Face Lift Atlanta – About the NU Facelift
Dr. Jones has synthesized the best and the safest techniques from the many facelift approaches he has mastered and coined his own approach to facelift. He calls it the NU facelift, or Natural Uplift, highlighting its natural outcome, a happy look on the face, upward tissue lift, and his personal liking of implementing it. With Dr. Jones’s approach, you do not have to worry about ending up with an unatural, ‘scream’ look. “It’s exciting for me to perform my customized NU facelift,” Dr. Jones exclaims. “The thrill of it comes from having full confidence in using the techniques I know are the safest and result in the most natural outcome and exhilarated, happy patients,” he concludes.
In the NU facelift (Figure 7.), Dr. Jones has methodically addressed all the shortcomings of the earlier generation procedures, aiming for the safest operation, most natural outcome, and the least amount of complications such as swelling and bruising.
Key Dimensions of NU Technique
Figure 7.
There are five key dimensions that lift the NU technique above the rest. First, Dr. Jones takes advantage of the best incision techniques and placements. He reduces the incision to the skin fold in front of the ear, continuing it up alongside the hairline, zig-zagging in and out of the hair to avoid any visible scar. Dr. Jones does not cut behind the ear, often carried out to tighten and pull up the sagging neck area. Obviously, cutting behind the ear results in a scar that is visible when the hair is pulled up or back in a ponytail. Instead, Dr. Jones addresses the neck area uplift with a dissolvable suture he places in front of and right below the ear.
Second, the skin in the highlighted area (Figure 7.) is lifted lightly to gain access to the deep tissues. Significant undermining of the deep structures, muscles and fascia under the top skin layer results in a great uplift, but also causes unnecessary bleeding, bruising, and later swelling. Dr. Jones dissects into the tissue layers only enough to properly position the sutures and to fine-tune the lift. Accomplishing this properly and precisely requires years of experience and exemplary dexterity. Dr. Jones has both.
The third success factor of this approach is the suture strategy. The tailored positioning and tightening of the sutures in relation to the nature of the skin and its deeper layers is most important in the successful outcome. Dr. Jones emphasizes repositioning the facial tissues vertically, firmly anchoring the purse-string like sutures at their top end. With most facelifting techniques, the skin is pulled backwards, resulting in a tight, unnatural look. Dr. Jones positions oval, thin purse-string sutures so that they correct the key shortcomings of the aging face. Typically, it takes three strategically positioned sutures to accomplish the natural look. The suture closest to the ear restores the skin tightness of the upper and middle neck as it lifts up the side of the face. It also brings out the distinct angle between the jaw and the neck, taking years off the face. The second suture brings back the younger version of the face in the nasolabial fold and the area around the cheekbone. A third, smaller purse-string suture can bring up laxed cheek and improve the support of the lower eyelid. Dr. Jones only uses dissolvable sutures, because he has seen no need keeping threads under the skin once they have helped establish the new support structure. Once repositioned, the facial muscles (after being pulled by the sutures) and fascia do not need outside help.
The fourth key aspect of the NU facelift success is the extent of undermining and removal of skin or other facial tissues. Depending on the patient, Dr. Jones keeps the option to do undermining, or cutting into the skin. In some cases, it is beneficial to remove unnecessary, drooped areas, whereas in others it is not necessary. Dr. Jones’ experience and judgment play a key role in making the optimal determination. For example, once the facial tissues have been repositioned in the vertical direction, some excess skin may have been left on the top part of the sutured area around the hairline. After evaluating the situation, Dr. Jones would take out the excess skin and retouch the area in front of the ear.
Finally, the fifth element of the NU facelift is to consider liposuction on the face and/or the neck. Dr. Jones evaluates each case carefully and ensures he understands the patient’s goals before making a recommendation. In some cases, it makes a significant difference and can even be necessary to receive all the benefits of the NU lift.
To conclude, NU facelift is usually complete in itself. There is no need for additional fat or any other injection post surgery. Dr. Jones works to reposition the displaced facial structures during surgery such that the result is exhilarating and brings back some youthfulness to the patient’s face.
What You Can Expect from the Operation
Dr. Jones usually accomplishes the NU facelift at Piedmont Hospital or at a local surgery center where the patient goes home that same day while having the option to spend the night. He typically places a light bandage with an elastic cloth around the head and over the sides of the face for 5-7 days. This facilitates healing and reduces any post operative risk factors. Dr. Jones also applies his renowned No-Pain-No-Drain technique to steer clear of using post-operative drain devices. Bruising is minimal, but possible. To avoid it, Dr. Jones recommends an anti-swelling and anti-bruising regiment that starts a few days before surgery and continues for a week afterwards. Any non-dissolving sutures are removed in about one week. Most patients exhibit minimal pain and can walk the day of surgery. Dr. Jones; however, recommends to restrain from vigorous exercise for three weeks and then resume gradually.
Learn more about facelift and Dr. Jones’s NU Technique:
