Arm Lift (Brachioplasty) in Orange County AND LOS ANGeles

General Information on Arm Lift (Brachioplasty) in Newport Beach

For many patients seeking to improve their appearance, the upper arm is a particularly troubling body part. Despite dieting and arm exercises, some patients feel disappointed with their heavy or saggy upper arms. Embarrassment can prevent them from wearing sleeveless clothing or bathing suits.

In patients who have firm, non-damaged, elastic arm skin, liposuction can effectively sculpt and reduce the size of the upper arm to match the lower arm. Once the excess fat is removed, the skin shrinks to fit the slimmer arm muscle underneath. Some patients have loose, sagging skin under their arms, which they sometimes refer to as “bat wings”. These patients cannot simply be treated with liposuction because when the skin is already loose, removing more fat will actually worsen the appearance of the arms. In these patients, Dr. Agha tailors the skin to fit the underlying arm by surgically removing excess skin and fat. This procedure is called "brachioplasty" or arm lift. Brachioplasty reduces the excess skin that makes clothing fit improperly or makes patients feel uncomfortable in short sleeves. Brachioplasty surgery can markedly improve the appearance of the upper arms.

Depending on the degree of arm tissue excess and laxity, Dr. Agha will plan a customized approach for each individual brachioplasty patient. This means adequately assessing the excess skin and excess fat. Each of these components will determine which brachioplasty technique will be the best. For those patients with mainly an excess of arm skin, a limited brachioplasty can be performed through an incision in the armpit alone.  Moderate skin and tissue laxity can be treated with a short-scar brachioplasty.  For those with severe skin and tissue laxity, an extended brachioplasty is required.  This approach utilizes an incision on the inner arm from the armpit to the elbow. Most patients fall into this category. For those patients who have had massive weight loss or gastric bypass surgery, the L-brachioplasty combined with an upper body lift provides correction of the arm laxity, armpit hollowness and sagging, as well as the upper chest looseness. A brachioplasty can often be combined with other body contouring procedures, such as an upper body lift, breast enhancement, or liposuction.

The recovery period after an arm lift/ brachioplasty is generally one to two weeks. Patients will most likely be able to return to work in one week. Although the results of brachioplasty procedures are considered permanent, weight fluctuations after surgery can adversely affect the results.