Bong Bong's Renuvion team · Dr. Seongsoo Park · Dr. Min-Gu Kang · Dr. Young-Woong Choi (in Korean, 9:23)
"I lost the weight, but the skin stayed." It's one of the most common things we hear now. As more people lose large amounts of weight through bariatric surgery or medications such as Wegovy and Mounjaro, loose skin left behind where the fat used to be has become a growing concern.
Until recently, the main way to address that skin was to cut it out. Since Renuvion arrived in Korea, there's another option: tightening the structure beneath the skin through a tiny entry point — reducing the incision, or avoiding one entirely. This guide explains how Renuvion works and how Bong Bong applies it to each area.
The 3-minute summary
- Device
- Renuvion® · helium plasma + RF energy
- FDA clearances
- Post-liposuction use · neck & submental laxity · subcutaneous soft tissue contraction
- Mechanism
- Fibroseptal network heated to ~85°C for ~0.044 s → immediate contraction · surface stays below 41°C
- Main uses
- Laxity after liposuction / weight loss / childbirth; areola, breast, navel; lower face
- Procedure time
- ~15 min added per area with liposuction · general or local anesthesia
- Results
- Immediate contraction + collagen remodeling over 6–9 months
What is Renuvion
Renuvion is a minimally invasive energy device for loose skin. Unlike lifting devices that heat the skin from the outside, it goes beneath the skin through a small entry point and contracts the fibrous structure that holds the skin in place1.
According to Renuvion's official materials, more than 325,000 people have been treated since 2017 at over 5,000 clinics in more than 65 countries. A single-use handpiece is used for every procedure.
FDA clearances
- Post-liposuction use
- Skin laxity of the neck and submental region
- Subcutaneous soft tissue contraction
How it works · 85°C and 41°C
Skin sags mainly because the fibroseptal network (FSN) beneath it loosens. The FSN is a web of connective tissue linking skin to the underlying fascia, keeping the skin in place.
Helium plasma + RF
RF energy applied to helium gas creates plasma, delivering heat precisely to subcutaneous tissue.
Instant heat, instant contraction
About 85°C for about 0.044 seconds contracts the FSN and collagen, producing a change right after treatment.
Surface stays below 41°C
Only deep tissue is targeted while the skin surface stays below 41°C, minimizing surface heat damage.
Why 85°C — instant heating vs. bulk heating
Conventional devices use bulk heating, warming a larger volume of tissue at a lower temperature for a longer time. Renuvion delivers instant heating at 85°C only where it's needed. According to the manufacturer1:
| Heating method | Temp. | Collagen contraction | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Renuvion (instant) | 85°C | ~60% | ~0.044 s |
| Bulk heating | 70°C | ~40% | ~42 s |
| Bulk heating | 65°C | ~40% | ~100 s – 2.5 min |
In other words, treating at 85°C rather than 65°C yields about 50% more collagen contraction, about 3,500× faster. Because heat dwells only briefly, the skin surface stays below 41°C.
360° safety system
- Helium plasma envelops tissue evenly, delivering energy in 360° to prevent excessive heat damage
- Helium plasma + RF energy for tissue-selective contraction
- Heat doesn't linger, minimizing surface damage
- Energy delivered only where needed for fast, precise results
Right where the fat was removed, the fibrous tissue contracts, and the skin settles back against the tissue underneath very naturally.
Dr. Min-Gu Kang · Co-Director, Bong Bong Plastic Surgery
Loose skin after liposuction
When a large volume of fat is removed from one area, the skin that covered it can be left loose or uneven, and tissue can harden into lumps. It has always been a concern, even for surgeons who do a lot of liposuction.
With Renuvion, the fibrous tissue contracts immediately after the fat is removed, so the skin re-attaches — reducing unevenness and lumping. Dr. Kang says that since Renuvion arrived, much of his hesitation about high-volume liposuction has gone.
Who it helps most
- Patients with loose skin after bariatric surgery
- Patients who lost a large amount of weight with Wegovy, Mounjaro, or similar medications
- Patients planning high-volume liposuction and worried about sagging
- Patients with loose abdominal skin after childbirth
- Patients who don't want a lift surgery but want a definite lifting result
- Patients wanting to improve firmness in specific areas like the double chin, jowls, or back of the hands
- Patients who want a procedure with short recovery
Renuvion doesn't fully replace surgery that removes excess skin. When there's a very large amount of excess skin, combining it with excisional surgery such as abdominoplasty is usually better. For mild to moderate laxity, liposuction plus Renuvion can greatly reduce the incision needed.
Breast, navel, and face
Dr. Young-Woong Choi is Bong Bong's key doctor for Renuvion and has been extending its use beyond the body to the breast, navel, and face.
