Brachioplasty - staples or sutures?

Hello,Thank you for your questions regarding the use of staples to complete an arm lift. Every plastic surgeon performs ever procedure slightly differently.  In addition, every patient is slightly different.  Since 2000, I have performed hundreds of arm lifts or brachioplasties.  During my career, I have never had to use staples.  During an arm lift, I perform arm liposuction.  During the same procedure, arm liposuction is followed by opening the upper arm from the elbow to the armpit.  The excess arm skin and fat are removed.  The arm incision is closed with three to four layers of absorbable sutures.  I have never found the arm “skin to be too thin”.  I hope this helps. Again, thank you for your questions about the use of staples during an arm lift or brachioplasty. If you have any other questions about an arm lift, please contact my office.

Sincerely,Dr. J. Timothy Katzen

I generally use dissolvable sutures in my brachioplasty incisions;
however, it is not an incorrect decision to use staples as it is mostly a
function of patient and surgeon decision making. I would recommend you
discuss this with your board-certified plastic surgeon. I hope this
information is helpful to you. Best of luck!

Thanks for your question. When I perform this procedure I prefer using dissolving sutures instead of staples. There isn't anything necessarily wrong with using staples, and they will provide a good scar provided that they are removed in a timely fashion. If they are left in place for too long a duration they will be more likely to leave track marks. It's best to follow-up with your plastic surgeon to ensure that everything is being done to ensure that you end up with faint, thin scars once you have fully healed.