The Future Of Beauty: “Body contouring has been refined and we can now literally create the body that we want”, With Dr. Nicholas Jones
Body contouring has evolved over the years along with technology. Body contouring has been refined and we can now literally create the body that we want. By using various techniques and technologies, fat can be added and subtracted during liposuction to create “high-definition” bodies and scult. We can create a “six pack,” and oblique muscles. This can be done with and without technology. One technique is ultrasound as an energy source, in which a canula is placed beneath the skin and melts the fat away. After, using differential liposuction, the body can be contoured. In addition, the energy aids in tightening the skin. This is one of many technologies used in body contouring. The development of noninvasive techniques has also been popularized. Patients that have localized areas of fat deposits can now get treated during their lunch break. It is important that patients are appropriately selected to see the best results.
As a part of our series about how technology will be changing the beauty industry over the next five years, I had the pleasure of interviewing Nicholas Jones, MD, FACS
Dr. Nicholas Isaac Jones, MD, FACS (@drnipandtuck) is a double-boarded certified plastic surgeon specializing in both aesthetic and reconstructive surgery in Atlanta, Georiga.
Dr. Jones is a native of New Orleans and received his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and his medical degree from Louisiana State University. While at XULA, he pledged as a member of Kappa Alpha Psi.
He completed surgery residency at Albert Einstein Medical Center and his plastic surgery fellowship at Medical College of Georgia. Dr. Jones has advanced training in microsurgery from the University of Mississippi Medical Center. After completing his training, he did a clerkship with Dr. Marcelo Araujo, a world-renowned cosmetic surgeon in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
He is a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgery and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He has serve as a board member for the Charleston chapter of Susan G. Komen. Dr. Jones has also appeared as a guest expert on several media outlets, including “Rickey Smiley Morning Show.” His philosophy is to provide high quality aesthetic and functional results while maintaining the highest level of professionalism and uncompromising safety and comfort.
Outside of the operating room, Dr. Jones finds joy in mentoring youth and coaching basketball. As a teenager, basketball brought things together for him giving his competitive edge and discipline. Dr. Jones has served as a high school basketball referee and was the head coach of the freshman basketball team at Decatur High School. Dr. Jones is a member of House of Hope Atlanta and he sings in both the male and Voices of Praise choirs. He also serves as a clinical preceptor for medical students.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
As a child, my mother and my pediatrician always told me I was going to be doctor. Eventually I began to believe them. During medical school, the decision to become a plastic surgeon was solidified after my plastic surgey rotation. It was the plan going in, the rotation was just confirmation. I love the variety of cases, the art and science behind plastic surgery, the immediate results and the ability to be completely independent of hospital based medicine.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Tough question, but I would say I had a young patient that I cared for and he ended up doing a school project about me! He took first place and went on to compete at the regional level. It as very heart-warming, the young man even wrote me a handwritten thank you note! It was very impressive because handwritten notes are classy, but somewhat antiquated. I consider myself “old-school” and still write notes.
Since, I have gone to visit his middle school as a career day speaker. I think it is extremely important to be active in the local community.
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Are there takeaways or lessons that others can learn from that?
Tipping point for me was the transition from hospital-based practice to private practice. I started to call all my postoperative patients. I feel that it added a personal touch and patients really appreciated it. I try to make all my patients feel comfortable and get to know them. I noticed when I focused more on the patient experience, the more referrals I received.
The takeaway… treat your patients that way you want to be treated and you’ll be fine.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person to whom you are grateful who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I have been blessed with great mentors and family support. I do not want to sound cliché’-ish, but my parents have truly been my rock. I am the first doctor in my family and the thought of even being a doctor would not have been possible without my parents. Despite my many shortcomings, they have always been encouraging.
I failed to match in plastic surgery on the first attempt. It was devastating, five years of general surgery training, four years of medical school, undergraduate training and dozens of plastic surgery training interviews and I didn’t match!
I could have easily just gone on and practiced as a general surgeon, but my parents encouraged me to stay in pursuit!
Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. The beauty industry today has access to technology that was inconceivable only a short time ago. Can you tell us about the “cutting edge” (pardon the pun) technologies that you are working with or introducing? How do you think that will help people?
Body contouring has evolved over the years along with technology. Body contouring has been refined and we can now literally create the body that we want. By using various techniques and technologies, fat can be added and subtracted during liposuction to create “high-definition” bodies and scult. We can create a “six pack,” and oblique muscles. This can be done with and without technology. One technique is ultrasound as an energy source, in which a canula is placed beneath the skin and melts the fat away. After, using differential liposuction, the body can be contoured. In addition, the energy aids in tightening the skin.
This is one of many technologies used in body contouring. The development of noninvasive techniques has also been popularized. Patients that have localized areas of fat deposits can now get treated during their lunch break. It is important that patients are appropriately selected to see the best results.
I think it is great for everyone, it gives our customer more options with more dramatic results.
Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
One major drawback is the use of the technology as a marketing tool to bring in more patients. It is always important to inform our clients of the advantages and disadvantages of the various techniques and technologies. No one treatment option is right for every patient.
For example, I have done many revision surgeries in patients that have gone to medical spas for cryolipolysis (Cool Sculpting). Although, it is a proven technology, it is not the solution for every patient. I have also seen patients with burns and contour irregularities from the use of laser liposuction and even traditional liposuction performed by unqualified individuals.
So as industry leaders, we have a responsibility to inform and educate the general public.
Can you share 3 things that most concern you about the industry? If you had the ability to implement 3 ways to reform or improve the industry, what would you suggest?
Three things that concern me is the lack of oversight in the industry, the number of unqualified individuals in the field, and the impact of the media on our society and beauty-tech industry.
To improve this, I would suggest that the government partner up with recognized medical authorities (state medical boards / societies, American Society of Plastic Surgery, etc.) in the medical field to set up regulations based on evidence-based medicine to ensure that our consumers health is not being jeopardized.
I would also start a national campaign to aid consumers to protect and guide them from the many pitfalls in the beauty-tech industry. Create a “consumer report” sort of guideline to aid in selecting the “best practices” based on evidence-based medicine and proven techniques.
Lastly, the impact of the media will not change. As leaders in the industry we must become more active on social media platforms and be the voice of the consumer.
You are an expert about beauty. Can you share 5 ideas that anyone can use “to feel beautiful”? (Please share a story or example for each.)
- Drink lots of water, our body is made up of about 60–70%, it’s good for you, especially your skin.
- Perform some sort of aerobic exercise daily for at least 30 minutes.
- Eat cleaner and healthier, maintain a well balanced diet.
- Make sure you visit your doctor annually for a check up. Preventive medicine is key, pick up and treat problems before they become terminal.
- Be happy, find something you love doing and do it, happy people live longer!
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
The movement would be “Give Back.” Because so much has been given to me, it’s only right that I give back. It does not require much to have an impact on someone else’s life! Just give it a try!
How can our readers follow you online?
Instagram: @drnipandtuck
Twitter: @drnipandtuck
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
The Future Of Beauty: “Body contouring has been refined and we can now literally create the body… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.