Arm lift

Arm lift surgery, also known as bracioplasty is a procedure involving the removal of skin and subcutaneous tissue; which is a layer of fat that insulates the body. This is usually removed from the lower area in is normally used by people with sagging tissues resulting from rapid weight loss or aging.

Arm lift surgery is usually performed under a general anaesthetic and normally lasts a couple of hours. The length of the surgery differs depending on the amount of excess skin or fat that needs removing. And in more severe cases the surgeon may need to make a larger incision. The cut will be made on the inside of your arm and if you require fat deposits to be removed some liposuction may be used. The underlying tissue will then be reshaped and, if needed, the incision will be drained in order to help with stretching the skin.

Following surgery the affected area will be bandaged to help it heal. Your surgeon may use dissolvable sutures or stitches that will need to be removed a couple of weeks later. After surgery patients usually experience bruising, swelling and sometimes a tightening sensation in the area where the surgery was done. In some cases you may need to wear a supporting garment for a while after surgery in order to assist healing. Antibiotics are often prescribed to prevent the affected area becoming infected and it's usually recommended that you avoid any strenuous activity for a while afterward.

Although arm lift surgery is widely used to reduce the fat and excess skin in the arm, making it more attractive, there's a number of risks that come with this type of surgery. Some commonly reported side effects include bruising, scarring, swelling, bleeding and infection. There's also several serious risks associated with arm lift surgery. If any nerves are compressed during surgery or after it then the patient may experience difficulty in moving their hands and arms. Serum may collect in the affected area after surgery and you will need to visit your surgeon several times to have it removed. Similarly, skin or fat growing along the incision can die. This delays the healing process and means you may need a skin graft to repair the damage. Those undergoing arm lift surgery also run the risk of Hematoma, where blood accumulates under the skin.

There are also several risk factors which make certain individuals more likely to have complications from the surgery. If you are overweight or suffer from diabetes, smoke or suffer from several other health conditions then you increase the risk of complications when undergoing surgery. As such, it's always important to talk about potential risks with your surgeon and attempt to manage any conditions as much as possible.