Arm Lift Surgery

Brachioplasty surgery involves the removal of redundant skin and residual fat that may have resulted following weight loss over the upper arms.

Brachioplasty surgery requires direct excision of redundant skin and liposuction of the residual fat located over the upper arms. The resulting incision is repaired using a layered plastic surgery closure that minimizes tension on the closure.    Patients undergoing brachioplasty will enjoy a lifelong of sleek and youthful appearing upper arms.

You are a good candidate for brachioplasty surgery if you have noticed flaps of skin that are hanging off of your upper arms like bat wings. These flaps of upper arm skin can be unsightly to the point of avoiding wearing short sleeve shirts.

On your initial visit, SurgiScuplt will evaluate your health status, determine the amount of skin redundancy and residual fat, and show you a customized excision line; You will that have your blood checked.

Expect to have iron and Vitamin B12/Folate deficiencies. The iron deficiency will result in a low blood count, which must be corrected before surgery. The correction of the low blood count will take at least 1 month and require taking daily iron pills.

If you are a smoker, then you should quit for 1 month prior to brachioplasty surgery in order to allow your body adequate time to rid itself of any residual nicotine. Nicotine in your system results in shutting off of small blood vessels that carry nutrients to the skin; this event could be catastrophic in brachioplasty surgery resulting in extensive wounds requiring months to heal.

Since your brachioplasty surgery will require general anesthesia, you must take several precautions prior to surgery. First, you will have to avoid eating and drinking after midnight on the day before surgery. This precaution ensures that your stomach is clear of digested foods that could potentially be aspirated and contaminate your lungs during the induction of anesthesia.

Since you will have anesthetic medications administered throughout the case, you will remain groggy for some time and will require a ride to and from the surgery center if you elect not to commit to an overnight stay on the premises. You should choose a caretaker who is conscientious and who can spend the first night with you.

Overall, brachioplasty patients should be commended for their due diligence in losing their excess weight. By providing these patients with a final skin reduction procedure for their upper arms, we are able to obtain for you the contoured upper arms that you have dreamed of.

Patients are extremely satisfied with their surgery and their desire to wear short-sleeved shirts. By providing a thorough preoperative workup, safe intraoperative course, and frequent postoperative visits, patients should expect a speedy recovery and return to a more aesthetically pleasing upper arm contour and enjoy more freedom with their choice in clothes.

Since your brachioplasty surgery will require general anesthesia, it must be performed in an operating room that is part of an outpatient surgery center or in an in-house office-based operating room, but it is of utmost importance for patients to make sure that the office facility has been accredited by a surgical accreditation body such as AAAASF.

Since your brachioplasty surgery requires the removal of moderate amounts of skin in an area of the arm that is very sensitive, it will require general anesthesia. This is because the skin in this area possesses a large number of sensory nerves (pain fibers) that would be triggered during cutting of the redundant skin; general anesthesia ensures that these pain fibers are shut down during the operation.

You should expect to feel sore throughout the upper arm in the early postoperative period. The soreness can be minimized by continuous wearing of the compression garments. In general, the compression garments should be worn for at least 2 weeks in order to prevent development of any contour abnormalities. Lymphatic drainage compromise is most common in these areas. Lymphatic drainage is promoted by performing mechanical massage, body wraps, and external ultrasound treatments when needed.

Patients can expect to return to work within 1 week to 2weeks following brachioplasty surgery. Patients are advised to gauge their return to work by their overall soreness which dictates the tasks which they may perform.

Due to the extent of redundant skin excised, patients may experience increased tightness around the upper arms. This may lead to temporary swelling of the lower arms and hands.

Prolonged swelling up to 3 months is not uncommon due to poor lymphatic drainage following extreme weight gain and loss. Lymphatic drainage is further compounded by extended surgical incisions required to remove the redundant skin.

Lymphatic drainage is promoted by mechanical massage, body wraps, and external ultrasound treatments when necessary.  Despite attempts to remove all redundant skin, patients may develop recurrent skin laxity following surgery, described as “Recurrent skin laxity Syndrome.”

This return of laxity is due to the loss of skin elasticity, a direct result of prolonged skin stretching throughout the years of obesity. Differences in laxity in local regions of the asymmetry may be responsible for slight asymmetry that develops following surgery.

Temporary numbness in the arms is possible as sensory nerves that are not visible to the eye may be transected by virtue of excising redundant skin.

Surgical treatment of brachioplasty patients requires specific precautions mainly because patients may be compromised physiologically but also because the surgeries can be quite extensive.

Patient safety is the most critical consideration when managing these patients whose hemodynamics and ionic balances may be altered. Patients are encouraged early ambulation in order to minimize the risk of developing vein clots which can then embolize (travel) to vital organs.

Intraoperatively, patients are also provided safeguards against vein clots with intermittent pneumatic compression boots and anti-thrombotic medication through the veins if patients still have a high BMI.

Another consideration involves correcting ionic imbalances resulting in iron deficiency anemia and B12/Folate deficiencies. Early blood work evaluation allows SurgiScuplt to correct all abnormal parameters in preparation for surgery.

Other intraoperative measures include safeguarding against pressure sores with generous cushioning of the axilla (armpits), knees, heels, pelvis, and elbows.

Finally, patients with a larger ratio of surface area to volume are at risk for hypothermia (cooling of core body temperature) and should be provided a warm operating room, warming blankets, and warm fluids by vein. Surgical incision lines may present healing difficulties.

Wound breakdown is more common in these patients secondary to several metabolic and physiologic disorders. Diabetes and nutritional deficiencies are largely to blame for the difficult healing of these patients.

Seroma formation refers to the accumulation of plasma fluid in pockets created by the surgical elevation of the soft tissue. This fluid accumulates due to a low blood count and protein deficiency both of which are often present in post-bariatric patients. This fluid can be a nuisance to patients requiring several aspirations in the office prior to their resolution. More importantly, these plasma fluid pockets may harbor bacterial growth and result in a clinical infection. To counter the formation of seroma and to protect incision lines, customized compression garments are used to cover upper arm incisions.