Stretched areola
For areolas that became wide and thin after weight loss or repeated pregnancies stretched and shrank the breast.
Breast lift with less scarring
Traditional lifts and reductions require inverted-T or lollipop incisions. Depending on the degree of sagging, Renuvion can substantially reduce scarring.
Sagging after implant removal
Breasts often sag after implants are removed in the 50s–60s. Renuvion right after removal tightens the stretched tissue.
Vertical navel + upper abdomen
A vertical navel can collapse under the weight of the upper abdomen. Adding liposuction and Renuvion helps the result hold.
Lower face · incision-free lifting
Double chin, marionette lines, nasolabial folds. Unlike a facelift with a hairline incision, it's done through tiny entry points.
Reconstruction patients
For reconstruction patients wary of further surgery, it can be a less invasive way to refine the reconstructed or opposite breast.
Even at the university hospital, I wanted to offer something less invasive to patients who were afraid of more surgery. When I joined Bong Bong, Renuvion had just arrived — I was genuinely glad.
Dr. Young-Woong Choi · Bong Bong Plastic Surgery
Its role in body-line design
In body contouring, breast, waist, hips, and thighs can't be treated in isolation — the body looks beautiful when the line flows without a break. What matters isn't more volume but how volume is distributed: some areas need volume, others need tightening.
At Bong Bong, Hybrid Breast Augmentation and Hybrid Gluteal Augmentation add volume; Renuvion's job is to tighten, lift, and refine the line.
Renuvion tightens and lifts to shape the line. We also expect its particular energy to support regeneration.
Dr. Seongsoo Park · Chief Director, Bong Bong Plastic Surgery
Procedure and recovery
- STEP 01
Detailed Consultation
Fat, skin, and fibrous structure are assessed to decide between Renuvion alone, with liposuction, or with excisional surgery.
- STEP 02
Anesthesia
General or local depending on scope. An anesthesiology specialist is on site.
- STEP 03
Liposuction (if needed)
Fat is addressed first.
- STEP 04
Renuvion
Through the same entry point, the handpiece contracts the subcutaneous FSN. About 15 minutes per area.
- STEP 05
Recovery & Aftercare
Compression garment and regular follow-up. Collagen remodeling continues over 6–9 months.
Recovery ranges from a few days to a few weeks depending on area and anesthesia. Our surgeons describe it as a procedure where, because the complication burden is low, both the patient and the surgeon sleep well at night. The aim is a result that doesn't look pulled — the kind where friends ask, "What did you do? You look great."
Curious whether Renuvion fits your skin laxity? Book a consultation.
Diagnosed personally by a Bong Bong specialist. Consultation and diagnostics are complimentary.
Video transcript (English)
An English translation of the Korean subtitles, organized by chapter and lightly edited for readability. … marks places where the subtitles break off. Click a timestamp to jump to that point in the video.
00:00Intro · Meet the Renuvion teamPark · Kang · Choi
“Without surgery, using an energy device — can you get a noticeable, remarkable result? … Renuvion may well …”
Hello, we're Bong Bong Plastic Surgery's Renuvion team — Dr. Seongsoo Park, Dr. Min-Gu Kang, and Dr. Young-Woong Choi.
Dr. Kang has mainly looked after patients with loose skin after bariatric surgery — people with severe obesity who've had stomach-reduction surgery — and, more recently, people who've lost a great deal of weight with medications like Wegovy and Mounjaro. Few surgeons in Korea specialize in this. Since Renuvion, a truly groundbreaking device, was introduced here, he's been combining it with surgery, and it seems to be changing the surgery itself. We wanted to share that experience.
01:201. Loose skin after liposuctionDr. Min-Gu Kang
Q. Compared with body-tightening surgery, reduction surgery, or abdominoplasty before, has using Renuvion changed how you treat patients and operate?
For patients with a lot of fat, after liposuction we used to … Since Renuvion came to us, much of my fear about what happens after liposuction has gone.
When you remove a large amount of fat from one area, the skin that covered it can sag or become uneven, and it can clump. With Renuvion, right after the fat is removed, the fibrous tissue underneath contracts and the skin settles back against it very naturally — so there's no unevenness or hard lumping.
I also think the regenerative energy of Renuvion's helium plasma strongly promotes wound healing — helping tissue recover faster and improving circulation. Faster recovery and a quicker return to daily life are good for both the patient and the surgeon.
02:552. Breast, navel, and faceDr. Young-Woong Choi
Recently I've been using Renuvion in navel surgery, too. There are also patients whose areola — the brown skin around the nipple — has become quite stretched and thin, after losing a lot of weight or after several pregnancies, as the breast expands and shrinks again and again. I use it often for them.
