An arm lift, also known as brachioplasty, removes excess skin between the armpit and elbow improving contour and restoring a more youthful appearance to the arms.  Arm lifts can improve the look of the upper arm and armpit when aging, genetic predisposition or substantial weight-loss has caused excess skin to accumulate resulting in a sagging, “jiggly,” unattractive appearance. This procedure is not a substitute for weight loss.

The Procedure

Arm lift - 
An incision is made underneath the arm area extending from the elbow to the armpit. The size of the incision depends on the amount of skin to be excised.  The patient can choose to have excess skin excised, liposuction can be done to eliminate excess fat or a combination of the two techniques can be preformed to achieve the desired result. Most patients do both arms at once.

Key Facts

Good Candidates: Adults of any age and gender who are close to the ideal weight for their body type and size.  Patients should be moderately fit, have good muscle tone, be a healthy, non-smoker and not have a life-threatening illness or medical condition that would impair healing.  It is important to have a positive outlook and realistic goals in mind.

Anesthesia: General anesthesia

Length of procedure: This procedure usually takes 1.5 - 2 hours but times may vary from patient to patient depending on several factors.

Length of stay: Typically the patient will go home same day.

Discomfort: Swelling, soreness and bruising can last several weeks and may take up to 3 months to resolve completely.  Pain level may be mild to moderate and controlled with pain medications but will vary from patient to patient.

Recovery: The patient will be required to limit physical activity, specifically use of the upper extremities to avoid stressing internal sutures as they heal.  It is very important to precisely follow post-op instructions given by Dr. Patrick Swier to ensure proper healing and exceptional results.  Patients are typically able to go back to work 1-3 weeks after surgery.

Final result: Improvement can be seen immediately but final results after the healing process can take 2 – 4 months.

Duration of results: Results will be long lasting as long as the patient follows all post-op instructions, maintains a healthy lifestyle, remains moderately active and substantial weight-gain does not occur.

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