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Arm Lift Cost ≈ $9,400 average cost

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Arm Lift Recovery

I'm thinking about an arm lift and just wondering what to expect. What's the recovery like after the arm lift? What can I expect in terms of downtime and scarring?

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Arm Lift Recovery

This is a very satifying surgery and has a short recovery for the gains you get. Most of my patients need about 2-3 days of recovery and are back at work as long as it is a desk job at about 3-5 days. Arm movement at the shoulder is restricted for the first 4 weeks. After that there are no restrictions. Good luck.

Farbod Esmailian, MD

Orange County Plastic Surgeon

ASPS

Optimum recovery after an Arm Lift

The recovery time after a full arm lift in my typical patient is quite short. Usually there is only mild discomfort for 2-3 days. My patients usually are able to drive a car and can return to office work after 5-7 days. The major restriction is avoiding a full range of motion of the arms for about one month, but the patients are able to start certain exercises after about 10 days.

Boris M. Ackerman, MD

Newport Beach Plastic Surgeon

ASPS

Arm Lifting Surgery Recovery?

Thank you for the question. The arm lifting procedure is a great procedure to remove excess skin and adipose tissue of the upper arms. However, this procedure carries a major drawback: difficult scarring that may require scar revision (more so, in my experience, then other procedures). I have tried placement of the resulting scars in the bicipital groove (between the biceps and triceps muscles) as well as a long the inferior–lower aspect of the upper arm. I have... more

Tom J. Pousti, MD

San Diego Plastic Surgeon

ASAPS ASPS

Arm lift recovery and scars

Recovery During the post-op recovery period you'll likely be given specific written insutructions depending on your specific case but arm lift surgery is generally well tolerated. You'll need someone to drive you home after surgery and someone to stay with you for the first 48 hours. You'll be fairly sore for the first few days and will need bed rest with your arms elevated, avoiding movement as much as possible for the first 10 to 14 days following surgery. Your plastic... more

Ricardo Rodriguez, MD

Baltimore Plastic Surgeon

ASPS

What to expect after an arm lift...

Arm lift surgery reduces or removes loose sagging skin from the upper arm to create a more toned apperance. After an arm lift, patients must wear a compression garment for about 6 weeks after surgery, which allows the skin to tighten and supports the incision. The incision, while noticeable at first, should gradually fade to a thin line. You most likely will have swelling and bruising, and both will disappear after a few weeks. Most patients may... more

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Shain A. Cuber, MD

Marlboro Plastic Surgeon

ASPS

Arm lift recovery (post-brachioplasty recovery)

Right after your arm lift procedure, you will be groggy from the anesthesia and pain medications. Patients typically wear bandages in the days following surger. As with any surgery involving anesthesia, you should have someone else drive you to your day-after follow-up appointment. Swelling and bruising continually improve over the months following surgery, but are most noticeable in the first 1-2 weeks. Endermologie can help reduce post-operative swelling and bruising... more

Steven Svehlak, MD

Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon

ASAPS ASPS

Recovery After Arm Lift Surgery

A brachioplasty is essentially an upper arm lift. In this procedure, the excess hanging skin and fat in the upper arm is removed. Its the procedure used to correct the common "bat wing" of skin that manifests in patients who have lost a significant amount of weight. Most of my patients are able to get back to a desk job 5-7 days after surgery. However, I recommend no heavy lifting or strenuous activity for 3-4 weeks. If an upper trunk lift is involved, I may... more

C. Bob Basu, MD

Houston Plastic Surgeon

ASPS

Arm lift

An arm lift is a great procedure for loose hanging skin o n the arms often referred to as "bat wings." The incisions are usually on the inner part of the upper arm and takes about 2 weeks to heal.

Steven Wallach, MD

Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

ASAPS ASPS

Recovery after Arm Lift and post-Bariatric Surgery

An arm lift is a great procedure to recontour the arms from the axilla to the elbow. There are variants of the surgery that minimize scarring. Recovery is usually one week with return to work in about 5-7 days.

