Researching for an arm lift - Is there a benchmark for doctors in determining how much skin to remove? (photos)

Thank you for your question: Is there a Researching for an arm lift - Is there a benchmark for doctors in determining how much skin to remove?". This is an interesting question. During your consultation, you and your plastic surgeon need to decide on your aesthetic goals. Having done hundreds of arm lifts over 20 years, most of my patients want skinny arms. That is to remove excess skin and fat from the upper arms. In addition, my patient wants a balance between the upper and lower arms. My patient called these Popeye arms if too much skin is resected in the upper arm and too much skin and fat is left in the forearm. Therefore it’s a balance between the upper and lower arm in terms of proportions. In addition, the physical factor of the limitations of the amount of skin and fat that can be removed from your arm. In my opinion, I would leave all this up to your plastic surgeon. To be proactive, you can pull as many pictures as possible to present to your plastic surgeon for your desired look. However, in terms of strict benchmarks, this is usually not established with a plastic surgeon. Good luck with your upcoming arm lift production maker plastic. I hope my answers suffice in answering your questions regarding benchmarks regarding arm reduction surgery.

I specialize in arm lifts. I hope that I have answered your questions regarding the arm reduction. If you have any more questions regarding the arm lift, arm reduction, brachioplasty or arm crease fat grafting, please contact my office. Since a brachioplasty or arm lift surgery is a difficult procedure, please seek an experienced, board-certified plastic surgeon with significant experience performing these types of arm lifts. Do your research. Make sure your chosen plastic surgeon has performed at least 100 arm lifts. Make sure they have the before and after pictures to prove it. Carefully examine their before and after pictures and check their reviews on RealSelf.  

Sincerely, Dr. Katzen. (“Verified” Plastic Surgeon, President of the American Society of Bariatric Plastic Surgeons, certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, Fellow of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, American College of Surgery, International College of Surgery, and American Board of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, and ​member of the American Society of Plastic Surgery, American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery and RealSelf Hall of Fame.)

Most of arm lift surgeries involve moderate liposuction and removal of the skin. An experienced, board certified plastic surgeon should be able to assess how much skin needs to be removed on the basis of clinical evaluation. Too conservative skin removal may result in laxity while too aggressive one may result in wide scar, skin loss, prolonged healing due to wound disruption. Hope that this helps. Good luck

Dear jcssiorio,
finding the right Dr. is extremely challenging especially with the number of online platforms and resources available. There a lot of great Dr's available. Make sure he/she is a board-certified plastic surgeon. Definitely check to make sure your choice specializes in the procedure you want and spend the time to read through patient testimonials. There is a number of different sites where you can check for reviews (Realself, yelp, google, etc.).You can always pick up the phone and call around also, find an office you feel comfortable with and set up a few consultations.
Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

We like to remove enough skin to make the upper arm tight, but leave enough room for expected swelling so that your circulation is not cut off to the lower arm. Plus, we like to make a nice transition from the upper arm to the lower arm so everything looks smooth. How much should be removed varies from patient to patient and also depends upon how much fat is present.

A well trained, experienced plastic surgeon knows how much skin to remove. When an arm lift is performed, enough skin is removed to eliminate the excess skin and yet allow the surgical wounds to be sewn closed without too much tension. Too much tension will lead to poor wound healing and can contribute to bad scars.
At a consultation, you can expect a surgeon to ask about your health, examine you, explain whether or not you are a good candidate for the procedure, discuss the recovery and possible complications related to the procedure. Even if you don't have specific questions now, the consultation may bring up some topics for questions, and you can expect time to have them answered.

Each patient is evaluated and a surgical plan is designed specifically for her/him based on surgical goals and the surgeon's evaluation. Your surgeon should be able to demonstrate during a consultation what you may be able to expect in terms of results. The amount of fat and skin is often discussed as part of this visit.

There is really no "benchmark" to the amount of excess upper arm skin/tissue to be excised. Mostly it is based on measurements and the surgeon's experience. You appear, based upon the posted photos, a average brachioplasty patient. Best to virtual consult.

Degree of armlift excision requires experience. On one hand you want to cut out enough skin so that there is no more redundancy. On the other hand, you must be cognizant of not making it too tight or you can have an ugly incision. There is also the recoil effect that you have to take into account. If you dont't make it tight enough, the skin tends to relax within 1 month after surgery and become redundant again.