What to Do About Oozing After Arm Lift?

Sounds like you may have a seroma or the drains not functioning well. An infection could also be the cause.The drains were placed to prevent such an occurrence. Follow up with your plastic surgeon who can answer your question the best.

Thank you for your question regarding what to do about oozing after an arm lift, arm reduction, or brachioplasty. This could be a severe condition. It could be an infection or lead to further wound opening. Regarding oozing, compression may help with the application of absorbent pads. If there is something that your body is trying to reject, like a suture, the sutures may need to be removed. Again this is a question you need to follow up on with your chosen plastic surgeon. Thank you for your question regarding what to do about oozing after an arm lift, arm reduction, or brachioplasty.
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.)

                  Wound
drainage following brachioplasty can occur for a variety of reasons. When
extensive tissue resections are performed, the upper extremity lymphatics can
be disrupted. In most cases this is easily handled by drains placed at the time
of surgery.

                  Occasionally,
these drains are unable to handle the fluid that results from lymphatic
disruption. In some cases, the drains may not function properly. In other
cases, fluid may become isolated from the drain and forms a seroma. Under these
circumstances fluid may leak through the skin closure.

This problem usually resolves spontaneously, but
occasionally drainage may be necessary when seromas are present. Compression
garments and local wound care are also usually necessary. It’s important that
your surgeon be aware of the situation because these wounds can become
secondarily infected. In the majority of cases the drainage stops with these
measures and patients are ultimately happy with their result. 

It sounds like you might have a lymphatic leak within the arm lift wound. These typically resolve on their own, or with the aid of a compressive garment. Occasionally, the lymph fluid forms a pocket (seroma) of liquid that needs to be drained. Talk with your surgeon- it sounds like he/she can handle this relatively minor post-op issue.

Wide undermining of the skin flaps with an arm lift or any other type of body lift procedure may lead to recurrent seroma formation.  This will subside with time as long as the dead space is suctioned and the seroma does not get infectted.