What the material is selected for beyond lifting, which midface findings it addresses, and the limits of what any single material can do.
Patients arriving with a concern about facial descent frequently have a second concern alongside it. The tissue has moved, and the covering over it is not what it was — less firm, less even in texture, less resilient.
These are two findings, and most of the time they call for two answers. Aptos is the thread type used at Edition where the plan can address both with one material: it is selected for a lifting effect together with an expected effect on the skin itself.
This page covers what that second property amounts to, which findings it is used for, how it is combined or alternated with the other thread types, and — the section that matters most — the limits of what a single material can be expected to do. Combining a thread lift with treatments that are not threads is covered separately.
Aptos is used at Edition where a lifting effect and an expected improvement in the skin are both wanted from the same material. It is applied to midface descent. Like the other absorbable threads it works in two stages — an immediate mechanical repositioning, and a tissue response that develops as the material is absorbed — and the second of those is where the effect on the skin comes from. It holds for approximately one year to a year and a half. It is not a substitute for a dedicated skin treatment, and it does not change the fundamental rule that the finding decides the material rather than the other way round.
On this page
- Two findings, and why they are usually separate
- What the material is selected for
- Where the effect on the skin comes from
- The midface findings it addresses
- How it is combined or alternated with other thread types
- How to work out whether the second property matters to you
- The limits of what one material can do
- How long it holds, and what changes that
- What to expect afterwards
- Questions patients ask
Two findings, and why they are usually separate
Descent and skin quality are different problems with different mechanisms.
Descent is a matter of position: soft tissue sitting somewhere other than where it used to, because the structures holding it have loosened or because the fat compartments beneath have shifted. The correction is to move it back and hold it there.
Skin quality is a matter of the covering itself: its firmness, its texture, its resilience. Repositioning tissue underneath a covering does not change the covering. A face can be lifted well and still have skin that the patient is unhappy with, and that is not a failure of the lift — it is a second finding that the lift was never aimed at.
Most of the time these are addressed separately, and the reason is that a treatment optimised for one is rarely optimal for the other. Where a patient's principal concern is skin firmness, the appropriate answer is a treatment directed at the skin.
What makes this material distinctive in the selection is that it is chosen where a degree of both is wanted from a single procedure.
What the material is selected for
At Edition, the description is specific: Aptos is a thread from which a lifting effect together with an improvement in the skin can be expected, and it is used for improving midface descent.
Three things are worth reading carefully in that description.
"Together with." Both properties come from the same placement. This is not a lift followed by a separate treatment; it is one material chosen because its behaviour in tissue is expected to produce both.
"Can be expected." The phrasing is deliberate and it is not evasive. Tissue responses vary between people, and how much of the second effect a given patient sees is not predictable in advance. What can be said is what the material is chosen for and why.
"Midface descent." The region is specified because it is where this combination of properties is most often the right fit. It is not a general-purpose thread applied wherever descent occurs.
Where the effect on the skin comes from
Understanding the mechanism makes the limits obvious, which is why it is worth a short explanation.
Every absorbable lifting thread works in two stages.
The first is mechanical and immediate. The thread engages tissue along its path and holds it in a repositioned location. This produces the visible change soon after the procedure.
The second is biological and gradual. As the material is absorbed over the following months, the tissue around where it sat responds. This is why the appearance continues to settle rather than being fixed on the day — at Edition the guidance is that a degree of lifting change is apparent immediately, with tissue stabilising and the change becoming more natural over roughly one to three months.
The effect on the skin comes from the second stage rather than the first. It develops over weeks and months, it is a response of the tissue in the region the threads occupy, and it is not something the patient will observe on the day.
Two consequences follow directly, and they set the expectations for this material more usefully than any adjective.
The effect is regional rather than facial. It occurs where the threads were placed, not across the whole face. And it is gradual rather than immediate, which means a patient assessing it in the first week is assessing the lift only.
The midface findings it addresses
The middle of the face is where this material is used, and it is worth being clear about why the region and the material go together.
Midface descent involves soft tissue that still carries substance moving downward, leaving emptiness above and fullness below. It is a repositioning problem, which any of the lifting materials can address in principle.
What often accompanies it is a change in the covering over that region — the midface being an area where thinning and loss of firmness are commonly noticed at the same time as descent. Where both are present and both are part of what the patient wants addressed, a material chosen for both properties is a reasonable fit for the finding.
Where the presentation is descent alone, without a concern about the covering, the selection is made on the lifting properties and the other materials come into consideration on their own merits — the reasoning is set out in the page on how a thread type is chosen.
How it is combined or alternated with other thread types
A single procedure may use more than one thread type, and a patient may receive different materials on different occasions. Both follow from the same principle.
Combined within one procedure. Findings differ across a face. A midface presenting descent with a skin concern and a jawline whose contour has collapsed are two problems on the same person, and there is no reason to treat both with the material that suits one of them. The design uses each material where its property is the appropriate one — which is what "a design that fits the individual patient" means in practice.
Alternated across procedures. Where a repeat procedure is considered, the material is chosen from the state of the tissue at that time rather than repeated by default. A face that has changed since the last procedure may call for a different selection, and existing or previously placed threads are part of what is assessed. What a repeat procedure takes into account is set out in the page on threads already in place.
What combination is not is an upsell or a package. It is what a design looks like when the examination finds more than one thing.
How to work out whether the second property matters to you
Because a material with two properties sounds preferable to one with a single property, it is worth having a way to test whether the second one is actually addressing something you care about.
Three questions do most of the work.
If your face were lifted and your skin were unchanged, would you be satisfied? If the answer is yes, then the finding is descent and the selection should be made on lifting properties alone. If the answer is no, the second concern is real and belongs in the plan — which does not automatically mean it belongs in the same material.
