Arm Lift (Brachioplasty)

General complications can occur with any surgery. Cosmetic surgery is usually a safe surgery performed on healthy patients and, as all surgeries go, is with low risk. What we do to even lower the risk of complications is to operate at a first class surgery center with board certified anesthesiologists and nurses. To avoid post-operative complications, we advocate early mobilization –patients seen in our office one or two days after surgery- and active participation in their own post-operative care. When we create a partnership, the results invariably improve.

Bleeding after an arm lift is rare. Before surgery, our patients are tested to make sure they don’t have any common bleeding disorders by their own physicians, and by lab tests. In our practice the rate of significant bleeding is less than 1%. The treatment of a hematoma or a blood clot under the skin of the arm is to open the incision and remove the blood clot. Typically, this is a straightforward procedure.

The most important step in avoiding infections/wounds, in our opinion, is to perform the surgery at a first-rate surgical facility with board certified anesthesiologists and nurses. Patients are given the appropriate intravenous antibiotics coverage throughout the surgery. During the surgery, the skin surface of the patient is cleaned properly. After the procedure, my patients are prescribed antibiotics to minimize infection. As a result of these extra precautions, my rate of infection after an arm lift is extremely rare. Conservative removal of skin is important for the results to be good, but also so that the skin is not under too much tension after the arm lift. Wound healing problems may occur at the superficial incision level where the tension is highest, and a small open wound may occur which will usually heal nicely with dressing changes and antibiotic ointment.

There are important nerves that pass from the neck, down the arm, and to the hand. In performing an arm lift, it is important to avoid injuring these nerves. The way to minimize nerve injury is to resect a conservative amount of skin, thus creating minimal tension in the upper arm, but yet achieving an aesthetically pleasing result. Occasionally, nerves can get stunned or bruised, and function may take a few days to weeks to return. Our rate of permanent nerve injury in arm lifts has been minimal.

There are important lymph nodes and vessels around the elbow and in the arm. In performing an arm lift, it is important to preserve as many of these lymphatic channels as possible. This will reduce the chances of a lymph collection or prolonged swelling. If you have a history of a mastectomy or radiation to the area, you should discuss this further with your surgeon.

Smoking is an absolute contraindication for an arm lift. The carbon monoxide and nicotine in cigarette smoke causes severe reduction in blood supply to the skin and breast tissue during healing. This results in delayed wound healing, wound separation, death of the skin, and a higher risk of infection. Cotinine testing is performed in patients with a smoking history to ensure that they are safe when having this procedure.