PDO threads for the cheeks in London

The cheeks and the mid-face are where the three US clearances for PDO lifting threads sit, all for fixing the cheek tissue in an elevated position, and where most of the published evidence is. Two or three barbed threads a side are passed under the skin from the hairline towards the mouth and drawn back. The tissue that has slid down from the cheekbone sits higher, and the fold from the nose to the mouth softens. Placed by our doctor under local anaesthetic in 30 to 60 minutes at PDO Threads Clinic, 8 Exhibition Road, with the plan in writing at a free consultation.

What it does on the cheeks

The lift is of soft tissue, not bone, and it suits a cheek that has started to drop and skin that still has some spring. In the 62-patient study one manufacturer submitted for its product's US mid-face clearance, 97% improved on a wrinkle severity scale at twelve weeks and 90% at twenty-four weeks. In a 2026 randomised trial of 151 patients, 63% of those treated with a marketed PDO thread improved on the folds at seven months. A flat cheek that has lost volume is a filler question, which our doctor can provide, and the lift was gone by twelve months in the 160-patient series, which we say plainly.

The procedure and after

Local anaesthetic along each thread's path, small entry points at the hairline, each thread passed through a needle or a blunt cannula, drawn back to engage the barbs, trimmed and buried, two or three a side. Swelling and tightness for a week or two, a pull on smiling for the first days, bruising in some. Sleep on your back with the head raised for about a week, no wide mouth opening, hard food, massage or facials for one to two weeks, no dental treatment for two weeks. The how it works page sets out each step.

Who it suits

Adults aged about 35 to 65 with an early drop of the cheeks and skin with some spring, not very thin skin, which would show the threads, and not heavy sagging, which they will not lift. The usual exclusions apply: pregnancy and breastfeeding, an active infection, a bleeding disorder or blood thinners that cannot be paused, an autoimmune disease without the doctor's advice first, keloid scarring, recent dental work. The nasolabial folds page covers the fold the cheek lift softens, and the full guide the rest.

Book a free consultation

Call PDO Threads Clinic on 0207 043 8107 or use the form below. The doctor looks at your cheeks at rest and moving, counts the threads, and gives you the plan in writing.