Thinking About Arm Lift Surgery? Facts You Should You Know

We call it an arm lift surgery, but doctors often refer to it as brachioplasty. This cosmetic surgery is all that you need if you are seeking to tighten and smoothen sagging skin tissues on your arm.

Well, before we delve deeper into the details of the arm lift surgery, it's important to point out that having flaps of excess skin hanging from your arms is certainly not a symptom of being unhealthy. Aging and genetics are usually the reasons for the development of sagging skin.

Regardless of what’s causing your skin to be baggy, there are several facts you should know about the arm lift surgery. This article outlines the most important arm lifts facts you should know.

Buckle up!

ALSO CHECK: Arm Lift – 6 Things You Should Know

 

 

How Does an Arm Lift Help?

There are quite a number of benefits that are associated with arm lift surgery. They include:

• Removal of excess fat and skin: If you undergo an arm lift surgery, you should rest assured that the fatty tissues and excess skin that made your lower arms saggy will be removed. This means that after the surgery, you will have a more desirable attractive appearance in the area between the elbow and armpit.

• Restores confidence: Cosmetic surgeries such as the arm lift often leave a patient with restored self-esteem.

• Changes the tone and shape of your arm: Sometimes, no matter how much you work out, your arms may appear saggy with no shape –this is due to excess skin and fat. But after having an arm lift, your arms will appear more toned, and the flabbiness will be eradicated.

• More Clothing Options: More people usually do not realize that arm lift surgery will allow them to have more clothing options. This is probably one of the forgotten benefits that come with having an arm lift surgery.

  

What Can You Expect From the Procedure?

As you are about to have surgery, your doctor will begin by marking certain areas on your arm where they intend to make incisions. Although the doctors usually prefer making incisions on the inside or back of the arms, there are many other ways they could go about the arm lift surgery. For instance, they can make an incision in the armpit or a long one that extends from the elbow to the armpit.

Depending on the surgical technique that your doctor uses, you will either be given local or general anesthesia so that you don’t feel any discomfort during the procedure. As soon as the anesthesia kicks in, your doctor will then make incisions guided by the marks he/she may have made earlier on. As they lift the arm, your doctor will either tighten or reshape the tissue in your upper arm then close the incision by pulling back your skin back over the tissue.

Suppose you have extra pockets of fat on your arm, your doctor may use the Liposuction technique to eject the fat tissues. This is done so that you fully heal. It takes about three hours to complete the whole surgery.

Although it’s rare to feel any sort of pain or discomfort post-surgery, your doctors will give you meds that you will use just in case.

 

Why Doesn’t Liposuction Fix the Problem?

An arm lift is the best option if you have excess arm skin or saggy underarms –doctors can’t use Liposuction to deal with excess skin. During the arm lift surgery, liposuction can only be considered if you have underlying fat nuggets in your arm. Liposuction is used to drain that unwanted fat from your arm.

When patients are told about this during the consultation sessions, they usually request for liposuction because it doesn't leave scars behind as compared to an arm lift. In most cases, an arm lift leaves visible scars behind, but experienced doctors try to minimize or hide the scars.

If you are considering having an arm lift surgery, you should know that the problem of excess skin cannot be treated by liposuction alone. Even if your doctor removes underlying fat tissues from your arm using the Liposuction technique, they will still be excess skin that has to be removed by surgery.

 

What are the Other Important Considerations?

Just like in any other surgery, there are important dos and don’ts that you shouldn’t ignore when you are considering an arm lift surgery. You can think of these dos and don’ts as instructions that can determine the success of your surgery.

An arm lift surgery should never be performed on a person that smokes. To be an ideal candidate for this surgery, you should stop smoking four to six weeks before the surgery day. Smoking can affect your recovery period, and once your recovery period gets affected, this can also have a negative impact on the surgery outcome.

Doctors will likely turn you down if you have lost a considerable amount of weight over the last 6 months. You will be advised to maintain a stable weight for at least 6 months before having brachioplasty.

This content is edited by Flymedi Medical Editors in November 2019.