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Atlanta neck lift

Ask Dr. Elliott: How Do I Decide Between a Facelift and a Neck Lift?

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While everyone has aspects of their appearance they want to change, self-consciousness about particularly visible areas (like the face and neck) can take an especially large toll on one’s self-esteem. Depending on what your aesthetic concerns are, plastic surgery may be the most effective way to restore your confidence in your appearance. However, it’s important to choose the right procedure for your needs, and this can be more difficult than it initially seems. If you aren’t sure whether a facelift or a neck lift is the best choice for you, these tips can help you have a better understanding of your options.

Ask Dr. Elliott How Do I Decide Between a Facelift and a Neck LiftA facelift can rejuvenate areas including and above the jawline and chin, while a neck lift targets the neck below the chin.

Both the neck lift and facelift improve sagging skin, but finding the line between where a facelift stops and a neck lift begins can be difficult, especially considering that a facelift can be customized to focus on the specific areas of the face each individual patient wants to address. While some patients consider the jowl area to be closer to the “neck” region, a facelift or short scar facelift is generally the better way to address this popular concern. A neck lift, on the other hand, targets areas further down the neck. When you schedule a consultation with me, Dr. Franklyn Elliott, we can discuss your needs and determine which procedure best fits your desired results.

A facelift primarily improves signs of aging, while a neck lift can also have a slimming effect.

As we age, our skin loses volume and firmness, and while this doesn’t generally have the effect of making the face look heavier, sagging skin in the neck area can unfortunately create a less flattering appearance, and excess fat below the chin can amplify the effect. While lifting and repositioning facial tissue (which is done during a facelift) can take years off your appearance, a neck lift also has the result of giving you a more slender (and, of course, younger) profile, so it’s important to decide whether this is a desired result when you’re choosing a procedure. While simply removing excess skin will have a slimming effect, combining a neck lift with liposuction may produce even more significant results, so be sure to discuss your aesthetic priorities during your pre-surgical consultation.

Doing your research and reading articles such as this to learn about your cosmetic options can be a great way to begin your cosmetic surgery process. However, your final decision about any aesthetic procedure should be made with the guidance of a board-certified plastic surgeon, and a personal consultation is a vital step in the process. For more helpful information and the latest news about plastic surgery, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

Look Younger Without a Facelift

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For most people, the idea of plastic surgery to make them look younger immediately makes them think of a facelift. While this procedure can be highly effective, many patients don’t realize how many other options there are that can take years off their appearance and may actually be a better fit for their needs than a facelift.

facial plastic surgery atlantaNeck Lift
Just as a facelift reduces the sagging excess skin on the face, a neck lift applies the same principles to the chin, jowl, and neck area. However, the procedure can vary based on the individual patient. If excess fat is contributing to your aesthetic concerns, liposuction can often be used to remove the localized fat, and for some patients, the neck lift may also involve tightening the muscles of the neck to produce a more comprehensive, rejuvenating improvement.

Endoscopic Brow Lift
A brow lift does just what its name suggests it does—lifts and firms the skin of the eyebrow and forehead area to address expression lines and other signs of aging. Board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Franklyn Elliott uses an innovative technique called the endoscopic brow lift to perform the procedure with smaller incisions, minimal scarring, and less downtime than a traditional brow lift.

Eyelid Surgery
Cosmetic eyelid surgery (also known as blepharoplasty) targets signs of aging around the eyes to provide results that are subtle but can make you look years younger. Upper eyelid surgery reduces excess skin that has given the eyelids a “hooded,” tired appearance, while lower eyelid surgery can remove the fat deposits and sagging skin that create “bags” under the eyes.

Laser Skin Resurfacing
For some patients who are looking for facial rejuvenation, laser skin resurfacing is the best fit. This procedure uses precisely-controlled lasers to remove damaged outer skin while helping the deeper layers of skin to produce more collagen (the protein that gives young skin its firmness and elasticity). The result is a complexion that is more radiant, youthful, and with fewer signs of aging, sun damage, and scarring. Laser skin resurfacing can be a great option for patients who are not yet ready for a facelift, as well as for patients who want to further enhance and maintain the results of their cosmetic rejuvenation procedures.

In the end, choosing the right plastic surgery procedure (or, for many patients, the right combination of procedures) is an essential step in attaining the results that will help you be more confident in your appearance. To begin discussing your cosmetic options, schedule a consultation with Dr. Franklyn Elliott or join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ to stay up-to-date on the latest plastic surgery news.

Ask Dr. Elliott: Can Chin Surgery Make Me Look Younger and Thinner?

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In general, all plastic surgery patients have one goal in mind: having an appearance they can feel confident in. For some patients, that means looking younger. For other patients, it means looking more slender and athletic. While chin surgery is generally thought of as a procedure that gives improved balance and proportion to the facial features, it can actually have a more comprehensive effect on the patient’s appearance and can sometimes create a more youthful or slim look if it aligns with the patient’s cosmetic goals.

The way that cosmetic chin surgery is performed depends on the desired results. For some patients, the procedure involves a chin implant, which is made of a synthetic material that feels much like natural chin tissue. The implant, which is available in a variety of sizes and shapes to fit each patient’s needs, is placed using an incision that is concealed within the mouth or in the natural creases of the chin. On the other hand, if the chin needs to be reduced and re-shaped, similar incisions are used to access the structure of the chin and enable me to sculpt the bone and other tissue into the desired shape. So how can this procedure help patients look younger or thinner?

Turning Back the Clock

For most male patients especially, the goal of chin surgery is a strong, defined chin and jawline—a feature that we associate with youth and strength. But chin surgery can have a more direct and specific rejuvenating effect as well. One of the most noticeable signs of aging is sagging skin—as we age, our skin becomes less firm and less able to withstand the effects of gravity, causing it to become loose and to sag. Chin augmentation alone can provide a subtle tightening for sagging skin of the neck. If aging skin is a more significant concern, chin surgery can often be combined with a facelift or neck lift to achieve a more significant improvement.

Turning Back the Calories

Even those who aren’t overweight can find themselves with an unflattering profile as the result of receding chin, especially considering that excess fat in the neck is notoriously difficult to eliminate naturally. Chin surgery can create a slimming definition between the face, jawline, and neck. For patients who would also benefit from removing fat in the chin and neck area, chin surgery can often be combined with liposuction for a more comprehensive improvement.

For many patients, chin surgery can be the right path to higher confidence in their appearance. But there’s a reason why plastic surgery is such a varied field with so many procedural options—while all patients have the goal of feeling more attractive, the best way to achieve that goal is different for each patient based on their natural anatomy and desired results. Schedule a consultation with me, Dr. Franklyn Elliott, to begin discussing how cosmetic procedures can help you embrace life with less self-consciousness. Or, to start by learning more about the procedures we offer, join me on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.