Traditional breast reduction and lift surgery required an inverted-T or lollipop-shaped incision. With Renuvion, a scar-free …
Something I felt even at the university hospital: patients who lost one breast to cancer still have the other side. I wanted to do more for that side, and for the operated side, too — but some patients are afraid because of their past surgery. I'd been thinking a less invasive option like Renuvion would be ideal, and when I joined, the device had just arrived. I was genuinely glad.
We've had many more inquiries about vertical navel surgery recently. Making the navel vertical is a simple procedure, but in patients with some excess weight — especially in the upper abdomen — the weight above presses down on it no matter how well it's shaped. Adding liposuction and Renuvion gives a much better result.
Incision-free facelift. Incision-free breast lift. Many patients who've had breast augmentation want their implants removed, but then the volume drops and some regret it — “Should I have taken them out?” It's mostly people in their 50s and 60s who remove implants, and afterward the breasts sag a lot. If we do Renuvion immediately after implant removal, the stretched tissue …
On the face especially, the lower face — a double chin, the marionette lines that come with age, nasolabial folds. A facelift has to place its incision along the hairline, so the pull vector isn't natural. Renuvion is done entirely through small holes, so for anyone who doesn't want scars and wants a definite result …
05:553. Shaping the body line
Q. What is Renuvion's role?
In body contouring, the key areas are the breast, waist, hips, and thighs — and you can't look at them separately. Even a patient who comes in for breast surgery has to be seen in terms of the whole body line, because the body looks beautiful when that line flows without a break.
Proportion matters and volume matters — but more volume isn't better. What matters is how the volume is distributed: this much at the breast, this much at the waist, the hips, the thighs, so the whole looks beautiful. Some areas need volume, and others need tightening. Renuvion's role is to tighten, lift, and refine the line.
Beyond lifting and tightening, we expect Renuvion's particular energy to play a powerful anti-aging and regenerative role in the body.
Q. What has it been like to use?
At first, honestly … but the more procedures I did, the more I felt how safe it is, and now I use it actively, with peace of mind, across a wide range of areas.
The best part is that after Renuvion, both the patient and the surgeon can sleep well at night — because it's a procedure with few complications. And looking at the results, it doesn't look forced. People hear from friends, “What did you do? You look so much better.” My personal view is that surgery can look forced, whereas Renuvion …
There's something patients ask for at the clinic: “No surgery — but it has to work.” Can you get a noticeable, remarkable result with an energy device and no surgery? … Renuvion may well fill the needs that energy devices couldn't meet for our patients before … — I agree.
08:214. Where Renuvion goes next
Q. What's your vision for Renuvion?
Bong Bong Plastic Surgery has focused on breast, body contouring, and youthful-face surgery, and in the breast we've also done reconstruction. Going forward …
We've brought on Professor Young-Woong Choi, a very capable surgeon with clear insight, as a new director — and at around the same time, a new device … Dr. Choi is very actively using it as our Renuvion key doctor. Watching him see patients and operate right beside me …
To all the viewers who joined us today: we promise to keep caring for you sincerely and wholeheartedly. Thank you.
International experts visit · Renuvion special
Dr. Sterodimas, an international plastic surgeon with long experience using Renuvion, and Charles Goodwin, CEO of Apyx Medical — the company that makes Renuvion — visited Bong Bong Plastic Surgery. They discuss why Renuvion is combined with fat grafting and liposuction, how to manage sagging after implant removal, and how far it can go as an alternative to abdominoplasty.
Renuvion special · Dr. Sterodimas · Apyx Medical CEO Charles Goodwin at Bong Bong Plastic Surgery
Frequently Asked Questions
QIs Renuvion FDA-cleared?
QHow long does it take?
QIs anesthesia required?
QWhen do results appear and how long do they last?
QCan it help loose skin after major weight loss with Wegovy or Mounjaro?
- Official Renuvion® official Korean site — technology, FDA clearances, FAQ.
- Video Bong Bong Plastic Surgery Renuvion team — Dr. Park, Dr. Kang, Dr. Choi.
- Video Renuvion special — Dr. Sterodimas · Apyx Medical CEO Charles Goodwin visit Bong Bong Plastic Surgery.
Closing thoughts
"I don't want surgery, but I want results." Many patients tell us exactly that. Renuvion fills that gap. It can't always replace excisional surgery, but for sagging after liposuction, loose skin after childbirth or weight loss, and sagging after implant removal — problems that used to have few answers besides an incision — it offers a new option.
The right combination depends on assessing fat, skin, and fibrous structure together. See also our liposuction and abdominoplasty guides.