Where are the scars from a Brachioplasty?
Sydney Miranda Kogarah arm lift
People who’ve lost a large amount of weight often find themselves with loose, sagging skin on various parts of the body, including the upper arms. The skin may hang down like a “batwing,” and makes many people self-conscious about showing their arms in public. The aging process can also lead to sagging upper arm skin.
Sagging skin cannot be addressed through any nonsurgical method, such as exercises, creams, or supplements. If you’re bothered by sagging skin on the upper arms and would like to get rid of it, the only effective option for doing so is plastic surgery. The procedure to remove excess skin from the upper arms is known as Brachioplasty, or an arm lift.
As with any surgery, our patients often wonder about the scars they’ll have after the procedure. Where are the scars from an arm lift? Will they be obvious, or will it be possible to hide them?
Traditional Brachioplasty scars
There are a few different types of Brachioplasty, and which one you have will influence where the scars will be.
With a traditional Brachioplasty, the scar will run along the length of the upper arm, from around the elbow to near the shoulder. Placing the incision here allows the plastic surgeon to remove excess tissue from the entire upper arm. Most of the time, the incision is made in the groove between the biceps and triceps muscles, on the inner part of the upper arm. This is the part that faces the body when the arm is down, and so the scars will be well-hidden most of the time. However, raising the arms above the head will make the scars more visible.
In some cases, the surgeon may place the incision on the back of the upper arm, along the line of greatest skin hang. In this position, people standing in front of you won’t see the scar at all, but it will be more visible from behind. When you come for your consultation, A/Prof Marucci will discuss which specific incision location he recommends for you, and why.
Extended Brachioplasty scars
For those who primarily have excess skin on the arm itself, the traditional Brachioplasty will work well. For those who also have excess tissue on the trunk, an extended Brachioplasty may be beneficial. For this procedure, the scar is generally placed in the groove between the biceps and triceps but is extended into the armpit. This allows the surgeon to remove excess tissue from that area as well. Although the scar is somewhat longer, the extra length is well hidden in the armpit.
Limited-incision Brachioplasty scars
Some patients are primarily bothered by excess skin around the area where the arm meets the trunk, but there’s not too much excess tissue on the arm itself. In this case, limited-incision Brachioplasty may give a good result. The scars from this procedure are entirely within the armpit, with no scar along the length of the arm itself. This severely limits the surgeon’s ability to remove tissue from the upper arm, so it’s important to consider the tradeoffs. However, it does mean that the resulting scar will be very well-hidden.
Sydney Miranda Kogarah arm lift
If you’re bothered by excess tissue on your upper arm, then you may want to consider Brachioplasty. Getting a good result from a body lift procedure like this strongly depends on the plastic surgeon’s level of skill; it’s important to remove just the right amount of tissue in the right places. The surgeon should be well-versed in the various techniques for performing the procedure because each patient’s needs are somewhat different, and the surgery will need to be customized for each patient.
As an assistant professor of plastic surgery at the University of Sydney, A/Prof Marucci continually studies the latest surgical techniques and stays up-to-date on the research about the outcomes that each technique creates. If you’re considering having an arm lift, we invite you to schedule a consultation with Dr. Marucci at one of his three conveniently located offices. Simply contact our front desk to book your appointment.
