Rejuvenating your Hands – by Dr. Kang

Rejuvenating your Hands

Your hands are truly amazing tools. You are constantly using it to perform a gamut of tasks from the most mundane chores to the most exquisitely fine and creative works of art. We don’t really give enough credit to our hands, but it is probably the most versatile tool that we possess.

Unfortunately as we age, very similar to our face, we lose the fat volume underneath the skin of our hands, and the veins and tendons become more visible and the overlying skin begins to get more loose and wrinkly. In addition, due to years of exposure to the sun just like our face, some patients begin to notice sun or “age” spots.

Traditionally it has always been the “age” spots which have prompted the patients to come in for laser therapy to rid their hands of those pesky spots. Using the latest technology such as Picosure laser and Cynosure Max G IPL, getting rid of these hand spots have become a very routine and predictable procedures.

In addition, in the last five years, there has been a surge of patients wishing volume replacement to the dorsum of their hands to soften the harsh appearance of the underlying veins and tendons and sometimes the bony shape of their hands.

For some patients who clearly need more volume than one to two syringes of filler for each hand, I recommend Lipo-transfer to the hands. Usually 10cc to 20cc are placed in each hand, once again using blunt cannula technique to avoid injuries to the underlying nerves and vessels. Smallest micro cannula is used obviating any need for suture closure of the entrance site. Usually there is minimal to no bruising. Some swelling is naturally expected but recovery is in matter of days (though with any Lipo-transfer, patient should expect complete resolution of all swelling to be in weeks) with many patients returning to work the following day with usually full function of their hands, including artists and musicians. This procedure is very often combined with Lipo-transfer to the face at the same setting.

The biggest advantage of the Lipo-transfer over the fillers are:

1. For the amount compared to the cost of fillers per syringe, much more economical.
2. Permanent retention of at least 30 to 40% (retention tends to be greater than face).
3. Recovery time is essentially similar to filler but do expect a bit more swelling.
4. Best part is the rejuvenative effect on the overlying skin from the Adipocyte derived Stem cells mixed in with the “stromal” component of the fat. Filler does not provide this benefit.

As patients become increasingly aware of the very close relationship between the aging process of the hand and face, more and more patients will seek consultation with their Cosmetic Surgeons about hand rejuvenation using the various modalities discussed above. The best analogy I can leave you with is, if rejuvenation to the face is acquiring a beautiful dress, receiving a procedure to rejuvenate your hand is like buying an elegant shoes to go with that beautiful dress.