New Cosmetic Procedure To Fill Wrinkles Lasts Longer, Costs Less

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NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Here's something you don't hear often: A cosmetic procedure that lasts longer than previous versions and it's cheaper.

As CBS2's Dr. Max Gomes reports, it uses special dissolvable threads to fill in wrinkles and creases. Better yet, there's no downtime with these "thread fillers."

You might recognize Aviva Drescher as one of the Housewives of New York.

"There's some characteristics in my face that I'd like to minimize. It's all about feeling pretty," she said. "I had some marionette lines around here that were getting a little deep. They didn't look so pretty."

Normally, filling those lines would mean multiple injections of synthetic fillers. They work well enough but they're expensive and have to be repeated every six or nine months.

"People get reactions to them. They would get nodules. They would also get bruised very easily, because of the multiple needle sticks," said Dr. Bruce Katz, of Juva Skin & Laser Center.

Lynn Price had some of the same issues as Drescher and she also wasn't crazy about fillers.

"I'd like to plump this area here and maybe down around here. So plump, add volume," she said.

Instead, she's having tiny threads put in. They're made of the same material as dissolvable sutures. Several can be inserted through the same tiny needle stick, depending on how much filling is desired.

In just 15 minutes or so, Price was rejuvenated.

"Absolutely, it looks much better," she said.

While the slight redness fades in a few minutes, the results do not.

"They last about six months. As they dissolve, they actually stimulate collagen. So we get longer lasting results. They can last a year, two years, even longer. It depends on how many threads we put in each area," said Katz.

Drescher had her threads done about four months ago, and while makeup obviously makes a difference, so does the plumped up so-called smile and marionette lines.

"No down time at all. I was able to go out right afterwards," she said.

As for the cost, it depends how many areas are filled and how many threads are used. The cost is about $200-300 for a pair of laugh lines or marionette lines. That's about a quarter of what the same filling would cost with injectables, and they last longer.