12. Results

Significant improvement in the contour and pendulosity of skin and soft tissue has been seen with the combination of liposuction and helium plasma-driven radiofrequency energy.

Interestingly, clinical endpoints are different with this device compared with bulk heaters. Because the skin does not heat up in broad regions, neither erythema nor warmth at the treatment site is an indicator of a completed treatment. However, early improvement can be seen as early as the next day.

While the presence of some fat in the neck to be treated with bulk heating devices is desired, it is not necessary when using the Renuvion device. Figure 9 shows a 49-year-old woman with no fat in her neck preoperatively. A nice correction of her skin laxity is seen at 2 months post-op.

Figure 10 shows a 37-year-old man with gynecomastia and abdominal lipodystrophy. The device is quite good for treating larger surface areas on men or women, as the rapid heating of soft tissue has been shown to decrease overall operative time. Good definition without contour irregularities is noted postoperatively.

The use of energy-based devices has been somewhat limited in the older patient. Because both skin quality and cohesiveness of the subcutaneous tissue can be compromised, these patients are usually offered excisional procedures. Figure 11

#### Figure 9.

(a) A 49-year-old patient with neck laxity and (b) a patient 2 months following tumescent infusion and subcutaneous heating with Renuvion. No liposuction was performed.

Helium Plasma-Driven Radiofrequency in Body Contouring DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84207

Figure 10.

(a) A 37-year-old man with lipodystrophy of the abdomen, flanks, and chest and (b) a patient 3 months post treatment with liposuction and Renuvion soft tissue heating.

shows a 65-year-old woman who underwent circumferential liposuction and Renuvion RF tightening. She has excellent reduction of the skin envelope with improvement of skin tone and texture.

Figure 12 shows a 37-year-old man who had multiple areas of lipodystrophy, despite an active job. He was treated with liposuction and helium-driven plasma RF tightening of the fibroseptal network in the chest, abdomen, and flank region. New technology shows the directional lift achieved in the lower abdomen that corrects the preoperative pendulosity. Skin compression diagram shows relative tightening of the skin in the treatment region (Figure 13).
