Arm, Thigh, and Buttock Lifts

Arm, Thigh, and Buttock Lifts
The quest for the "perfect body" -- no matter what -- persists in our society. This quest would probably not have become so pervasive if today’s plastic surgeons were not capable of meeting this demand. People tend to look at their bodies and the possibility of improvement in ways that were unimaginable to past generations. They look at themselves and visualize how improvements could enhance their well-being and allow them to enjoy a vital and full lifestyle with a physical form that better matches their inner self.

This is evident not only in the area of plastic surgery, but also in the physical health industry, in which large numbers of health clubs and aerobic spas have opened across the country and are flourishing. Add to this the incredible increase in complementary or alternative medicine and new theories of understanding mind, body, and spirit, and we can see a wonderful new expression of healthy lifestyles emerging in the adult and older adult populations.

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With this in mind, it is most natural to want to look as physically fit as possible. We can turn to plastic surgery to improve the physical appearance in new and dramatic ways. Of all the plastic surgery procedures for men and women, liposuction is now the most common cosmetic procedure performed in the United States. This section is not about liposuction (Chap. 16 should be read in conjunction with this section); instead, it is about the ultimate operation for body contouring. The operations discussed here are major operations and require an extensive recovery period. However, of all the body contouring procedures available to plastic surgeons, these probably give the most dramatic postoperative results.

 Courtesy of Khosrow Matini, M.D.

Figure 22-1. Before and after an arm lift.

Frequently, when a person loses drastic amounts of weight, there will be excess skin that needs to be treated by direct excision. The most common operations that are needed following a drastic weight loss of 60 to 150 pounds are abdominoplasty or tummy tuck, breast reduction, arm lift, thigh lift, and buttock lift. The main goal of each operation is to remove as much excess skin as possible, reshape and recontour the area, and then close the incision in an inconspicuous location. The abdominoplasty and breast reductions were discussed previously. In this chapter, we will deal with arm lifts, buttock lifts, and thigh lifts.

Arm Lift
As women approach their late thirties or early forties, and sometimes even earlier, the arms begin to become "the issue." During a consultation, they usually ask, while grabbing at the area around their arms, "Now, isn’t there something you can do about this?" Time catches up, regardless of the physical effort expended lifting weights and exercising, and a plastic surgeon can restore the look of youthful arms.