolete. In clinical trials performed by Dr. Teguh Tanuwidjaja of Indonesia1, it has been observed that the lifting efficacy of ultrasonic PDO Lifting Threads lasted up to 2 times longer (up to a full year) compared to other PDO Lifting Threads.
The unique manufacturing process of Medi Futures’ Ultrasonic PDO Lifting Thread is effective not only for the persistence of the result, but also for the longevity of the product’s shelf life. Many doctors often complain about certain PDO Lifting Threads crumbling in their hands before a procedure, at times even before their supposed expiration date, or snapping in half during a procedure, which results in multiple complications, additional costs, and longer operation time for the doctor. However, Medi Futures’ Ultrasonic PDO Lifting Threads have been tested to last longer than 6 months in open air, as opposed to Heat-molding threads which lose their water content and crumble after being exposed to open air for 3 months. It has been tested that the water retention of Medi Futures’ Ultrasonic PDO Lifting Threads stayed perfectly intact while that of Heat-molding PDO Lifting Threads reduced 30-40% over the same period of time.
Lastly, Medi Futures’ Ultrasonic PDO Lifting Threads can be made quickly and cost effectively using a variety of different design molds, giving many options to the doctors to fit their specific procedural needs. For example, thread length can range anywhere between 1cm to 60cm or longer, USP is offered in 5 different options (2, 1, 0, 2-0, 3-0), the density of the barbs can be adjusted (between 1mm, 1.2mm, and 1.5mm), the direction and location of barbs can also be customized to a doctor’s specific request (given there is enough volume from the doctor to warrant a dedicated mold over a fixed period of time). The current portfolios of threads are carried in 18G, 19G, 21G cannula, but more sizes can also be considered. Due to its clear superiority over existing products, Medi Futures’ Ultrasonic PDO Lifting Threads are already being offered in about 300 clinics in Korea, Japan, Indonesia, China, Dubai, Spain and 6 other countries throughout the globe.
Cosmetic surgeons who are looking for cost-effective minimal-invasion alternatives for surgical face and body lifts should keep an eye out for Medi Futures’ Ultrasonic PDO Lifting Threads, under the brand name “DaVinci Cog,” toward the end of 2021 (U.S. FDA clearance due 4Q 2021). They are a straight-forward drop-in of products that are already being used to provide semi-invasive solutions to patients wanting youthful contouring on their face and body. This new generation of ultrasonic molding PDO Lifting Threads will help doctors apply their aesthetic intentions on-point when sculpting their patients’ face and body into delicately subtle, yet visibly better versions.
For more information about Medi Futures, please visit: www.medifutures.net
1 Dr. Teguh uses Medi Futures’ Ultrasonic PDO Lifting Threads under his own brand name “Double Fix Pyramid”
