Influences of Age, Gender, and Body Mass Index on the Depth of the Superficial Fascia of the Arm and Thigh.

Background: Nonsurgical skin-tightening procedures are increasing in popularity because of their noninvasiveness as the energy is transdermally applied to the subcutaneous tissues.

Objective: To provide precise data on the depth of the superficial fascia for potentially safer and better targeted treatments of arms and thighs.

Methods: One hundred fifty Caucasian individuals were investigated with an equal distribution of men and women (each n = 75) and a balanced distribution of age (n = 30 per decade). Ultrasound-based measurements were conducted, measuring the distance between skin and the superficial fascia in the posterior arm and the anterior, medial, and posterior thigh.

Results: Deep to the skin, 5 layers were consistently and bilaterally identified in both sexes: skin, superficial fat, superficial fascia, deep fat, and deep fascia. The overall mean distance between the skin surface and the superficial fascia was for the posterior arm 4.38 ± 0.9 mm; range (2.60-6.70), for the anterior thigh 7.90 ± 2.3 mm range (3.50-13.20), for the medial thigh 5.74 ± 1.2 mm range (3.10-8.20), and for the posterior thigh 7.77 ± 3.2 mm range (3.60-14.50).

Conclusion: Knowing the precise depth of the superficial fascia for nonsurgical skin-tightening procedures could potentially guide practitioners toward safer and more effective outcomes.