Arm Lifts After Weight Loss
To some extent, losing weight can slim down a person’s upper arms. Unfortunately, skin doesn’t slim down with them.
As a result, many people end up with hanging skin that folds regardless of how much weight they lose.
Why Does Skin on the Arm Stay Loose After Weight Loss?
Skin stretches as fat increases.
Once a person loses a substantial amount of weight, skin doesn’t automatically go back. In addition to the elasticity of the skin, factors like age, genetics, and how much weight was lost also play a role.
While exercise does build the muscles underneath the skin, it doesn’t get rid the skin itself.
Can You Tighten Flabby Arms After Weight Loss?
Can you tighten flabby arms after weight loss without surgery? Sometimes the arm can look firmer as muscle tone improves. But exercise does not remove stretched skin.
For people asking how to tone arms after weight loss, strength training can help build muscle and increase muscle mass underneath the skin.
How to tighten arm skin after weight loss therefore depends on whether the main problem is loose skin, remaining fat, or both. The same distinction is important when looking at how to get rid of flabby arms after weight loss.
For people asking how to reduce arm flab after weight loss, diet and exercise may change fat and muscle, but they do not remove skin that remains loose after the weight has been lost.
What Does an Arm Lift Do After Weight Loss?
The purpose of a brachioplasty is to get rid of extra stretched skin on the upper arm and to reshape the remaining skin.
In addition to skin, many people have extra fat that may also be removed via liposuction, which may also be a part of their arm lift procedure.
Loose skin also plays a factor in how big of a surgery is needed.
When to Consider an Arm Lift After Weight Loss
In general, it is expected that weight will be stable after losing weight and before surgery is done to reshape the body.
If a person continues to lose a lot of weight, the amount of loose skin and its shape will also change.
This is also something the medical team will take into account when planning for a surgery, particularly after massive weight loss.
Can You Have an Arm Lift After Gastric Sleeve Surgery?
An arm lift after gastric sleeve surgery may be considered after substantial weight loss, but not while the person’s weight is still changing significantly.
An arm lift after weight loss surgery is generally planned after the medical team has considered weight stability, nutrition, general health, and whether further weight loss is expected.
The appropriate timing will be different for each patient.
What Kind of Arm Lift After Weight Loss: Mini, Standard, or Extended?
Not all weight loss surgery patients have the same amount of loose skin and not all patients need the same length of incision.
Sometimes minor skin laxity is also limited to the area close to the arm pit, which can be fixed with a small procedure.
Loose skin that extends all the way to the elbow will need a much longer procedure.
When excess skin extends to the side of the chest, it may be necessary to perform an extended arm lift.
Our arm lift guide presents a brief overview of the short-scar technique and reviews its drawbacks.
Can Liposuction Be Done In Addition to Arm Lift Surgery?
Some post-weight loss patients present with arms that only contain excess skin. Others present with excess skin and fat, including pockets of localized fat.
In this instance, liposuction can be performed in conjunction with the brachioplasty.
However, it must be understood that the presence of a significant amount of excess skin cannot be corrected with liposuction alone.
For further information, please see our arm lift vs liposuction section.
Where Will the Scar Be If I Have Lost A Lot of Weight?
The location of the scar will depend on how much excess tissue you have post-weight loss.
In the most extensive cases, the scar may traverse the upper arm and involve the side of the chest.
The scar is one of the primary considerations that patients must weigh prior to surgery.
Our arm lift scar guide will help you understand where the incisions will be and what the final scar will look like.
What Will the Arm Lift Surgery Involve?
The arms will be assessed and marked to determine how much excess tissue will need to be removed.
After the skin is removed, the remaining tissue is shaped and the scar will be closed. If fat is to be removed, liposuction will be used to provide the desired shape and contour.
What Will the Recovery Be Like?
In general, the more skin that is removed, the more extensive the surgery.
When the skin is removed, swelling, bruising, and tightness are all experienced as the area has restricted movement.
Patients will need to consider planning for assistance and follow-up visits as well as potential restrictions to lifting and upper body exercise.
A compression garment may also form part of the recovery plan according to the surgeon’s instructions.
Our arm lift recovery guide contains the full timeline.
Can Other Body-Contouring Procedures Be Combined With an Arm Lift?
After substantial weight loss, an individual may have excess skin in multiple body regions.
As a result, brachioplasty may be a step in a larger body-contouring plan.
Treating multiple body regions in a single surgical setting will depend on the procedures, patient’s health, and the surgical plan.
What Results Can an Arm Lift Provide After Significant Weight Loss?
Brachioplasty can remove upper arm skin that hangs and helps contour the arm region.
It does not completely show the absence of drastic weight changes; a permanent scar remains.
The final result is also dynamic with time as the swelling decreases and the maturation of the scar occurs.
Can Skin Become Loose Again?
The skin that has been surgically removed does not grow back; however the arms can change shape with aging and/or significant weight gain or loss.
To maintain arm contour, a stable weight, with minimal fluctuations, needs to be sustained.
What Should be Addressed During the Consultation?
Patients need to consider how far incisions are anticipated to extend, whether liposuction will be performed, and whether the sides of the chest will also be treated.
They need to consider the implications of recovery and whether additional body-contouring procedures will follow.
Weight stability, nutrition and good health are also relevant when the medical team considers the surgical plan after major weight loss.
The full guide to arm lift in Turkey provides information on the surgical procedure and the treatment.
Final Thoughts
An arm lift following weight loss primarily focuses on skin removal and body contouring rather than a means to lose additional weight.
The choice of procedure, whether a limited, standard or extended procedure, depends on how much skin is determined to be loose.
Medical Sources
- Surgery After Significant Weight Loss — Cleveland Clinic.
- Body Contouring After Major Weight Loss — American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
- Brachioplasty — Johns Hopkins Medicine.
- Body Contouring of the Arms and Brachioplasty — PubMed / U.S. National Library of Medicine.