POSTED UNDER Arm Lift REVIEWS
My Arm Lift Results Are Absolutely Amazing! - Naples, FL
ORIGINAL POST
After losing over 100 pounds during the period of...
michelerenedDecember 23, 2016
WORTH IT$7,800
After losing over 100 pounds during the period of 2 years through calorie counting and exercise, I was left with a large amount of sagging skin and loose "junk" under my arms and tummy.
I received several great plastic surgeon referrals from doctor friends and began interviewing various plastic surgeons as well as doing extensive research earlier this year. Once I met Dr Basile, I knew that I met the right doctor to give me my much needed transformation. I was impressed with Dr Basile along with his experiences with these procedures and his impressive credentials and certifications. I also appreciated Dr Basile's detailed and conservative nature and also how forthcoming and honest he was to me with respects to preparing for the surgeries and what to expect through every step of the process. I could tell right off that Dr Basile's priorities are for his patients and making certain that they are kept safe and healthy under his care. I met with another PS who insisted that he would do both surgeries at once and would not even give me an option to do the surgeries via 2 separate procedures. I had other PS including Dr Basile explain to me how much I would need my arms to pull myself up, and navigate after tummy tuck surgery. Now that I have had both surgeries, I can't imagine what this PS was thinking (other then himself) when suggesting this to me to have had everything done at once. I do believe there are many plastic surgeries that work well while being combined under one surgery, however and arm lift and a tummy tuck together would not be one of them in my opinion.
I scheduled the arm lift procedure for August 17, 2016. The procedure was approximately 4 hours long. As one can see from my before photos (taken the night before my surgery) that I needed quite a bit of work done! I could not had been more impressed by the amount of excess "junk" Dr Basile removed along with his absolutely perfect, neat stitching of the wounds. I was sent home with a compression arm sleeve that fastened behind me similar to a bra. I disliked the compression sleeve, had some difficulty being comfortable sleeping with it, however I did order a few alternative items on my own and did not find anything that was good. One compression sleeve I ordered fastened in the front and was not good at all for me. I also tried wrapping myself in ace bandages with velcro fasteners at the end and they did tend to bunch and move around to much. The compression sleeves I was sent home with did turn out to be the very best available option. I did experience swelling, and some forearm pain especially the first few weeks, however it was all well controlled via the compression sleeves. I also firmly believe the compression sleeves allowed my scars to heal well and remain flat. I stayed on oxi cotton for approximately 4 days and then switched myself over to extra strength tylenol. I am using vitamin E in the mornings and Mederma PM in the evenings for my scars. I have recently noticed that the more time I spend applying the oil / creme and really massaging it into my skin, the quicker my scars are fading. I was able to do long walks at the local mall within 3 days of my surgery and I was back to the YMCA for lower body work outs at 4 weeks post op. I resumed aerobics and zumba classes at 6 weeks post op. I am now 3 months post op and feel great. I do have some numbness still in certain areas near the incisions, however all to be expected and I could not be more pleased with the looks of my new arms! I loved my arms so much that I had a tummy tuck done also by Dr Basile on November 2, 2016. The procedure results are drastic in the most wonderful way! I will post a separate review.
I received several great plastic surgeon referrals from doctor friends and began interviewing various plastic surgeons as well as doing extensive research earlier this year. Once I met Dr Basile, I knew that I met the right doctor to give me my much needed transformation. I was impressed with Dr Basile along with his experiences with these procedures and his impressive credentials and certifications. I also appreciated Dr Basile's detailed and conservative nature and also how forthcoming and honest he was to me with respects to preparing for the surgeries and what to expect through every step of the process. I could tell right off that Dr Basile's priorities are for his patients and making certain that they are kept safe and healthy under his care. I met with another PS who insisted that he would do both surgeries at once and would not even give me an option to do the surgeries via 2 separate procedures. I had other PS including Dr Basile explain to me how much I would need my arms to pull myself up, and navigate after tummy tuck surgery. Now that I have had both surgeries, I can't imagine what this PS was thinking (other then himself) when suggesting this to me to have had everything done at once. I do believe there are many plastic surgeries that work well while being combined under one surgery, however and arm lift and a tummy tuck together would not be one of them in my opinion.
