A balanced diet and regular exercise are the best and safest ways to lose weight. Exercising at home or around your neighborhood and eating lean meats and fresh fruits and vegetables will go a long way in helping you shed the extra pounds and reach your weight goals.
However, diet and exercise are often not enough when it’s time to tighten and firm up certain areas of your body. Because of body composition, genetics, and exercise habits, it’s nearly impossible to shed fat and gain muscle proportionally.
You can reach your target weight but still have stubborn fat and loose skin clinging to some problem areas. One of the most common points of concern is the upper arms. They may not firm up as much as you’d like, no matter how many arm exercises you complete.
Fortunately, you can get the sleek and toned arms you want with arm lifts after weight loss.
Table of Contents
What Is Arm Lift After Weight Loss?
Why Do You Have Extra Skin on the Arms After Weight Loss?
Arm Lift After Weight Loss Surgery
What To Expect From Arm Lift After Weight Loss
How to Afford Your Arm Lift Procedure
What Is Arm Lift After Weight Loss?
An arm lift is a medical procedure to remove excess skin in the upper arms. Medically, it is called brachioplasty.
The procedure reshapes the arm by removing extra skin and tissue. It makes the upper arm look smoother and more toned as it tightens the skin.
It is a standard procedure for those who have lost a large amount of weight, and their skin is left loose and sagging. After the procedure, there will be a visible scar along the inside of the upper arms, which may lighten or fade with time.
You can apply for cosmetic surgery financing if you opt for this procedure.
Why Do You Have Extra Skin on the Arms After Weight Loss?
When a person gains weight, the skin stretches to accommodate the added mass. This leads to stretch marks, which are also common in pregnant women. But while pregnancy only lasts nine months, weight can build up slowly in the body for several years.
Skin proteins include collagen and elastin, which give it structure and the ability to stretch. Skin settles into a new shape with long-term weight gain. And when you lose a lot of weight, especially within a relatively short period, your skin cannot compensate for such a significant change. Even healthy skin may not have enough elasticity to spring perfectly back into place.
Collagen production, and therefore skin elasticity, also decreases significantly with age. As a result, loose skin is a common issue for those who have been overweight for a long time and are trying to lose weight later in life.
Arm Lift After Weight Loss Surgery
Arm lifts are usually is coupled with surgeries such as liposuction or tummy tuck, as these areas are left with excess skin after a significant weight loss. A tummy tuck or abdominoplasty is a cosmetic procedure to improve the shape of one’s body. First, excess skin and fat are removed, and the connective tissue in the abdomen is tightened with sutures. Finally, excess skin is repositioned for a more toned look.
An arm lift after weight loss would be the perfect complementary procedure if you had a tummy tuck or abdominal liposuction. After all, once you’ve achieved a toned stomach, sleek and muscled arms should be the next on your list.
Bariatric Surgery
Tummy tucks and liposuction are classified as cosmetic surgeries. Bariatric surgery, on the other hand, is a medical treatment for obesity. It is surgically altering a person’s digestive system to achieve weight loss.
There are four types of bariatric surgery:
Gastric Bypass
Also known as Roux-en-Y, gastric bypass is the most common type of bariatric surgery. The procedure involves cutting across the top of the stomach and sealing it off, so only a small pouch is left to store much less food.
Those who undergo gastric bypass can only eat a small amount of food and don’t get hungry easily.
Sleeve Gastrectomy
Sleeve gastrectomy is a procedure that removes 80% of the stomach, leaving behind a sleeve-like pouch that holds little food. The procedure also limits the production of ghrelin, a hormone that induces appetite.
Biliopancreatic Diversion With Duodenal Switch
This is a two-part process. First, a procedure similar to the sleeve gastrectomy is completed. Next is a surgical technique that connects the end of the intestine to the duodenum near the stomach. Those who undergo the surgery will limit their food intake moving forward.
Stomach Intestinal Pylorus Sparing Surgery
Also referred to by its acronym SIPS, the surgery modifies the biliopancreatic diversion with a duodenal switch to reduce risks. In addition, it requires just one surgical procedure instead of two.
Do You Need Arm Lift?
Some people consider cosmetic surgery as a form of vanity. But it’s not always the case. Bariatric surgeries, for example, are necessary treatments for obesity that lead to healthy outcomes and long-term well-being.
Cosmetic surgeries are also about confidence and a positive self-image. Feeling good about yourself makes you feel more comfortable in your own skin. Everybody deserves to feel that way.
So, if you recently experienced weight loss, whether done naturally or through cosmetic procedures, you may also need an arm lift to complete the transformation.
Arm lift after weight loss is also a matter of practicality and comfort. Losing weight means you need smaller clothes, which also have smaller sleeves. However, loose skin on your arms may not suit more petite and tighter-fitting clothing.
Extra skin folds are also a place for germs to multiply, which could cause hygienic issues. There is also the possibility of inflammation and rash due to intertrigo, a condition when moist skin rubs together.
What To Expect From Arm Lift After Weight Loss
Before the procedure, you will be given general anesthesia after being wheeled into an operating room. The surgery lasts two to three hours.
The surgeon will remove the fat and excess skin from the inner part of your arms. If there is a lot of extra skin, some segments may be taken from the top of your arm or the armpit area. The procedure may even extend to a part of your chest.
After the surgery, you must wear a compression garment for at least two weeks to minimize swelling. The doctor will also recommend you take it easy physically for several days. After that, it may take at least three to four weeks before you can go back to your regular routines and strenuous activities.
Unfortunately, there is no way to prevent scarring. Most doctors target skin at the most interior part of the arm so the scar won’t be too visible. But if the target area is quite large, expect an extended scar.
How to Afford Your Arm Lift Procedure
The cost of the procedure depends on your surgeon and the facility in which it is done. Unfortunately, it is usually quite expensive, and insurance doesn’t often cover body-contouring procedures. Fortunately, you can opt for cosmetic surgery financing.
Beautifi provides access to flexible and affordable payment terms, making cosmetic surgery accessible to many. After all, everybody should get the confidence boost they want and need.
Check out your options for plastic surgery financing in Canada and book a consultation today.