Wave Bye Bye to Those Bat Wings
If you have recently lost a lot of weight and have developed the loose skin that hangs from your upper arms, you may wish to consider an upper arm lift also called brachioplasty. You have probably noticed that each time you wave to someone, the skin beneath your arm is still waving when you have already stopped. Often called bat wings, most women will try anything to get rid of them. They exercise, lift weights, perform a hundred push ups, yet have no success. This is because the skin isn’t muscle, so it cannot respond to exercise. But, it will respond to cosmetic surgery. In some cases when an individual has been through gastric bypass surgery, the arm lift may be included in the price. Usually, the surgeon will postpone the arm lift for at least one year to be sure enough weight has been lost before correcting the hanging skin.
Before scheduling your surgery for an arm lift, your surgeon should discuss the entire procedure and all risks involved and make sure you are aware there will be visible scarring from the elbow to the armpit. Most patients will accept scarring as a consequence of being able to show their arms again. The plastic surgeon will also suggest either general anesthesia or a local depending upon how long the surgery will take to complete. Once you have completed your consultation, you may make your surgery appointment. At that time, your doctor will have drawn the path on your arms from the inside area he will take to make his incisions.
The surgery time for a brachioplasty is approximately 2 hours. After the plastic surgeon has excised all the extra skin on your arms, you will go to the recovery room, but if no complications are present you will be discharged to go home. You will feel discomfort and some pain but your surgeon will provide you with a prescription for pain pills to manage that. The bandages will be removed in 1 week, and within 2 weeks, all swelling will be gone, No need to remove the stitches because your body will absorb them. You will see the results of your arm lift within 2 weeks and by six months, the scars will have faded almost completely.