I scheduled the arm lift procedure for August 17, 2016. The procedure was approximately 4 hours long. As one can see from my before photos (taken the night before my surgery) that I needed quite a bit of work done! I could not had been more impressed by the amount of excess "junk" Dr Basile removed along with his absolutely perfect, neat stitching of the wounds. I was sent home with a compression arm sleeve that fastened behind me similar to a bra. I disliked the compression sleeve, had some difficulty being comfortable sleeping with it, however I did order a few alternative items on my own and did not find anything that was good. One compression sleeve I ordered fastened in the front and was not good at all for me. I also tried wrapping myself in ace bandages with velcro fasteners at the end and they did tend to bunch and move around to much. The compression sleeves I was sent home with did turn out to be the very best available option. I did experience swelling, and some forearm pain especially the first few weeks, however it was all well controlled via the compression sleeves. I also firmly believe the compression sleeves allowed my scars to heal well and remain flat. I stayed on oxi cotton for approximately 4 days and then switched myself over to extra strength tylenol. I am using vitamin E in the mornings and Mederma PM in the evenings for my scars. I have recently noticed that the more time I spend applying the oil / creme and really massaging it into my skin, the quicker my scars are fading. I was able to do long walks at the local mall within 3 days of my surgery and I was back to the YMCA for lower body work outs at 4 weeks post op. I resumed aerobics and zumba classes at 6 weeks post op. I am now 3 months post op and feel great. I do have some numbness still in certain areas near the incisions, however all to be expected and I could not be more pleased with the looks of my new arms! I loved my arms so much that I had a tummy tuck done also by Dr Basile on November 2, 2016. The procedure results are drastic in the most wonderful way! I will post a separate review.
michelerened's provider
UPDATED FROM michelerened
4 months post
Night before surgery and 2 weeks after surgery pictures
michelerenedDecember 24, 2016
Adding pictures of the evening before my surgery and 2 weeks after my surgery
Replies (5)
December 24, 2016
How long until one can resume shaving under their arms and applying deodorant? I've considered this procedure and wondered this.
December 24, 2016
Good question as I wondered that myself before my surgery. In my case, my arm pits split a little as that is a rough place for healing I read that close to half of the people (from what I can tell) have this type of healing issue with their arm pit area. As a result, I had to baby my arm pits until the holes closed up which were about 7 weeks post op. The very strange thing is I have NOT had to shave at all since before my surgery!. I wondered about this and have read on other reviews that others have experienced this as well after their arm lift surgery. It appears in my case, the incisions in that general area stopped the growth of my arm pit hair which is perfectly wonderful to me! I was not able to start wearing deodorant until the incisions and wounds were nice and healed, so about 7 weeks. Since I needed to keep my activity level down and not get all sweaty the lack of deodorant was not a problem. I still applied some as close to my arm pit as I was able to get (away from wounds) and made sure I had extra body spray on my body. :)
December 24, 2016
I've never heard of hair not growing there after, that would be a bonus, yes, but I use an extra strength spray on as it is, luckily I work from home, lol, so only the cats would have to contend with my smell, and myself, but even just for me, I do not want to smell and have very sensitive skin there. Thank you for your reply.
December 24, 2016
I never heard of it either until it happened to me, then I stumbled upon others on here who had the same "bonus" :) Yes, body spray was definitely my friend through this ordeal, but it all worked out very well :)
February 22, 2017
I am 4 weeks post surgery and I can't see any under arm hair either :) I did not have much before :)
UPDATED FROM michelerened
5 months post
4 1\2 months post op arm lift photos
michelerenedJanuary 5, 2017
I am posting 4 1/2 month post op photo's of my arm lift to show my scar progress. I do still have scars, however they are gradually fading with the on going use of several products. I rotate between scar away silicone strips, vitamin e oil and mederma scar night cream. I just added the silicone strips about 3 weeks ago and have noticed significant improvement since I began the product. My Arms feel great! I had a tummy tuck on November 2nd therefore stayed away from the gym for about 6 weeks. I am back into the swing of things though, working on building up muscle. My right arm is a bit softer / looser then my left arm but I could not be more please with my new arms. ????
Replies (17)
January 15, 2017
Thanks for letting us all know how you are getting on, your arms are looking really good!
February 22, 2017
your arms look great. How long did it take to feel OK with no pain after the surgery? I am scheduled for next week and am getting a little afraid. Thank you
February 22, 2017
Hello there and congratulations on your upcoming surgery! I am excited for you as I know how much the surgery has changed my quality of life, self esteem, confidence for the better! I really hated my arms, they were a mess!
As for pain after the surgery, you will certainly not eliminate it but if you do what I did and set your alarm for every 4 hours, round the clock to take your pain medication, you will keep your pain very well controlled. It really won't be all that bad :), more of an annoyance then actual pain. Please do not wait until after 4 hours to take your next pain medication dosage, or until you feel as though you "need" the pain medication as once your pain level becomes not so well controlled, it takes a few dosages of pain medication to get you to feeling comfortable again. Also, as soon as you get home from surgery (or if possible on your ride home) take your first pain medication dosage. The medication that they give you during surgery tends to wear off quick in my opinion so having that first dosage to take right away will keep you feeling comfortable. I can't stress enough how important it is for the first several days to set your alarm so that you do not miss a dosage and wake up with pain. If stay on top of the medication you will be completely fine! I think for me, the hardest part (obviously controlling my pain was not my issue) was the compression garment. I really disliked having to keep that on 24 hours a day as I do not like tight clothing anyway, so having that one all the time was uncomfortable for me. The further along I got in my day, and the more I did, the more swelling I would experience which made my garment even more tight and uncomfortable! I also ended up doing more then I should have with lifting, moving around, doing chores (guess that is the con about controlling your pain well) and I ended up ripping the stitching under both arm pits which caused not so much "pain" but discomfort and extra time to heal. I did read that a very high percentage of people do end up with the arm pit set back, so try to be extra careful in that regard. Also, regarding the pain, our bodies really do a great job protecting us from pain as my incision areas were pretty much numb and remained numb for many months. I still (6 months now) do not have complete feeling near the incisions, but it is slowly returning and really I am ok with this as I did remain pretty comfortable through the process.
