The purpose of a brachioplasty (arm Lift) is to reduce the
excess skin and fat of the arm between the axilla (underarm) and the
elbow thereby resulting in smoother skin and a better shaped arm.
Fluctuations in weight, growing older and even heredity can cause your
upper arms to have a drooping, sagging appearance. Although exercise
may tone the underlying muscle, it cannot get rid of excess skin that
you may have.
If you have excess skin and fat on the under side of your arm, then a
brachioplasty may be the right operation for you.
The procedure involves an incision on the inner aspect of your arm
along its length. Liposuction may also be done if there is excess fat
in the arm. After the procedure, there may be a small pipe that is left
in the arm to allow for drainage of excess fluid and blood that may
accumulate but this is not often necessary. Following the surgery, you
will have dressings and bandages placed over the arm. After the
dressings are changed, you will need to apply a pressure garment to the
arm which will need to be worn for a few weeks depending on the extent
of your surgery.
Although the risks involved in this surgery do not commonly occur, you
need to be aware of them and you will have many opportunities to
discuss these with me prior to the surgery. Like with any surgical
procedure, there are anaesthetic risks but the possible surgical risks
include the following:
• Unfavourable scarring
• Bleeding (hematoma), and fluid
accumulation (seroma)
• Infection
• Poor wound healing
• Skin loss
• Numbness or other changes in skin
sensation
• Skin discoloration and/or prolonged
swelling
• Asymmetry (one arm has a different
shape to the other)
• Major wound separation
• Fatty tissue found deep in the skin
might die (fat necrosis)
• Damage to deeper structures such as
nerves, blood vessels, muscles, and lungs
• Pain, which may persist
• Deep vein thrombosis, cardiac and
pulmonary complications
• Sutures may spontaneously surface
through the skin, become visible or produce irritation that require
removal
• Possibility of revisional surgery
Although these complications can occur, they are rare and every
precaution is taken to avoid them.
You will generally be discharged the following day after your surgery
if all goes well. There will be a follow-up appointment scheduled in a
few days after you go home to assess the wounds. During that time, you
should not allow the wounds to get wet and you should not perform any
strenuous work. I will discuss the post-operative management with you
in detail. If you are concerned about anything after you have been
discharged, you should contact me as soon as possible and we will
schedule an appointment to see you.
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