Brachioplasty (Arm Lift) Surgery

Before you undergo any plastic surgery procedure at Karidis Clinic, you will have a consultation and a pre-operative assessment with your plastic surgeon. They will listen carefully to your concerns and what you expect to achieve and discuss which procedure, or combination of procedures, is appropriate.

At this stage, they will also ensure you are fully aware of the potential risks and complications inherent in that specific procedure and explain to you what you can expect immediately after surgery, throughout the recovery process, and when you will likely see the final results.

During the pre-operative assessment, the surgeon may take measurements of the area to be operated on and assess your skin tissue quality and the degree of skin laxity. The position of the incisions will also be decided upon.

A full medical history will be taken to ensure you are fit and well and can undergo surgery at this time.

After the initial consultation, there will be a two-week ‘cooling-off’ period before you can decide to proceed with surgery. You are welcome to return for further consultations with your Karidis Clinic surgeon, free of charge, if you have more questions.

If you make the decision to proceed with surgery, you’ll be given advice on how best to prepare for your operation, and you will have a dedicated Patient Coordinator who can answer any queries you may have.

Any pre-surgery tests can occur at the Hospital of St John & St Elizabeth, a leading London private hospital where Karidis Clinic is based. The hospital has recently built a new wing including a diagnostic department with the latest X-ray, MRI, CT and ultrasound technology.

We advise patients to stop smoking as soon as possible as nicotine acts as a vasoconstrictor, which impedes the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the surgical site. This can slow down healing, increase the chance of infection and even cause tissue to die. Smoking also increases the risks of a general anaesthetic, and smokers are more likely to suffer ill effects from an anaesthetic.

You will also be advised when to discontinue taking aspirin or other blood-thinning medication in advance of your operation. You will be asked to fast six hours before surgery.

All Karidis Clinic procedures are performed at the Hospital of St John & St Elizabeth. When you arrive, you’ll be greeted and taken to your stylish and luxurious private room with its spacious ensuite bathroom.

The nursing team will take your blood pressure and relevant vitals, and you will see your Karidis Clinic surgeon, who will make the final mark-ups. Our anaesthetist will also visit you.

Clinical photography will be taken to assist in your care and to enable clinical assessments to be made. These become part of your confidential medical record. These include photographs of the operation site and any distinguishing features and will be taken pre-op and post-op. 

Your procedure will be performed under a general anaesthetic, and once the surgeon has sutured the incision site, you will be taken to a specialist recovery room.

Once the hospital nursing team has ensured your recovery is complete, you will be taken to your hospital room for your overnight stay. The hospital nursing team will be on hand throughout the night, and you will be fitted with compression stockings and a compression device if required.

The following day, you will be visited by your Karidis Clinic surgeon or nurse and then discharged into the care of a friend or family member by the hospital nursing staff.

The pain and discomfort experienced after surgery are unique to the individual patient and the extent of their procedure. However, it should start to subside in the first week and should be easily managed with over-the-counter painkillers.

If necessary, you’ll be advised to wear a specially designed surgical support garment for approximately six weeks after surgery to support you during the healing process.

Depending on the nature of your job, you can usually expect to be able to return to work and normal activities between one to two weeks.

You’ll be given a comprehensive plan for the recovery process, including dates for your cast or suture removal and your check-ups with your Karidis Clinic surgeon. However, we are always on hand throughout this period, and you have access to our dedicated surgical nurse 24/7 if you have any concerns.

The best candidates are men and women who are within several pounds of their ideal weight (i.e. 10%). If you are significantly more than this you’ll be asked to reduce some weight before going ahead with any surgery. Ideal candidates also possess loose enough skin and tissue laxity to allow a good outcome of the operation. This will be assessed at your consultation.

People with hidradenitis suppurativa, a persistent ongoing infection disorder of the sweat glands in their armpits, should not undergo brachioplasty until treated appropriately. Women who have had a radical mastectomy or extensive breast cancer surgery are also at risk of developing chronic arm swelling after undergoing this particular procedure and therefore should avoid this operation.

Scars are the greatest drawback of this operation. This is because in a standard brachioplasty the operation results in a permanent scar extending the length of the upper arm, from the armpit to the elbow which may be visible in short sleeve clothing. Unfortunately, it is not usually possible to reduce the scar length in this procedure.

In fact, this is the main reason why many patients decide against having this procedure. This operation basically exchanges one cosmetic problem (loose skin) for another (scars). In general, only those with very loose saggy skin are most likely to find this exchange worthwhile. Those with a small amount of looseness will probably not want the scars.

Although initially, all scars are somewhat red and lumpy, with time (12-18 months) the scars usually settle and improve. Of course, it’s not possible to ultimately predict the appearance of anyone’s scars.

The aim of this procedure is to remove any excess skin and fat around your arms in order to achieve a smoother, tauter-looking appearance.

In situations when there’s only slight sagging of the skin, moderate fat excess and a good, relatively taut skin tone, then there are a couple of other options:

• Liposuction. This is useful in these situations as it removes the bulk of the excess fat in the region through tiny incisions — however, this is with the proviso that the skin has good skin elasticity. Providing you have a good skin tone, the skin usually knits back into a new slimmer contour with the arm. 
• A non-surgical treatment using the Accent Radiofrequency device. This device is good at achieving some skin tightening and ‘melting’ small amounts of fat. However, at least six sessions are usually required and the degree of skin tightening / fat reduction is usually quite modest. 

Sometimes both liposuction followed by the Accent device is utilised to achieve a slimmer tauter contour of your arms, whilst avoiding the long scars associated with the arm lift. A consultation will determine your suitability for either.

You’ll have some pain and discomfort after this surgery, but you’ll be glad to hear that it’s not considered a particularly painful procedure. The pain usually only lasts for a few days and, of course, you’ll be given appropriate painkillers to control this. 

Like any plastic surgery, you have to weigh up the pros and cons; it’s for you to decide. As this is a surgical procedure, potentially serious complications such as a blood clot or embolus or an unexpected response to drugs or anaesthetics can occur.

Besides the complications that can develop after any surgery, there are problems that are specific to your surgery. These include: the scar is long and may be slow to heal, there could be scabbing along the scar for several weeks, and fluid (either blood or serum) can collect under the skin flap.