I haven't heard of this term until recently, and I do think the name is pretty stupid, but with the exposure of Michelle Obama's finely toned arms, more and more people are talking about the "Batwing" procedure. "Batwing" is slang for the loose skin of the upper arm that many people get with aging and weight loss. We have two surgeries to treat it: liposuction and brachioplasty. I'm not a big fan of either procedure, since liposuction doesn't tighten up the arm skin and a brachioplasty results in a long scar. Nevertheless, I will often liposuction the upper arms of people who complain about excessive fat there. It can be effective.
Maybe we can come up with a better slang term someday.
To read an interview I did for Truth in Aging.com on treating "batwings," click here.
Photo credit: TruthinAging.com
Thanks for reading.
Michigan-based Plastic Surgeon
Anthony Youn, M.D.:
I have called them Grandma Arms for the last few years. Not so politically correct...
ReplyDeleteAlso called Bingo Wings in the UK due to the flapping of elderly ladies underarms when playing bingo.
ReplyDeleteAuthor Stephanie Klein called batwings "the Haddassah wave." I like that terminology better.
ReplyDeleteLove Mrs. Obama's toned arms - an inspiration to me. Yesterday and this afternoon after seeing her picture on your site, Dr. Youn, I worked out with the 5-lb weights again. Jennifer Aniston too - an amazing inspiration....sigh!
ReplyDeleteA German slang word for "Batwings" is "Winkfleisch". This is also not so nice, but I like it...
ReplyDeleteWe call them extra-friendly arms, they keep on waving after you've stopped.
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