Which of the two would you notice first if only one improved? This tends to reveal the priority more reliably than asking which matters more. A patient who would notice the covering first is describing a skin concern that happens to be accompanied by descent, and that ordering changes what the plan should lead with.
Is the skin concern in the same place as the descent? The response is regional. If the texture that bothers you is around the eyes or across the forehead and the descent is in the midface, a midface treatment does not reach it, and the two are separate problems that need separate answers.
Working through these before the consultation is useful because it turns a vague preference for "the one that does both" into a description of what you actually want changed. The examination establishes what your tissue is doing; these questions establish what you are asking for. A plan needs both, and the second is the half only you can supply.
The limits of what one material can do
This is the section that matters most, because "lifting and skin improvement in one" is exactly the kind of phrase that invites over-reading.
It is not a substitute for a skin treatment. The effect on the covering is a secondary property of a lifting material. Where a patient's main concern is the quality of the skin, a treatment directed at the skin is what addresses it. Where skin concerns are the priority, the useful conversation is about skin treatments, with a lift considered separately if descent is also present.
It does not extend beyond where it was placed. The response is regional. A midface treatment does not treat the neck, the forehead, or the skin of the lower face.
It does not lift more than a lifting material lifts. The second property is additional to the first, not a multiplier of it. The constraints that apply to every thread lift apply here — how far tissue has descended, whether it holds a correction, and whether the covering has enough recoil to transmit it.
It does not change the boundaries of the procedure. Where sagging has progressed considerably, or where the finding is volume loss rather than descent, no thread material is the answer. Those boundaries are set out in the page on when a thread lift is not the right choice.
It does not make itself the right selection. A material with two useful properties is still chosen for a finding. Choosing it because both properties sound desirable is choosing a product rather than answering a diagnosis, and that is the error the whole sequence is designed to avoid.
How long it holds, and what changes that
At Edition the confirmed figure is approximately one year to one year and six months, the same range as Silhouette Soft and longer than PDO at approximately 6 to 8 months.
Individual variation is genuine and it has identifiable sources: skin elasticity, the pace of ageing, lifestyle, weight change, the region treated, the state of the tissue, the degree of descent, and the thread type itself. A figure is a description of what is usually seen, not a period the material is guaranteed to last.
The comparison across all three materials is easier to read side by side than one at a time, and it is set out in the page on how long a thread lift lasts.
What to expect afterwards
Recovery does not differ meaningfully by thread type, and the detail sits in the aftercare pages.
Swelling and tightness are usual for around 3 to 7 days, with bruising varying by skin condition and individual healing. Temporary unevenness or a pulling sensation can occur as tissue settles, generally improving within one to two weeks. Most patients return to work and ordinary activity from the following day, with washing and light make-up possible from then, taking care around the treated area.
Vigorous exercise and alcohol are generally avoided for about two weeks, saunas from around two weeks onward, and for the first fortnight facial massage, strong pressure and sleeping face-down are best avoided. Strong-pressure treatments such as deep manual massage are avoided for at least three months. Progress is reviewed at around one month, when the lifting effect and the state of recovery are checked.
Questions patients ask
Does this mean I do not need a separate skin treatment?
Not necessarily. The effect on the skin is a secondary property of a lifting material, regional to where the threads were placed. Where skin quality is the main concern, a treatment directed at the skin is what addresses it — and that is a separate conversation from a lift.
When would I notice the skin effect?
Not immediately. It develops as the material is absorbed, over weeks and months rather than days. The lifting change is what is visible in the early period.
Is it better than the other threads because it does two things?
Doing two things is not the same as being the right choice. Which material suits depends on the cause of the descent, the distribution of fat, and the elasticity of the skin. A second property is only an advantage when the finding calls for it.
Can it be used together with other thread types?
Yes, where the findings across the face differ. The design places each material where its property is the appropriate one, which is a consequence of designing from the examination rather than from a product list.
Can I request Aptos specifically?
You can raise it, and it is worth saying if skin quality is part of what concerns you — that is useful information. The selection itself follows from what the examination finds.
How many threads are used?
The average across thread lifting at Edition is around 14, adjusted for the degree of descent, skin thickness, the amount of fat, facial structure, and the direction of lift intended. The number follows from the design.
About the author
Dae-hee Han, MD — Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon (specialist certificate No. 2045, issued 3 March 2014; medical licence 00394, issued 26 February 2009). Master’s degree, Ajou University School of Medicine. Training at the Craniofacial Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan (2013), and the IFAAS Mini Fellowship, University of Florida, USA (2016). Three rhinoplasty papers published in SCIE-indexed international journals. More than 4,500 nose surgeries — Dr. Han’s career total from 2017 to 2025, counted from medical records. Eighteen years in practice since medical licensure in 2009; thirteen years as a board-certified plastic surgeon. He carries out consultation, surgery and follow-up personally; fee guidance is given by the clinic’s consultation manager.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-15
Clinic information
Edition Plastic Surgery Clinic & Dermatology
6F, OPUS 407, 407 Gangnam-daero, Seocho-gu, Seoul 06614, Republic of Korea
One minute on foot from Gangnam Station Exit 10
Tel +82-2-591-0100 · editionprs@gmail.com
Consultation hours: Monday to Friday 10:00–19:00 · Saturday 10:00–17:00 · closed Sundays and public holidays
Disclaimer
Individual results may vary. Bleeding, infection, swelling, asymmetry, and scarring can occur. Please decide after a full consultation with a board-certified specialist.
This page is general medical information. It is not a diagnosis, and it does not promise a particular outcome. Surgical fees are given after an in-person consultation.