ARM LIFT

Overview

An aesthetically attractive arm is lean and firm, displaying the curvature and contour of the underlying muscle. When the skin of the arms becomes loose, the saggy skin hangs down from the side of the arms and gives rise to a ‘bat-wing’ or butterfly-wing’ appearance. Sometimes this problem can be compounded by the presence of excess fat.
Arm lift is a surgical procedure to remove excess skin in the arm with the aims to tighten the skin, reduce the size of the arms and the restore the attractive tone and contour of the arm.
Arm lift may be combined with liposuction to improve overall results.

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Before After Before After
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Objective

To restore the attractive tone, contour and shape of the arm by removal of loose saggy skin and fat

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Preoperative Preparation

• Treat and stabilize all existing medical conditions, if any.
• Stop smoking at least one week before surgery
• Stop the following one week before surgery:

All supplements that contain vitamin E, ginseng, ginko, garlic, fish oil and other ingredients that encourage bleeding during surgery
Medicine that exacerbate bleeding during operation such as aspirin, NSAIDs and warfarin. You may need to consult the physician who prescribed the medicine before stopping them

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Surgery

Duration of Surgery: Around 3 hours
Anaesthesia: Usually general anaesthesia, may be local anaesthesia for limited arm lift
Hospitalization: Usually can go home the same day
Recovery: Usually can go home the same day, back to work in one week, light exercise after 2-3 weeks, heavy exercise after 4 weeks. However the speed of recovery may be different for different individual and the speed of back to work depends on the nature of the work, e.g. office vs. outdoor work.

Technique: There are several approaches to arm lift, depending on the severity of the condition and the amount of the excess skin.

Limited Arm Lift: For moderate cases. A short incision placed on the armpit and the scar is hidden in the armpit
Standard Arm Lift: For more severe cases. The incision is made along the inner aspect of the arm from the armpit to the elbow
Extended Arm Lift: For the most severe cases. The incision is the same as in standard arm lift but extended into the upper chest to remove excess loose skin around the arm, armpit as well as the upper chest

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Post Operative Care

• Swelling and bruises may persist for one to two weeks
• Compression garment for the arms is required for at least one month
• Apply antibiotic ointment onto the wound with cotton tip three times a day
• Finish the oral antibiotics prescribed
• The use of silicone sheet, scar gel and regular massage can be employed to optimize healing of the scar