LAUSR

BACKGROUND Surgical excision remains the gold standard therapy for arm skin laxity. However, many patients abstain the surgical treatment for fear of the long noticeable scars of brachioplasty. Successful plastic surgery businesses should keep current with patients' needs and provide suitable alternatives other than excisional procedures in aesthetic arm contouring. OBJECTIVES The objective of the study is to compare the aesthetic outcome of two energy-assisted liposuction techniques; RFAL (group A) and Renuvion helium subdermal coagulation (group B) with the control group, VASER assisted liposuction alone (group C) in arm contouring. METHODS This is a randomized controlled study for 176 patients, who all underwent VASER assisted liposuction (VAL) followed by RFAL in 53 patients (group A) with the use of BodyTite RF platform, subdermal coagulation in 66 patients (group B) with the Renuvion platform, and VAL alone in 57 patients (group C) for the sake of arm contouring from February 2017 to December 2020. Different patients' data, marking techniques, operative details, complications, tips, and tricks to avoid them and aesthetic outcomes were recorded and tabulated. Surgical team, third party, and patient satisfaction surveys were conducted 6 months postoperatively. RESULTS The study included 176 patients; 153 female patients and 23 male patients. The mean age was 32 years, with a minimum of 20 years and a maximum of 59 years. 53 patients (group A) underwent RFAL BodyTite RF platform, 66 patients (group B) underwent subdermal coagulation with the use of Renuvion platform and 57 patients (group C) underwent VASER assisted liposuction alone without the use of any of the energy-producing machines mentioned in the study. All patients were followed up for a minimum of 6 months. 96 (80.6 %) patients reported their satisfaction with the overall technique. The independent plastic surgeon considered the result good to excellent in 97 of 119 cases of the studied group. CONCLUSIONS The umbrella of non-excisional arm contouring can be extended to include difficult cases of arm laxity by using energy-producing machines, and the procedure can achieve a reduction of fat deposits and significant improvement of skin laxity.