Am I A Good Candidate For Elbow And Knee Lifts?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am  41 years old and weight 96 lbs. I have sagging, wrinkled loose skin at elbows and knees and was wondering if an elbow/knee lifts would be an option. I’ve never had a large weight loss but did lose 10 lbs about 2 years ago. Thanks so much for any info.

A: My guess is at your age and relatively stable weight, this is simply loose skin due to lose of elasticity of thin skin. This is very common at the elbows and knees due to the frequent flexion movements across the joints. It is not really question of whether elbow and knee lifts can be done…but should they be done. There is the aesthetic trade-off of a fine line scar which I consider more of a potential issue in the knees than the elbows due to the visibility. The good news is that thin skin usually scars the best, so this is a consideration not necessarily an impediment to doing it. I would need to see some pictures of the knees and elbows in the straight position (extended) to judge how much loose skin is present. It is that determination that makes the decision about whether elbow and knee lifts (so called ‘joint lifts’) are worthy of that scar trade-off.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana