Brachioplasty (Arm Lift) for Dallas Weight Loss Patients

Patients who have undergone massive weight loss often have excess skin on their upper arms. Hanging skin, sometimes referred to as "bat wings", can be more bothersome than the full arms which had been present before weight loss. Bat wings are certainly not an adequate reward for the efforts involved in loosing so much weight! For patients who want to remove this excess arm skin, a brachioplasty is the solution. A brachioplasty (or arm lift) procedure removes this excess skin and contours the upper arm.

A board-certified plastic surgeon specializing in aesthetic surgery, Dr. Bogdan provides advanced surgical skill for his patients' needs.

There are two main types of brachioplasty procedures:

Mini brachioplasty - (aka: Short Scar Arm Lift)

The scar from a Mini Brachioplasty is confined to the armpit and the tightening force is tangential to the arm. As with every other plastic surgery operation, patients are seeking shorter scars but are still desiring maximal results. The attraction of this operation is the short scar and it's location; however, it does not produce significant results, and can interfere with arm mobility. For these reasons, Dr. Bogdan does not offer this operation to his patients.

Standard brachioplasty

The scar from a Standard Brachioplasty runs from the armpit to the elbow, and skin excess is removed radially around the arm. This operation can fully address the "bat wing" skin excess and produces a drastic result for the proper patient. The down-side of the traditional brachioplasty is that it leaves a visible scar on the upper arm and is therefore only suited for patients who are willing to trade the excess skin for the scar. Dr. Bogdan prefers to place the scar along the posterior-medial component of the arm, which tends to hide the scar nicely. The scar certainly will be visible if you go looking for it, but with most outfits and activities it will be well hidden.

The surgery takes approximately 2 hours to perform and is done on an outpatient basis. Ace wraps are worn immediately after surgery, and later are exchanged for a compression garment to assist with swelling. The surgery is not particularly painful and exercise is limited for 2 to 3 weeks.