Raffy Karamanoukian, MD

Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon

Brachioplasty recovery

Depending on the patient and his/her ability to recover, there may be 2-3 days of limited activity. Depending on the scope of surgery, the patient may return to work between 3 days and 2 weeks. The level of scarring is dependent on the patient, the scope of the surgeon, and the expertise of the surgeon.

Kris M. Reddy, MD

West Palm Beach Plastic Surgeon

ASAPS

Recovery from Armlifts (Brachioplasty)

An Arm Lift (Brachioplasty) is an excellent procedure to remove loose skin and fat due to weight loss and age. The excess skin, often referred to as "bat wings", is simply removed by an excision that runs on the inside of your arm. Unfortunately, this is not a scarless procedure and may result in a large wide scar. It is placed on the inside of the arm so that with your arms to your sides, it cannot be seen. Recovery from an arm lift involves at least 1 week of... more

Scott J. Engel, MD

Sarasota Plastic Surgeon

Arm lift down time is not extensive

My experience with arm lift patients is the following: patients who are thin and have loose skin tend to recover swiftly from the operation. I place patients in compressive sleeves for 2 weeks post-op. I think this helps the arm contour, helps the scar a little bit and makes the patient more comfortable. Most patients return to work in about 4-5 days. For patients with heavier arms that require both liposuction and an arm lift (I prefer to do them in a staged fashion, lipo first), the... more

Scott Sattler, MD

Bellevue Plastic Surgeon

ASPS

Arm lift or brachioplasty scar and recovery

There numerous kinds of arm lift or brachioplasty. procedures which should be individualized to the amount of excess skin and fat in the arm. They may involve a limited inner arm scar for small amounts of excess skin to a longer scar extending beyond the elbow for a large amount of excess skin. These procedures are usually combined with liposuction in the upper arm to assist in contouring the upper arm silhouette and lessen the depth of surgical dissection. The longer scars are always a... more

Andrew P. Trussler, MD

Dallas Plastic Surgeon

ASPS

Brachioplasty recovery

Looseness and skin excess / laxity of the arms can take several forms and may be therefore treated in different ways. If the issue of loose giggly fat with otherwise normal tone skin - then liposuction alone would be indicated. If the arms are devoid of fat but demonstrate empty, hanging skin (Bat Wing Deformity) then a "pure" arm lift (Brachioplasty) is done. The extent of looseness is marked and the skin removed (often leaving a drain in). The resulting scar spans from the elbow... more

Peter A. Aldea, MD

Memphis Plastic Surgeon

ASPS

Arm Lift Recovery

I feel the best candidates for brachioplasty are pts. who have had significant weight loss with a lot of excess skin but not a lot of excess fat. The scars can be troublesome. If the incision is placed where it is less visible, it tends to be a worse scar. If placed where it leads to a better scar, the scar tends to be more visible. I keep arms wrapped post-op for a few weeks.

John Whitt, MD

Louisville Plastic Surgeon

ASAPS ASPS

All about bracioplasty (arm surgery)

Brachioplasty is a great procedure to remove the excess skin and fat from the arms as well as make them look more trim and thinner. The procedure can be done alone as an outpatient or combined with other procedures as a brief overnight stay in the hospital. The scar is the only downside as it extends from the elbow to the armpit, but with good scar therapy you can minimize the scarring. For recovery, I would recommend a week for work and exercise. Then, return gradually and the pain is... more

Jeffrey E. Schreiber, MD

Baltimore Plastic Surgeon

ASPS

Brachioplasty recovery

An arm lift (also called brachioplasty) can vary in its design and often incoporates a thoracoplasty which can effect recovery. This usually requires limited activity for 2-3 weeks with use of a compression garment during this time. At times the forearm and hands can become swollen and require elevation particularly at night.

Otto Joseph Placik, MD

Chicago Plastic Surgeon

ASAPS ASPS

Arm lift recovery

The recovery from an arm lift is not especially easy because of the fact that you need to use your arms for so many daily functions. There will be some swelling from the elbows down and potentially some numbness. Compresion garments are often worn and are quite awkard to put on. The scar usually goes from the elbow up to the armpit. Rarely does anyone do an armlift unless they have had substantial weight loss and it only works well when all the fat has been lost.