What are best stitches to use for an arm lift?

Hello, Thanks for your query. The suturing technique and principles are more important than the actual suture materials. We use absorbable internal sutures and subcuticular suture and avoid external sutures as they leave hash marks. Between quill and normal suture there is not much of difference in outcome. Consult with a board certified plastic surgeon.

There is no single best technique, as you can see from the many answers here. Most surgeons try to avoid external sutures so there are no track marks, but occasionally reinforcing nylon sutures are placed on the outside because the dermal layer may be very thin in this area, especially in patients who have lost significant weight. One approach is to have multiple layers of deeper absorbable sutures and then run a series of subcuticular (right under the skin) NONabsorbable sutures that have a few throughs pulled out externally; this can achieve the same fine skin approximation as the absorbable ones, but possibly result in a little less inflammatory reaction to the scar. Taping, avoiding overresection of skin, skin glues, and other techniques can often help minimize the scar, though scar widening/visibility is a fairly common issue with this operation.