It is hard to imagine a better mid-February weekend in Southern California. Temperatures were in the mid 80’s. We visited the Yanks Aircraft Museum at the Chino Airport with our guests from Latvia. We enjoyed the Super Bowl vibe. And Valentine’s Day is here!
45 year old female following an 80 pound weight loss, before and 3 months after an inner arm lift (actual patient of Dr. Bunkis)
Spotlight on Plastic Surgery---Body Contouring
This week we will discuss an issue that can be problematic for females but rarely is for males. As females age, it is common to develop more laxity and fullness along the inner arms (and inner thighs), regardless of a person’s weight or fitness level. Inner arm and thigh laxity can also be exacerbated by significant weight loss, as this skin rarely “snaps back” to its pre-stretched state. Minor degrees of inner arm fullness can be effectively treated with liposuction, but this will not lead to skin tightening. Minor to moderate degrees of skin laxity can be improved with radiofrequency treatments like Renuvion (J-Plasma), in which a tiny probe is inserted into the fibrous fatty tissues, deep and superficial layers, about a centimeter from the skin (frequently after a liposuction procedure) and radiofrequency is used to heat these layers for a fraction of a second, to cause three dimensional tightening, to produce a nonsurgical arm lift.
For more significant amounts of skin laxity, an external incision is required, typically from the arm pit to the elbow, and the excess skin is resected for a more youthful appearance (often with contouring of the remainder of the upper arm with liposuction, for a more pleasing contour throughout). This procedure is called a brachioplasty, or an arm lift, a commonly requested body contouring procedure in Massachusetts and southern California, and throughout the country and across the world.
Since the majority of the time the upper arm rests beside the body, (even with most arm gestures), even if an upper arm scar is not perfect, it is rarely seen and allows better fit into clothing and better proportions apparent in sleeveless clothing resulting a good trade for most patients.
