The 'one-stitch facelift' claims to be the ultimate quick fix for turkey necks, but does it work?

Given the wind-tunnel results of plastic surgery as seen on the likes of Joan Rivers, not to mention the prospect of a general anaesthetic, scars and months of recovery, it’s not surprising that a full-on facelift is about as popular as last year’s It-bag.

After all, if you want to pretend your ever-youthful looks are down to yoga and water, it doesn’t do to be seen to look as if you’ve had serious work.

For a while it seemed as if fillers and Botox would be the secret of stealth rejuvenation, but not everyone wants the chipmunk cheeks and glassy forehead that so often go with them.

So the facelift has been fighting back. But this time it’s different.

Visible results: Leah is delighted with her profile, right, which shows her face and neck aren't as saggy following the procedure

The new ‘One-Stitch Facelift’ is a minimally invasive, super-sneaky way to lift cheeks and jowls, reduce double chins and tighten saggy necks. It is done under local anaesthetic and involves having just one stitch on each side of the head, buried in the hair.

The results look natural and the procedure is ideal, say surgeons, for women from around 40 onwards, who don’t need the full works, but feel their sagging skin is making their face look tired and old. Women like Madonna, who is rumoured to have had a similar treatment.

  Plastic surgeon Angelica Kavouni has a different approach. Her ‘one-stitch facelift’, involves placing a fine thread down the cheeks from the hairline and pulling up sagging skin from the inside by a sort of pulley system. It takes just 30 minutes to an hour, can be done under local anaesthetic and leaves you scar-free.

After a consultation the doctor injects you at the temples and down the cheeks with local anaesthetic, which stings but is bearable.

The doctor then shows you the thread, which looks like plastic fishing wire with ten tiny knots along it, each capped by a miniature cone. The knots are made of dissolvable, natural glycolic, and catch in the deep layers of your skin, anchoring the thread and allowing the skin to be hooked upwards. The thread is made of non-biodegradable polypropolene. It stays in the skin for ever, but t has been used safely in surgery for decades.

Then you have the 20cm long needle to which it’s attached. To get this monster into your head, the Doctor needs to make a tiny cut in the thick skin and muscle at my temples,

There will be a moment of sharp discomfort as the needle is pushed out of the side of the cheek, parallel to your mouth. The thread is then cut.

After 40 minutes it’s over. Looking in the mirror, you should see your jawline looking more defined, cheeks lifted — and definitely looking younger.

There should be no pain at all, just a tenderness in the cheeks.  The best part:

1.  Two tiny scabs forming where the needle emerged and there is a little yellow bruising, but simply pop on some concealer and feel confident about facing the world, especially as the tiny stitch itself is hidden by your hair.

2. The Silhouette Lift last around five years before the ageing process takes over, but even in five years you won’t look worse than  before the treatment.

3.  If you don’t like the result, it’s reversible, because the strings can be cut and in time your face will go back to how it used to be.