RT Book, Section
A1 Reed, Lawrence S.
A1 Hyman, Joshua B.
A2 Grant, Robert T.
A2 Chen, Constance M.
SR Print(0)
ID 1175920160
T1 Brachioplasty
T2 Cosmetic Surgery
YR 2010
FD 2010
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 9780071470797
LK dermatology.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1175920160
RD 2024/04/16
AB Cosmetic  surgery  of  the  upper  arm,  brachioplasty,  has  become  one  of  the  most  common  surgical  procedures  done  today.  According  to  the  American  Society  of  Plastic  Surgeons  statistical  data,  338  upper  arm  lifts  were  done  in  2000  and  14,059  upper  arm  lifts  were  done  in  2008,  an  increase  of  4059%.  Although  many  variations  of  the  procedure  exist,  the  term  generally  implies  the  surgical  resection  of  the  skin  and  fat  of  the  upper  arm  to  improve  the  aesthetic  contour  of  the  upper  arm.  The  surgical  rejuvenation  of  the  arm  is  a  subject  of  much  debate,  which  is  why  numerous  procedures  and  combinations  of  procedures  have  been  described.  Brachioplasty  was  first  introduced  in  1954  by  Correa-Iturraspe  et  al  and  since  then  has  undergone  a  series  of  modifications,  such  as  Z-plasties,  W-plasties,  curving  S-incisions,  and  quadrangular  flaps,  to  improve  the  appearance  of  the  scar.  The  goal  of  any  brachioplasty  procedure  is  to  approach  the  ideal,  youthful,  feminine  arm  which  is  lean  and  tapers  smoothly  from  the  axilla  to  the  elbow.  Glanz  and  Gonzalez-Ulloa  used  the  coefficient  of  Hoyer  to  quantify  the  goals  of  brachioplasty  more  objectively.  They  state  that  the  ratio  of  the  distance  from  the  top  of  the  arm  to  the  bottom  of  the  humerus  and  from  the  bottom  of  the  humerus  to  lower  arm  is  1:1  in  a  young  girl  and  increases  to  1:2.2  by  age  70.  The  goal  of  surgery  is  to  reapproach  the  1:1  distance.  Brachioplasty  surgery  has  been  plagued  by  large,  often  unacceptable,  scars  to  obtain  significant  improvements  in  arm  contour.  Recent  advances  in  brachioplasty  surgery  include  more  limited  incision  approaches  combined  with  aggressive  liposuction,  which  has  been  successful  in  some  patients.