Consultation 20 to 30 Minutes, Procedure 15 to 20 Minutes: The Full Sequence

The seven steps from consultation to discharge, what each stage is for and what is decided in it, and why the stated times vary.

The two figures in the title are the ones patients ask for, and on their own they are misleading. A thread lift appointment is not 35 to 50 minutes long. Those are the durations of two of its seven stages.

Knowing the whole sequence is useful for practical reasons — how much of a day to set aside, when to arrange transport, what state you will be in when you leave — and for a less obvious one: knowing what each stage is for tells you what should have happened by the time you are lying down, and what has been skipped if it has not.

This page walks through the seven stages, what is decided at each, and why the stated times vary with the patient and the extent of the treatment. Aftercare rules are covered in their own pages, as is anaesthesia in detail. Cost is not discussed here; fee guidance is given by the clinic's consultation manager, and the figure is confirmed after consultation.

Why the sequence matters, not just the durations

Four of the seven stages happen before anything is done to your face. That proportion is the point.

A thread lift is a short procedure preceded by a set of decisions, and the decisions determine the result more than the execution does. Which direction the tissue is moved, where the correction is anchored, which material is used and how much — all of these are settled in stages one and two.

The practical implication for a patient is that the appointment should not feel like arriving and being treated. If it does, the decisions were either made very quickly or made from something other than an examination of your face.

Stage 1: Consultation

Approximately 20 to 30 minutes.

This is where the finding is established. Three questions are being answered: what is causing the descent, in which direction the tissue has travelled, and what condition the covering is in.

It covers what you have noticed and where, in which view, and whether it appeared gradually. It covers your treatment history — filler, fat grafting, contouring injections, lifting lasers, previous threads — with the type and timing of each, since these change what is being worked with. And it includes the examination itself, which is conducted by hand: skin lifted and released to judge recoil, tissue moved in several directions to establish the path of descent, and the face assessed in different positions.

What should come out of it is a description of what was found, not only a recommendation. The reasoning behind that is set out in the page on diagnosing the cause of sagging before the threads.

Stage 2: Facial analysis and design

This is where the findings become a plan, and it is the stage most often invisible to patients because it is not obviously an event.

Four things are decided.

• Direction. The vector the correction will run along, matched to the path the tissue actually descended. Tissue is repositioned outward and, in particular, towards the area behind the hairline, so that the middle of the face is not over-emphasised.
• Fixation. Where the correction is anchored, chosen from the anatomy of the individual face.
• Material. Which thread type, following from skin elasticity, fat distribution and the cause of the descent.
• Number. How many threads, which at Edition averages around 14, adjusted for the degree of descent, skin thickness, the amount of fat, facial structure, and the direction of lift intended.

Facial proportion is read alongside these, since the same correction produces a different impression on differently proportioned faces and the amount that looks right varies accordingly.

The design should be explained to you before you agree to it. A plan you cannot describe afterwards is one you have not really consented to.

Stage 3: Photographs

Photographs are taken after the consultation and design, and before the procedure.

The order is deliberate. Photographs taken at this point record the state the design was made from, which makes them a reference for assessing progress at follow-up rather than a marketing asset.

This is a record for your care. Any question of images being used for any other purpose is a separate matter requiring separate consent, and it is not part of this stage.

Stage 4: Anaesthesia

Local anaesthetic is given by injection to the region being treated. Short sedation is sometimes used alongside it, specifically to reduce the discomfort of the anaesthetic process itself.

For most patients this is the least comfortable part of the appointment, because the anaesthetic has to be placed into tissue that is not yet numb. It is also brief. The full account, including what sedation does and does not do, is in the page on anaesthesia and sensation.

Stage 5: The procedure

Approximately 15 to 20 minutes.

Threads are introduced along the planned paths, tissue is engaged and repositioned along the chosen direction, and the correction is secured at the fixation points.

You are awake. Pain is largely covered by the anaesthetic, but sensation is not eliminated — pressure, movement, and a pulling sensation as tissue is repositioned are all expected, and none of them indicates that something is wrong.

If you feel sharp, localised discomfort, say so during the procedure rather than afterwards. That is how additional anaesthetic gets given where it is needed.

Stage 6: Recovery and check

After the procedure there is a short period in the clinic during which you recover and your condition is checked.

This is not a formality. What is being looked at is the immediate result, the symmetry of the correction, and how you are — particularly where sedation has been used. It is also the point at which anything you have noticed can be raised while you are still on site.

Some change is generally apparent immediately, because part of a thread lift's effect is mechanical. What you see at this stage is not the final result: tissue continues to stabilise and the change becomes more natural over roughly one to three months.

Stage 7: Guidance and discharge

Before you leave, you are given the aftercare guidance for the period ahead.

This covers what to expect in the first days — swelling and tightness for around 3 to 7 days, bruising varying by individual, and temporary unevenness or a pulling sensation that generally improves within one to two weeks — and the restrictions that apply, which are set out in full in their own pages.

Two things are worth taking away in a form you will still have later: what is expected and what is not, and how to make contact if something concerns you. Verbal guidance received while you are recovering from a procedure is not reliably retained, and it is reasonable to ask for it in writing.

How to prepare for the day

Nothing elaborate is required, and a few things make the appointment run better.

Come with your face as it normally is. Heavy make-up has to come off before the examination and the design, so arriving without it saves time. It also lets the examination read the skin directly rather than through a covering.

Bring your treatment history. What was done, roughly when, and where. Records or receipts from a previous clinic are more precise than recollection, and product names matter. This is the item most often reported incompletely and the one that most often changes the plan.

Bring an older photograph if you have one. Where descent has happened over years, a photograph from before it shows the direction the tissue travelled — which is the finding the whole design is built on, and it is difficult to reconstruct from memory.

Know what you notice and in which view. "My jawline in photographs" and "the line beside my mouth in the mirror" are different complaints that lead to different examinations. A general sense of looking tired is harder to work from.

Wear something that comes off without going over your head. A practical point that matters more after the procedure than before it.

Plan the rest of the day loosely. Most people are able to go about their business afterwards, but swelling and tightness begin within hours, and an evening with no obligations is easier than one with a commitment you would rather not cancel.

What is worth leaving at home is a decision already made about which thread you want. A material chosen in advance is a constraint on a design that has not been made yet, and the most common result is a request that does not fit what the examination finds.

Why the stated times vary

Both figures are given at Edition with an explicit qualification: they can differ according to the patient's condition and the extent of the treatment.

What lengthens a consultation is a more complicated finding — mixed causes of descent, a substantial treatment history, or a case where the honest answer involves discussing alternatives to a thread lift.

What lengthens a procedure is a larger area, more distinct vectors to work along, more than one material in the design, or anatomy that calls for more careful placement.

Neither is a problem, and both are worth knowing when you plan your day. A consultation that runs long is generally a consultation that found something worth discussing.

Set aside more time than the two headline figures suggest. Between arrival, the consultation, the design, photographs, anaesthesia, the procedure and the recovery check, the appointment occupies a meaningful part of a morning or an afternoon rather than an hour.

What happens after you leave

Most patients return to work and ordinary daily activity from the following day, with washing and light make-up possible from then, taking care around the treated area.

Progress is reviewed at around one month, when the lifting effect and the state of recovery are checked and any further management is discussed. That review is not a fixed course of sessions — whether anything further is done is decided from the state of the tissue at the time, which is the subject of the page on retouch without a fixed schedule.

Between the procedure and that review, anything that concerns you is worth raising rather than waiting out. What is expected and what is worth reporting is set out in the page on lumpiness and tightness afterward.

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.