True or false: signs of aging mainly affect the face. If you answered false – congratulations, you know your signs of getting older! As gravity and a combination of weight changes (increase and decrease), genetics and natural aging start to take shape, we often overlook other key areas of the body that can make a person look older than they really are. In this edition of our Grammy makeover series I want to focus on two additional procedures to help get your pre-Grammy body back: the arms and the hands.
Arm Sculpting
The term bat wing is a ‘lovely little nickname’ to describe the nature of sagging skin that accumulates and droops downward on the arms. When we experience significant changes in weight, skin that is stretched cannot be retightened no matter how many reps of curls, bench pressing or body sculpting you do. Collagen also inherently breaks down as we get older, adding to that sagging appearance that occurs to the arms. Regardless of how localized fat and excess skin accumulates, the solution remains the same: arm lift, or bracioplasty as we say in the medical world. Depending on the extent of your lax skin and remaining tissue, there are several incision techniques I utilize to help hide any visible scarring beneath the arm. The actual arm lift procedure consists of removing loose skin, addressing that stubborn fat and smoothing over the remaining skin to restore a more proportionally-toned look to the arms. Arm lift results should look as natural as possible but the work shouldn’t stop there! With just about any cosmetic procedure, plastic surgery results can be maintained with proper diet and exercise regimens to reduce the chance of reversing results you’re already happy with. Grammy makeover patients already have their hands full with keeping up with the grans – why add worrying about your results to your laundry list of priorities?
Hand Rejuvenation
Sure you could have the face of a 35 year old but what do your hands say about your age? Think about how often our hands are exposed to harsh environmental damage (sun damage specifically), which can contribute to speeding up the aging process. As the collagen production slows down and the skin begins to weaken, wrinkles and veins become more prominent – making the hands appear almost skeletal. FDA-approved Radiesse® for hand rejuvenation is the nonsurgical solution to re-plumping the delicate, thinning skin. Cosmetic injectables have helped men and women fill prominent areas of the face (like the cheeks and lips) but Radiesse® is the first of its kind to get the stamp of approval for use specifically on the hands. Hand rejuvenation treatments are relatively quick and don’t require downtime following treatment. Once we identify key parts of the hand that could use a boost, I’ll administer Radiesse® injections and gently massage the solution into the hands. The massaging part helps to smooth out bumps and make sure that we adequately cover the depressed portions on the back of the hand to make the veins and tendons appear less noticeably. Radiesse® for hand rejuvenation results last generally 1-2 years, with touch ups encouraged to keep your results lasting longer.
When you break down all of the procedures Grammy makeover patients have to choose from, you may notice that the possibilities really are endless; it’s your procedure, your way! So far we have covered the facial rejuvenation components of Grammy makeover and in our next part we will explore the various body and breast procedures that are also below the neck. If you’re a Grammy who’s interested in exploring Grammy makeover opportunities, please don’t hesitate to contact Southern Plastic Surgery for your complimentary consultation. Stay connected with me, double board certified plastic surgeon Dr. David Whiteman, on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ for more Grammy and mommy makeover news and updates.