Can anything be done with the 'dog ear bulging part' near my elbow after arm lift? (photos)

Hi Lilhead, Thank you for your question regarding whether anything can be done with the 'dog ear bulging part' near my elbow after arm lift. Thank you for your history and your pictures. First, we should analyze your pictures to determine the best course of action. You have excess skin and fat at the distal end of your arm lift, arm reduction, or brachioplasty. If you just had excess arm fat, you may "get by" with just arm liposuction. However, since you have excess arm skin, you need an incision the excise redundant arm skin. This means that you need to extend your arm lift incision towards the elbow. Arm lift, dog ear revision can be performed in the office under local anesthesia. Alternatively, your brachoplasty dog ear removal can be performed in the operating room under IV ot twilight anesthesia. Good luck with your arm lift dog ear removal procedure. 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 150 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, MD, MBA. (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, RealSelf Hall of Fame, and RealSelf Doctor Advisory Board for Medical Review and Consumer Panel.)

After 1 year you can assume to have the final result of your brachioplasty. To be left with the bulges or so-called 'dog ears' is not unusual and you could smoothen the contour with liposuction or excision of the bulge which will extent the scar of another 1-2 centimetre. Luposuction won't leave an extra scar since the stab incision can be done in you old brachiplasty scar. I am sure your surgeon will achieve the result you dreamed of.

Revision surgery will be required to remove the "dog ear".  Recommend that you discuss the issue with the plastic surgeon who performed your arm lift. The procedure should not be as comprehensive as the original and can performed under local anesthesia; but the answer will depend upon the length of incision necessary to remove the redundancy.Kenneth Hughes, MD, Board Certified Plastic SurgeryLos Angeles, CA

Thank you for your question. Yes, your brachioplasty incisional "dog ears" can be revised by extending your original incisions a little bit lower towards the inside of your elbows - thereby contouring the remaining skin and underlying tissue into a smoother shape. It is entirely possible that this could be performed in the office setting under straight local anesthesia. Please be certain to schedule a consultation with a board-certified plastic surgeon. 

once you get to about 1 year after surgery, you can change consider a scar revision under local anesthesia. Best wishes, Dr. Aldo

Many thanks for your query.It would be quite simple to remove the ‘dog ear’ at the distal end of your scar. This will however elongate the scar to the elbow but is a good trade off for a better contour.
BestMark

Many thanks for your question and photos.
Looking at the images, you could certainly have this area improved upon. This can be done under local anaesthetic via either direct excision (this will lengthen your scar), liposuction (through your existing scar) or a combination of the two.
I suggest you see your Plastic surgeon and discuss this with them or, failing this, get the second opinion of a Board certified Plastic Surgeon (in the U.K. look for the letters FRCS(Plast) after their name).
I wish you success on your journey.
Regards,
Marcus

At a year all the swelling along your incision line has gone and the scar  can be revised along the end to smooth out the contour. I recommend discussing this with your surgeon and I'm sure you can be recovered in time to enjoy your summer
Best of luck

The best option here is to just lengthen the scar a bit towards the elbow and take out a bit more tissue. This will improve the transition at the end of the scar. See a board certified plastic surgeon to help with this small revision procedure.

Your photos show an area of bulging near your elbow.  This can be contoured and smoothed out quite easily under local anesthesia in the office.  Check with your surgeon to have an evaluation.  Your overall result looks very nice.