How Much is an Arm Lift and Can It Be Performed Under Local Instead of General?

A warm congratulations to you (and great user name!) Everything you are doing is positive, and at this stage it's perfectly appropriate to stop and ask questions (and pat yourself on the back.) 

At my surgery century, I only perform surgery with IV sedation, regional and/or local anesthesia. All my patients go home that day, whether they have had an abdominoplasty, a breast reduction or, as you asked, a brachioplasty. This type of anesthesia is also called Light Sleep Anesthesia. IV medication gently induces a state of relaxation, then numbing medication is injected (often with specialized cannulas) to quickly produce numbness.  Patients breathe on their own, have very little memory of the procedure, and recover quickly. The rate of post-operative nausea is very low with this anesthesia. Light Sleep Anesthesia also carries less risk of complications.

I'm glad you see your body looks great; that's the most important part. I enjoy the longterm working relationships I form with patients who are going through journeys like yours. I love to operate, but it's the healing and consultation that makes it all worth it. That's "happy surgery!"

Best, Dr. Barbara Persons

Brachioplasty is a commonly performed cosmetic surgical procedure. The cost of brachioplasty is variable and depends upon several factors including the surgeon's fee, facility fee and anesthesia charges. Fees in the Midwestern United States typically range between $5,000 and $7,500.

The choice of anesthesia is dependent upon the nature of the deformity. In some cases, where deformities are minor, local anesthesia is acceptable. In other cases, where major deformities are present, general anesthesia is probably more appropriate.

The choice of anesthesia is also dependent upon the surgeon's preference, patient's preference and the patient's overall health. It's important that these issues be discussed prior to surgery so the patient can have a comfortable experience.

Great work on the weight loss. A good result from the procedures you have had is a good predictor of a nice outcome for an arm lift. Best bet is to call your surgeon for a quote--that will not be a guess!. The average cost quoted on this site I note is $7500.

As far as anesthesia, these can be done with sedation and local anesthesia. I wouldn't try to do an arm lift with just local anesthesia.

Thanks for the question and best wishes. 

The cost of almost all plastic surgery procedures is very region dependent. I would suppose that the cost of brachioplasty ranges anywhere from $5,000-$10,000 based upon where you live and how much tissue is going to be resected. Some brachioplasty procedures are limited to the upper arm and others cross the axilla (armpit) and remove a signficant amount of tissue from the lateral chest wall. Some surgeons will consider this to be a flankplasty and others will term it to be an extended brachioplasty. I use deep sedation for my brachioplasty surgery, but think that it would be difficult to complete with just local anesthesia. 

Congratulations on your significant weight loss; you should be very proud of this accomplishment. Based on your description you may be an excellent candidate for arm lifting surgery. Generally I perform this procedure under general anesthesia.

The arm lifting is an excellent procedure to improve the contour of the arms and remove  redundant skin and adipose tissue;  the downside is a relatively high rate of unsatisfactory scarring and the need for revisionary surgery.  One of the important considerations of this operation is planning the area of excision to allow for a resulting scar that is as hidden as possible.

I hope this helps.