Thank you for your nice compliment, I appreciate! Please do not hesitate to contact me with any other questions! If you think of it, drop me a note once you are feeling up to it after surgery so I know how you are doing. Take care! Michele
As for pain after the surgery, you will certainly not eliminate it but if you do what I did and set your alarm for every 4 hours, round the clock to take your pain medication, you will keep your pain very well controlled. It really won't be all that bad :), more of an annoyance then actual pain. Please do not wait until after 4 hours to take your next pain medication dosage, or until you feel as though you "need" the pain medication as once your pain level becomes not so well controlled, it takes a few dosages of pain medication to get you to feeling comfortable again. Also, as soon as you get home from surgery (or if possible on your ride home) take your first pain medication dosage. The medication that they give you during surgery tends to wear off quick in my opinion so having that first dosage to take right away will keep you feeling comfortable. I can't stress enough how important it is for the first several days to set your alarm so that you do not miss a dosage and wake up with pain. If stay on top of the medication you will be completely fine! I think for me, the hardest part (obviously controlling my pain was not my issue) was the compression garment. I really disliked having to keep that on 24 hours a day as I do not like tight clothing anyway, so having that one all the time was uncomfortable for me. The further along I got in my day, and the more I did, the more swelling I would experience which made my garment even more tight and uncomfortable! I also ended up doing more then I should have with lifting, moving around, doing chores (guess that is the con about controlling your pain well) and I ended up ripping the stitching under both arm pits which caused not so much "pain" but discomfort and extra time to heal. I did read that a very high percentage of people do end up with the arm pit set back, so try to be extra careful in that regard. Also, regarding the pain, our bodies really do a great job protecting us from pain as my incision areas were pretty much numb and remained numb for many months. I still (6 months now) do not have complete feeling near the incisions, but it is slowly returning and really I am ok with this as I did remain pretty comfortable through the process.
Thank you for your nice compliment, I appreciate! Please do not hesitate to contact me with any other questions! If you think of it, drop me a note once you are feeling up to it after surgery so I know how you are doing. Take care! Michele
February 22, 2017
I am now 4 weeks post surgery and can honestly say it was painless to me. I took painkillers for about 3 days and then just carried on taking the antibiotics. Maybe I was lucky but my surgeon had already said I would not need strong painkillers just ibruprophen and paracetamol. Good luck with your surgery and please keep us posted.
February 22, 2017
Thank you Michele.I am also having breast lift with implants. I am a little concerned about the down time from work.
February 23, 2017
Excellent update, so happy all went well for you! I agree, not a terribly painful situation, and I probably took my prescription pain killers longer then I needed to, believe I was on them for about 5 days before I switched over to tylenol. I was off tylenol within 3 / 4 days as well, and then just minor annoyances with the arm pit situation, swelling and feeling numb. 4 weeks post for you, do you love your results?
February 23, 2017
Hi Kissernewyork, I have considered a breast lift, haven't gone for it yes as after my arm lift (August) I had a tummy tuck (November) so now I am going to give my body a chance to 100% recover before I decide if I want to have anything else done :) My arms and tummy were my most upsetting body parts to me, so I have to say I am feeling pretty happy and good to have done so well with both of those surgeries. I completely understand why plastic surgery can be addicting to some people. I have heard that breast lifts with arm lifts go well together. I am guessing on my arm lift that I felt pretty darn good at 2 weeks. I did actually start walking at the mall for exercise at 3 days post op. I did not start driving until I stopped the prescription pain killers which was a 5 days post op. I did have the arm pit problems that caused me to not be able to exercise my arms for a good solid 6 or 7 weeks though. I did end up doing aerobics classes (was just very careful about swinging my arms around) at 3 weeks post op. Do you have an idea as to when you might have the 2 surgeries done?
