October 1, 2012
Getting rid of flabby arms
Image by Ton Dañas
The ideal, youthful, feminine arm is lean and tapers smoothly from armpit to elbow. In overweight patients, the arm is full and bulky, whereas with age, the skin becomes lax and gives rise to "flabby arms."
Recontouring of the flabby arms can be done in a variety of ways. Selection of technique, as with almost all body contouring, is based on skin excess, and skin quality. Indviduals with excess fat but minimal or no skin excess, with normal elasticity are ideal candidates for liposuction. Their skin has enough elasticity to redrape and contract after liposuction.
This particular procedure is usually done under local anesthesia (Klein anesthetic solution) and on an out-patient basis (hospitalization is not necessary). For better skin redraping, compression sleeves are worn from four to six weeks after surgery, and arm motion is limited for the first two weeks.
Patients with significant skin excess with loss of skin elasticity, are good candidates for arm lift brachioplasty. This is a surgical excision and contouring of the excess skin in the arm. However, there are patients with excess fat who also have moderate skin excess with normal or minimal loss of skin elasticity. These patients may be candidates for modified limited arm lift combined with liposuction. With adjunctive liposuction, brachioplasty results improved further because liposuction helps to contour and debulk the arm and loosens the subcutaneous tissue plane making flap dissection easier.
All patients with a significant contour deformity of the upper arm are potential candidates for liposuction or brachioplasty or both if their age and health make them an aceeptable surgical risk. The ideal candidate for the brachioplasty procedure is the patient with significant upper arm skin sagging and poor elastic skin tone.
However, even in advanced cases in which the skin sags far below the normal lower border of the arm, a properly designed brachioplasty can achieve an excellent correction. The patient with minimal sagging may be improved with a modified brachioplasty, which involves a shorter incision that extends only part way down the upper arm. Some extremely minor deformities may be slightly improved with just a transverse elliptical excision in the armpit.
Brachioplasty is usually done under general anesthesia (patient is put to sleep), but hospitalization is likewise not necessary. Postoperatvely, elastic wraps are applied on the arm, and replaced with compression sleeves after 48 to 72 hours. These compression garments can be worn sparingly from 4-6 weeks for better skin redraping.
Dr. Perry de la Cruz obtained his medical degree from the University of Sto. Tomas. He is a diplomate of the Philippine Board of Cosmetic Surgery; a fellow of the Philippine Society for Cosmetic Surgery and the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery; and a member of the Asian Pacific Academy of Cosmetic Surgery. He pioneered research on "Serial Revision of Leg Scars" in 1988. He holds clinic at:
Asian Hospital and Medical Center
Unit 518 Medical Office Building
205 Civic Drive, Alabang, Muntinlupa City
Telephone no. (632) 771-9246
Medical Center Manila
Suite 207 2nd floor
1122 Gen. Luna, Ermita, Manila
Telephone no. (632) 521-7370
Visit his web site at www.geocities.com/docperryster or e-mail him at docperryster@gmail.com.
|
E-mail this to a friend
Printer-friendly version
