41yrs Old-165lb Weight Loss...My Extended Arm Lift was my Biggest Plastic Surgery Decision EVER! Perth, AU

Hi Wendy! :) You know what..? It wasn't half as painful as I thought and I suffer from Chronic Pain Disorder (non-related, but from a fall in 2012). When I woke up from surgery, and for the days that followed...it felt like a paper cut down my arms. It was tender- yes...I was protective of them...yes, but I wouldn't call it 'pain'. I have an almost non-existent pain threshold...and this experience, for me, was surprisingly fine. Call it a surgeon/anaesthetist 'thing' or...body physics...or who knows, but I've had a tummy tuck, both legs 'ring barked' (inner & outer thigh lifts), 2 breast augmentations- a reduction @ 19yrs and a lift @ 31yrs...and now this Brachioplasty. The Brachioplasty was the op that had least impact on me physically and was the easiest recovery. Ironically, I had left it as the last op...because I was so afraid. But that's my experience. I get how you're leaning on the 'better the devil you know than the devil you don't' philosophy :) Your surgeon knows your anatomy and likelihood of complications given multiple variables (previous surgeries, weight, age, pre-existing conditions etc) but at the end of the day, listening to your gut instinct may be your best intelligence yet ;) I'm joining my local gym again today which is a big step for me, but a part of my rehab for the Chronic Pain condition which really gets in the way of my achievements in life (BLAHHH to being an over-achiever ;) ...but what I'm looking forward to, aside from rebuilding strength in my busted up shoulders....is not seeing my underarms flapping in mirror in the midst of my Les Mils classes! I mean....reeeeeeally!! Lol! Thanks for your support Wendy. I'll post the 5 week photos up soon (it's 7 weeks post op now...) and I'll post again monthly...so people can see how the scars look etc. Take care beautiful!! L x

For someone with Chronic Pain you are fantastic. What a brave lady to have all this done. It is great when things turn out well as there are so many stories when things go wrong. I will be waiting to see how you progress. I love hearing how the Aussies get on as there doesn't seem to be many from Australia posting. Maybe I have not been looking in the wright area. Thanks once again and happy healing x

Hi Sam, I wish I could say there was a scarless surgery for skin tightening but it just doesn't exist... With the ring barking op- well I've been to quite a few surgeons who during the consultation...have peered at my legs whilst turning me around going..."Hmmm! What do we have *here*?....Who did this?" And I'd say who it was (Dr. Turner) and they'd look a bit perplexed and go..."Hmm! I've never seen this before..." Basically...neither have I, really. The procedure scars under the butt crease, and up over the thigh...kind of all the way where the elastic of a high cut swimsuit would sit but it does not connect entirely at the front by about....1.5 inches where my pelvic bone is. The surgery was entirely successful in my opinion. I had lost a lot of weight and the condition if my skin was nothing short of 'shot'. The op pulled everything in and up and gave me an inner thigh 'gap' and a shaped butt (Err...10 years ago! ;) and I thought he did wonders with what seemed to be a couple of bags of hubbly bubbly cellulite! The scars are scars and I don't even notice them. When I do take an objective look at them, I'm quite proud of them actually. Even with my arms. They're like badges of honour :) The symbolize my life and past achievements and remind me that when you focus and put your mind on something...you can do anything! I'm preparing for another round of surgery scheduled for October 28th. My surgeon this time will be using the same scar lines to do 'round 2' on the outer thigh- this time with more liposuction as I still have saddlebags. I like my lower body, and my curvaceous shape in pantyhose, but without pantyhose on...well it's a different story! I also have a lot of excess skin above my belly button and I'll be getting a fleur de lis tummy tuck to correct it. So- another big op to sink my teeth into. Scarless surgery is fabulous- liposuction alone will do that for you (well, a tiny trocar-sized scar...) and if you're blessed with juicy, fresh, skin without laxity- blessed are you! For those like me who stretched their poor beautiful skin into oblivion through weight gain and we're left with nothing short of 2 deflated balloons for legs....skin excision is the only option for contouring and smoothness. Good luck with your search Hon. I hope that helped!! [RS bleep]

Wow SoonHopefully! What a nice thing to say. It feels bizarre getting a compliment about...my ARMS! Lol! Yeah...this surgery was definitely last on my list, and I had hoped for many years I could avoid it but for me the skin was just damaged. Funny how now that I've had the surgery...everyone has looked confused and said "...I never noticed you had big arms???!" Bizarre. My only response is...."Yeah, because I kept them by my side for years!!" Anyway, good luck on your journey too...Our journey of comfort and self care :)

Thanks Kas :) I asked about the tape, as a lot of people online seem to prefer it. Both my PS, his nurse, the pharmacist and the lady who sold me my compression garment preferred the gel, so that's what I ended up getting. I started the scar therapy gel from 2 weeks on and I'm 1 month out now. It's been amazing. My scars still have a long way to go, but for a month, I can see the treatment had something to do with it! Thanks for posting :)

Thanks for this ----> mepiform silicone tape