February 23, 2017
I am scheduled for next week Feb 28th. You make me think I might be able to do both. The pictures make it look so painful. Your doctor seems good. This will by my last surgery (at least for a long while) I have had several. I had my lap band removed but had complications so It turned into major surgery in Sept 20015 - this was bad. Took me until January to really recover fully. Then I developed a incisional hernia where the incision was. I had to have it repaired so I had a tummy tuck at the same time. Sep 2016 That was a pretty easy surgery comparatively and I healed quickly. So I am hoping this will not be that bad . The first one I took over a month off work, the second one 2 weeks, I was hoping to be able to do desk work at home a week out. I really cannot take a full 2 weeks. Oh I forgot to ask. .. Did you have drains? Thank you again for all your help. Looking forward to this all being a memory.
February 23, 2017
It was really worth it for you . Your arms are really so great. Bet you are looking forward to sleeveless tops this summer,!!
February 23, 2017
My Tummy tuck results are amazing. I cannot even believe how good it came out. I had no lipo but now have a totally flat stomach. I should post my results.
February 23, 2017
Please do post post pictures of your tummy tuck, I love seeing other peoples journey's as they are so inspirational in so many ways. I honestly feel that the pain was not all that bad for either surgery, and as I mentioned very well controlled with my medication and just being kind to myself. I know we all have different tolerance levels to pain, and we develop in our mind what we might expect and sometimes after a surgery we feel it was better or worse then we had in mind. I definitely felt that both my arms and tummy tuck surgeries went WAY better then I ever thought possible and the pain control was much better then I ever did anticipate. I had a C section back in 1994 and in my mind I was expecting that type of pain or worse (especially being older now) but really in my case I felt that the C Section in 1994 was much worse then either of my recent arm lift and tummy tuck surgeries. If your doctor is comfortable doing both the arm lift and breast lift at once, and you have support at home, then you should definitely consider it! I did not consider my own maybe eventual breast lift until AFTER I saw how wonderful my arms and tummy tuck surgeries came out. I honestly was very pleasantly surprised with the results of both my surgeries and think now why not lift up my old saggy breasts as well! I am definitely giving it serious thought.
I have a desk job myself, out of my home so I was lucky to be able to do work when I felt like doing so throughout the day, take breaks and go back as the day went on. I do feel though that if I had to leave my house to go to an 8 hour a day office job I would have been more then fine by 2 weeks, no doubt. As mentioned above, I was driving at 5 days and doing walks at the mall at 3 days. You will have to ask your doctor how the average recovery time compares with a breast lift to arm lift and if he / she thinks having both done at once would delay your 2 week goal of getting back to work. I did have drains for my tummy tuck (3), hated them as I am guessing was the case with your tummy tuck as well? I did not have drains with my arms which I am grateful for as I did not enjoy them so much with the tummy tuck. I am guessing if I had the drains in my arms then perhaps I would not had as much swelling in my arms as I did, but I would not go back and change that at all. Please do keep me posted on what you choose to do!!
I have a desk job myself, out of my home so I was lucky to be able to do work when I felt like doing so throughout the day, take breaks and go back as the day went on. I do feel though that if I had to leave my house to go to an 8 hour a day office job I would have been more then fine by 2 weeks, no doubt. As mentioned above, I was driving at 5 days and doing walks at the mall at 3 days. You will have to ask your doctor how the average recovery time compares with a breast lift to arm lift and if he / she thinks having both done at once would delay your 2 week goal of getting back to work. I did have drains for my tummy tuck (3), hated them as I am guessing was the case with your tummy tuck as well? I did not have drains with my arms which I am grateful for as I did not enjoy them so much with the tummy tuck. I am guessing if I had the drains in my arms then perhaps I would not had as much swelling in my arms as I did, but I would not go back and change that at all. Please do keep me posted on what you choose to do!!
February 23, 2017
Thank you so much :) I will try to post pictures again within the next few weeks, making good progress on the scars!
April 13, 2017
Finally got around to checking out your reviews and I'll I can say is damn! Your arms look awesome! The before and after is incredible. Super happy for you :)
April 14, 2017
Thank you so much! It's amazing the great results these surgeries provide! I will continue to be following your thigh lift progress as I am very interest in pursuing that surgery as well for myself!
May 11, 2018
Arms are looking great.. just one quick question did you have a inner stitch or outer stitch?? I’m thinking about revising my arms cause my scars are little larger. My surgeon told me he did a inner stitch. Thanks for sharing
May 11, 2018
Thank you very much! I am not sure on that as I was not told either way. My stitches were all very visual so my guess is outer, but I was not aware of options. I can't say that I am thrilled with my scars. The scars are kinda big and a bit raised. I was told they would fade and they have a bit, but it will be 2 years for me in August so I think I am stuck with how they remain. I was also considering a revision but I don't think for me it is worth the ordeal. Trust me, I am very please with my much smaller, more attractive arms and I am happy I did the surgery but I don't think I want to go though it again lol. I have considered a laser procedure (from my dermatologist) which is suppose to fade the scars quite a bit more. I am still considering that is an option.
Replies (0)