Background: Fat collects in the extremities just about as well as in the trunk region in many patients. Unlike abdominal fat, for example, fat in the extremities can be very difficult to reduce as it is often less responsive to diet and exercise. While extreme amounts of weight loss (e.g., gastric bypass) can reduce extremity fat, many patients do not need or will undergo these extreme amounts of weight loss.
Excess fat on the arms typically refers to undesired fullness on the back of the upper arms. The triceps area is the most bothersome area of excess arm fat because it hangs down when the arm is raised. A fatty back of the arm will jiggle when the arm is moved back and forth. This has led to the term ‘bingo arm’ or ‘bingo wing’. According to the Urban Dictionary, bingo arms comes from the observation of the excitement of winning bingo at senior’s night where one waves their arms back and forth creating a back and forth movement of the back of the arms.
Case Study: This 44 year-old female was bothered by the size of the back of her arms. While she was not excessively oveweight, the fullness on the back of he arms was aesthetically disturbing. She caller her arms ‘Bingo Arms’ which was the first time I had ever heard this arm issue so described.
Under general anesthesia and through small stab incisions right above the elbow as well as on the back side of the armpit, two-directional power-assisted liposuction (PAL was performed using 3mm cannula. A total of 225cc of fat aspirate was removed from each arm.
Her results at three months after surgery showed substantial improvement in reduction of the size of the back of arms. While it did not make her arms small, liposuction did eliminate much of the upper arm jiggle.
Bingo arm liposuction can be very effective in the properly selected patient. There is a limit as to how much fat can be removed from the arms and how well the skin will shrink and tighten. When the amount of skin becomes more significant than in this patient, an excisional armlift may be a better treatment choice.
While many different types of liposuction exist, none have proven to produce consistently better results than other. Power-assisted liposuction (PAL) in my hands remains more effective than traditional liposuction particularly in smaller confined areas like the back of the arm. Allowing the mechanized tip of the cannula to do the work, as opposed to the ‘elbow grease’ of the surgeon, makes for a more effective effort. A mechanized cannula tip can move back and forth far faster and more frequently than what a human can do. (thousands of time per minute as opposed to dozens of times)
Highlights:
1) Liposuction can be performed safely on the arms. (bingo arm liposuction)
2) The back of the arms (triceps area) offers the greatest depot of fat for liposuction extraction in most patients.
3) Power-assisted liposuction (PAL) provides an effective method of arm fat extraction.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana