How to make your hands look younger

Question: My hands look so old. Is there anything I can do?

Answer: Aging and wrinkled skin is perhaps most noticeable in our face and the back of our hands because these areas never get a break from the sun. The facelift has become a routine procedure in plastic surgery with incredible results, but many patients aren’t aware that they can do something to reverse the effects of aging on their hands as well.

As we age, the skin on the back of the hands can become so thin that we can see right through it, making veins, bones and tendons easily visible.

Our hands also develop “sun spots” or brown discoloration that adds to their aged appearance. The treatment for this is fat-grafting. Liposuction is performed improving another area like your love handles or abdomen and during the liposuction procedure, the fat is harvested, processed and then injected into the hand. This thickens the tissue in the back of the hand so that veins, tendons and bones are less visible, restoring a more youthful appearance.

At the same time as the fat transfer, laser treatments can be performed to help erase the brown spots.

The result is a more full, youthful hand with improved skin and coloring.

The fat transfer procedure is typically done under MAC or “twilight” anesthesia to make the liposuction a more comfortable experience. The results are long-lasting and patients love them. We are always looking at the back of our hands ... and so is everybody else. Now you can do something about it.