A person chooses brachioplasty because, over time, the skin of their upper arms starts to sag and become flabby as the levels of collagen and elastin beneath the skin decrease. Some people find that their arms are flabby because they have lost a great deal of weight over a short period of time, as people do when they have weight loss surgery. They find that no matter how much they exercise, the appearance of their arms doesn’t improve.
Brachioplasty removes the excess fat and tissue and tightens and smoothes the skin of the arm. This gives it a slimmer, firmer look.
The brachioplasty operation lasts about two hours and is an inpatient procedure. The patient usually spends a night or two in the hospital or clinic. They are given either local or general anesthesia or local anesthesia with IV sedation.
Our surgeon then removes excess skin and fat. In some cases, the doctor takes away the fat via liposuction, which uses a vacuum cannula. Then, they stretch the remaining skin over the arm, and suture it in place. It’s normal for the patient to experience some pain for the first few days after the surgery, but this can be controlled with painkillers. The swelling and the redness usually subside after about a month, though numbness may last for a longer period of time. The patient should expect to take about two weeks off from work after their surgery.
There are some people who should not have brachioplasty. These include women who have had a mastectomy or have had lymph nodes removed from their armpits. People shouldn’t have the surgery if there’s an infection in the sweat glands beneath their arm, if they have problems healing, or if they are prone to keloids. Before the brachioplasty surgery, we will check the patient’s medical history, give them lab tests, and ask them to stop taking medications or supplements that may interfere with healing after their arm lift surgery.
Contact the office of Dr. Kullamaa and Dr. Kirjanen today to schedule your consultation! We are conveniently located in Tallinn, Estonia.
