After Upper Arm Lipo 3 Yrs Ago the Fat Now Feels Soft and Jiggly. Is Brachioplasty Right?

Upper arm fat and excess skin are treated with liposuction and brachioplasty, respectively.  Liposuction treats excess fat and skin excision (brachioplasty) treats excess skin.  It sounds as if you likely had a bit of excess skin before liposuction that is now empty.  Brachioplasty is likely the procedure of choice for you at this point, possibly with a little liposuction for contouring.

Thank you for your question regarding whether an arm lift, arm reduction, or brachioplasty is right three years after arm lipo. A thorough physical examination is in order. It sounds like you still have excess arm skin and excess arm fat. If this is the case, you need an arm lift, arm reduction, or brachioplasty. During the procedure, arm liposuction is done, and an incision is made either in the armpit or extends from the armpit to the elbow. This maneuver will eliminate fat and skin. If you have excess fat, you may be a candidate for lipo. However, I doubt it. It sounds more like you have a lot of excess skin. If you have excess skin and minimal fat, you still need a brachioplasty. Again a consultation with a board-certified plastic surgeon is in order. Thank you for your question regarding whether a brachioplasty is correct, three years after liposuction, since your arms feel soft and jiggly.

                  Liposuction
is an excellent technique for reducing the size of large upper arms.
Unfortunately, when large amounts of fat are removed from the upper arms and
skin elasticity is poor, sag of the skin can occasionally occur.

                  When
this situation arises, brachioplasty is usually always indicated. This
procedure results in significant improvement of upper arm contour and is
associated with high satisfaction rates. Unfortunately the procedure is also
associated with severe scarring.

                  If
you have developed loose skin after upper arm liposuction, you should consult a
board certified plastic surgeon. This surgeon should be able to formulate a
treatment plan that will address your concerns. 

Based on your description, it sound like you will benefit from redo liposuction and removal of the excess skin. This is a common procedure in my practice. I routinely combine liposuction with Brachioplasty (arm lift). The best advise for you is to see a board certified Plastic surgeon. Do your research well. Anyone can claim to be a cosmetic surgeon without surgical training.

It sounds like you have a combination of both fat and loose skin in the arm.  This is quite common.  I'd recommend a combination treatment - circumferential liposuction of the arm with a skin-only brachioplasty.  This would both tighten the skin and reshape the arm contours.

 

All the best,

The best way to tighten the skin a d improve your arm contour further a this point is through arm lift or brachioplasty. Sometimes this can be performed with a relatively short scar in the armpit only, but often a longer scar down the arm is needed to achieve maximal improvement.

A brachioplasty may be an excellent procedure but you must be willing to accept the lengthy and visible.scar. The last thing you want to say is:" I was happy with the loose joggly fat and now I have this horrible scar" Be informed, consult with several surgeons and look at good and bad photos so you are prepared for the best and worst.

You may be a candidate for arm  lifting  and liposuction surgery.

However, you should be well informed regarding the scars associated with this procedure- they do tend to spread  or experience pigment change. Scar revision surgery is often necessary/helpful.  Planning of the excision is critical- the resulting scar should be as hidden as possible. Personally, I think this scar is least visible when it ends up on the inferior (bottom) of the arm as opposed to the bicipital groove (between the biceps and triceps muscles).

Only you can determine if the improvement of the contour of the arms is worth the trade-off of the scar  In your case. This is best done with the advice of a well experienced board-certified plastic surgeon.

 Best wishes.

 

Hello,

Upper arm lipo does not tighten anything. If you have loose arm skin that you feel needs tightening, you are looking towards brachioplasty.

 

 

Best Regards,

 

John Di Saia MD

It sounds like you have redundant skin as well as persistent fat. An arm lift will correct the loose skin, possibly the dimpling and remove the fat directly in the area of skin excision. You may require further liposuction in the area outside of the skin resection.