Daily life after extended arm lift.

Hi aariviera530,
Thank you for your question regarding daily life after an extended arm lift. Thank you for your questions regarding when it is safe to resume normal day-to-day things like sweeping, cleaning, dishes, and cooking.
Every plastic surgeon has their own personalized set of postoperative orders. It is important that you follow your chosen arm lift plastic surgeon’s postoperative instructions and precautions. In general, most plastic surgeons individualize their postoperative care after patients have undergone an arm lift. Every patient is different. Most patients only have an arm lift. In your case, your incision extended down your sides past your bra line. This makes your recovery a little different.
In general, most plastic surgeons would allow you to start activities like sweeping, cleaning, doing dishes, and cooking at approximately 2 to 3 weeks from your arm lift surgery. Take it easy at first; you will not be able to do 100% of these activities at 100% of your pre-arm lift capacity.  It takes time to recover and you do not want to pop anything open just because you thought something needed sweeping! Therefore, I would suggest you embark upon these activities slowly. See how much you can do, but don’t overdo it. The main thing to avoid is over stretching the armpit region. Avoid activities that have you reaching above shoulder level, like getting dishes or cups off the top shelf. Additionally, avoid lifting heavy objects that are more than 10 to 15 pounds. I hope I have helped answer your questions regarding whether when you can return to daily life after an extended arm lift. Good luck with your arm lift recovery. 
Sincerely, Dr. Katzen

Thank you for your question! For my patients having an arm lift procedure, I advise that they take 10 days off of work, 3 weeks off from cardio at the gym, and 6 weeks off from weight exercises and yoga. As far as daily activities go, such as sweeping and washing dishes, at 2 weeks most patients are able to do so. I recommend discussing specific post surgical restrictions and recovery with your plastic surgeon. I hope this helps!

The patient can expect some bruising and swelling that improves over the first two to three weeks.Make sure you have at least six to eight weeks to heal completely following an extended brachioplasty because wound separation can occur.  However, the final result is not seen until 6 months or longer as the body is able to reduce the swelling in the arms and form a mature scar.The scars can widen after surgery and it is important to minimize both overhead activity or repetitive activity at the elbow during the early healing period of the first 6 weeks. There should be no strenuous activity or heavy lifting.Kenneth Hughes, MD, Board Certified Plastic SurgeonLos Angeles, CA