Say goodbye to flappy flabby arms!

Posted in: Brachioplasty | December 21, 2010 | Comments Off

Does your upper arm keep swinging after you wave goodbye? Most women who have gained or lost a significant amount of weight have this problem. However, even fit women have upper arm fat that just won’t go away – myself included!

Don’t worry about having to deal with all this arm flapping forever.  For mild cases in otherwise fit patients with good skin – upper arm liposuction should allow for a nice contour.  This month, I’ve been doing many of these procedures for several of my young patients who work out and are in great shape but just need help with that last little area of upper arm fat.

However, for patients who have a lot of excess skin, they often need an arm lift or brachioplasty.  This is about a 3-4-hour procedure that I perform at my outpatient surgery center.  You will be under general anesthesia but you will get to go home the same day.

For either procedure, you can usually go back to work in a few days and exercise may be resumed just after a few weeks. Bruising is rare but there is swelling as with any liposuction procedure.  For best results, you will need to wear compression garments preferably for about 6 weeks.

The main downside to brachioplasty is a long scar.  It will extend from the armpit to the elbow, along the inside of your arm. In general, those with very loose skin find this exchange worthwhile.  Those with only a small amount of sagging will sometimes be able to get away with a smaller scar in the armpit.  If you are not willing to accept scarring, you should not have this operation.  However, most patients are happy to trade their excess arm skin and fat for a scar.

Overall, patients are very happy with this procedure.  Most women feel more confident wearing short sleeves and are less self conscious with everyday activity.  As with all procedures, make sure to spend time discussing with your surgeon realistic expectations and making sure all your questions are answered prior to undergoing this procedure.

Dr. Cat Begovic M.D.