Why This Ugly Scar After 9 Months After a Brachioplasty, Can This Be Less Visible? (photo)

Hello, thank you for your question regarding your arm lift scar after your arm lift, arm reduction, or brachioplasty.  I would suggest you wait until you are one year after your arm lift and then re-assess your arms with your plastic surgeon.  If your arms are the same as they appear in the arm pictures above, I would suggest an arm lift / arm reduction revision with arm lift / arm reduction scar revision.  The key to your arm lift revision will be VASER arm liposuction.  During your arm lift revision, please be sure your plastic surgeon does VASER arm liposuction. VASER arm liposuction is important because it will not only melt arm fat, but it also melt any residual arm scar tissue.  During the same arm procedure, after your VASER arm liposuction, your arm scar should be revised and more arm skin and fat needs to be removed.  Usually, arm reduction or brachioplasty scars heal very well.  If you cannot afford a full arm lift revision, I would suggest an in-office arm scar revision under local.  Usually, I only revise one arm at time.  If this is not an option, then I would suggest laser scar resurfacing.  I hope that I have answered your questions about to do with your arm scars after a prior arm lift or brachioplasty.    If you have any more questions regarding the arm lift, please contact my office. When searching for an arm lift specialist, please seek an experienced, board certified plastic surgeon with significant expertise in arm reduction surgery.  Demand to see many before and after pictures of patients just like yourself on forums like RealSelf and their website.  Check out patient reviews of your chosen plastic surgeon on forums like RealSelf.  Thank you.  Sincerely, J. Timothy Katzen, MD, FACS, FICS, FASMBS. (Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, member of the American Society of Plastic Surgery, American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, and International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, and fellow of the American College of Surgery, International College of Surgery, and American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery).

unfortunately, standard brachioplasty can leave a very noticeable scar. a hidden scar brachioplasty hides the arm tuck scar under the arm, basically where the jackets seem lies.

Thank you for your questionScars after arm lift takes a long time to improve, I advice you to discuss it with your plastic surgeon about what can help the scar to improve, it will get better.
good luck 

                  It’s
important that patients have realistic expectations when undergoing
brachioplasty. This procedure is effective in removing excess arm skin, but
does have several limitations including the potential for severe scarring.

                  Your
pictures and history suggest that you’ve undergone a significant weight loss
and that this was accompanied by the development of
noticeable upper arm skin sag. Your pictures also demonstrate pronounced
improvement in your contour which would be considered reasonable for this type
of procedure.

                  It’s
important to understand that the arm has bone and muscle which can’t be reduced
and must have adequate coverage. Efforts to tighten the skin to much can result
in wound breakdown and scar spread. For this reason, wounds should never be
closed under too much tension.

                  In
addition, severe scarring isn’t uncommon with brachioplasty. The severity of
scarring is frequently related to the patient’s biologic wound healing
characteristics. Unfortunately when this occurs scars on the upper arm aren’t
easily hidden.

                  Wound
healing continues for 12 to 18 months following this type of procedure. Your
scars appear to be red and at nine months will still have the potential to
improve. Massage, silastic and topical agents can be utilized to minimize
scarring, but if they aren’t effective scar revision may be necessary.

                  It’s
important that you discuss these issues with your plastic surgeon. It’s also
important to realize that the healing process takes time and that this type of
surgery always involves a series of trade- offs. 

Brachioplasty or arm lift surgery is one of the most frequently requested body contouring procedures performed today. The demand for this procedure has increased more than 800% since 1997. This is the greatest percent change of any of the commonly performed cosmetic surgical procedures Much of the increase in popularity is due to the growing number of patients who undergo massive weight loss. In performing this procedure an incision is made on the inside of the arm extending from the elbow into the armpit. Sometimes it is necessary to extend the incision further into the armpit and sometimes past it. Utilizing this incision excess skin is removed and the wound is closed. It is very important to position the scar properly so that it is concealed as much as possible. A well-placed incision should result in a scar that is only visible when the arms are raised. This operation is normally performed as an outpatient. It is very important for the surgeon to discuss the resultant scar thoroughly with the patient preoperatively. Very commonly this scar takes a longer time to undergo the full healing and maturation process. Maturation refers to the process whereby the scar becomes less apparent. Brachioplasty scars commonly take up to 2 years to fully mature. It is reasonable to expect a year scar will continue to improve up to approximately 2 years. Good luck

Thick scars are very common after brachiplasty. Aside from my patients using silicone gell such as Biocornium (no disclosures) I offer a deep Erbium YAG treatment as well as injection of kenalog to improve the scars. If that is unsuccessful, I suggest scar revision with surgery.

Scars after brachioplasty do take a long time to improve, typically at least 1 year. If you are unhappy with the result, discuss it with your plastic surgeon but chances are, it will get better.

Thank you for your question and photos.

First of all, you should be congratulated on losing so much weight.  Armlifting surgery does assist with removal of excess skin and fat of the arms but there is a tradeoff (meaning the scar).  Scars can be revised to try to achieve a finer line but I suggest that patients wait at least 1 year post op before proceeding with scar revision surgery.  The scar will continue to heal 12-18 months after surgery, it will continue to improve and lighten in color.  If after 12-18 months you are still unhappy with the scar, have a conversation with your surgeon in regards to the scar revision surgery.

Best Wishes!

This scar could be improved.  It would be better if it was a little lower and narrower.  There may have be tension that caused it to widen and now the tissue has had a chance to relax so the revision should give a more favorable result.

The scars resulting from a brachioplasty or arm lift tend to be visible and noticeable, especially in massive weight loss patients.  I do several things to minimize these scars but still attempt to warn my patients of the possibility of a noticeable scar.