Upper arm fat reduction surgery

rosebette
rosebette Posts: 1,660 Member
edited November 19 in Health and Weight Loss
I have a shoulder injury which has troubled me for over 6 months, for which I'm doing physical therapy. I've lost a lot of muscle tone in my arms (my profile picture was taken last year when I was able to to do more strength training). While I'm still at a reasonable weight (between 120-125 lbs), I now have cellulite in my arms and a lot of tricep fat. I was traveling last week and one of my fellow travellers was a woman who had upper arm surgery to reduce the fat on her arms. She said she had been heavy before and lost weight, so had a lot of loose skin. She said it made a huge difference to her self-esteem and comfort wearing short sleeves and sleeveless. It was not excessively expensive and I have the funds for it due to some extra summer teaching gigs. Anyone here of closer to normal weight who has had the surgery?

My other option is to ignore my physical therapist, take two aleves and resume the heavy strength training.

Replies

  • spicy618
    spicy618 Posts: 2,114 Member
    edited June 2015
    If you are prepared for the scar from your elbow to your armpit, you should consider it. However, I have very flabby arms from being obese as a teenager through 25 and also from Genetics (my sisters and mother have big arms). I've thought about that surgery, but when I see the scars... I will rather wear 3/4 sleeves or no sleeves and not care what other think of my arms. Just my .02.

    Best wishes in whatever you decide.
  • Kst76
    Kst76 Posts: 935 Member
    If you can do the surgery go for it. :)
  • JSurita2
    JSurita2 Posts: 1,304 Member
    I hate my arms and if I could afford it I would totally get the surgery.
  • ptsmiles
    ptsmiles Posts: 511 Member
    I have been graced with bat wings curtousy of the other women in my family. I am also not comfortable wearing tank tops(my sister has no problem with it). I cannot afford surgery, so it looks like a lifetime of shortsleeves and 3/4 sleeves. *sigh* Thanks genetics!
  • MelWick524
    MelWick524 Posts: 215 Member
    ptsmiles wrote: »
    I have been graced with bat wings curtousy of the other women in my family. I am also not comfortable wearing tank tops(my sister has no problem with it). I cannot afford surgery, so it looks like a lifetime of shortsleeves and 3/4 sleeves. *sigh* Thanks genetics!

    You're wearing a sleeveless top in your profile picture, and it looks great!

    OP...I have gigantic arms & they are shaped really weird; people are always asking me why I have big bruises on my arms. They aren't bruises; they're shadows from the random fat bulge. Even when I was thin and ripped, my arms were still bigger than "normal" and I hated them. So, I'm with ya on the big arms thing. I'd love for my arms to look normal, but I'm not sure I'd want the scars, or elect to have surgery when I didn't have to. But...to each their own, and if it will help your self-esteem and you won't mind the scars, then do what you think will make you happy. :)
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,660 Member
    MelWick524 wrote: »
    ptsmiles wrote: »
    I have been graced with bat wings curtousy of the other women in my family. I am also not comfortable wearing tank tops(my sister has no problem with it). I cannot afford surgery, so it looks like a lifetime of shortsleeves and 3/4 sleeves. *sigh* Thanks genetics!

    You're wearing a sleeveless top in your profile picture, and it looks great!

    OP...I have gigantic arms & they are shaped really weird; people are always asking me why I have big bruises on my arms. They aren't bruises; they're shadows from the random fat bulge. Even when I was thin and ripped, my arms were still bigger than "normal" and I hated them. So, I'm with ya on the big arms thing. I'd love for my arms to look normal, but I'm not sure I'd want the scars, or elect to have surgery when I didn't have to. But...to each their own, and if it will help your self-esteem and you won't mind the scars, then do what you think will make you happy. :)

    My profile picture was taken over a year ago. Now my arms aren't toned the way they were then. I've had a shoulder injury since late fall, so I haven't been able to work out the way I was able to then. Perhaps I should do another "selfie" to show how bad they look. Although I don't want to be like one of these dysmorphic teen-age types who are always taking selfies and asking how "fat" they look. The woman who had the surgery had only faint scarring. Obviously, I'd have the surgery done in fall or winter so the scarring would be faded by the summer.
  • Tried30UserNames
    Tried30UserNames Posts: 561 Member
    I have big arms as do all the women in my family. Even as a skinny little girl, I was devastated that I couldn't wear frilly party dresses with short sleeves like other girls because the sleeves were always too tight. When I did a bit of research into having surgery, I read that it leaves quite a noticeable scar and that it takes a very skilled surgeon or the results are likely to be somewhat lumpy. I read so many negative experiences that I decided against it. Apparently, that's one of the most difficult areas to remove fat and get good results.
  • Tubbs216
    Tubbs216 Posts: 6,597 Member
    My sister had this surgery about 3 months ago and is healing really well. She's delighted because she can wear jackets 2 sizes smaller than previously, but to be honest the scars are still pretty grisly. She was prepared for this, and for her this is a small price to pay.
  • pollypocket1021
    pollypocket1021 Posts: 533 Member
    edited June 2015
    Google brachioplasty and look at before and afters to get an idea of what you might be able to expect.

    Doing extensive liposuction of the upper arms can help the surgeon pull the skin tighter, and is a reasonable option for some people (done at the same time).

    When the skin and fatty tissue is removed, so is the lymphatic drainage system in that area, so there can be swelling of the entire arms and hand for up to a year (similar to after mastectomy).

    Scars heal best without tension. If you plan on using your arms at all after surgery (most people do), there may be breakdown of the axillary incision. If you are prone to scar widening, these are scars that I would expect to widen. They can also tether at the underarms and limit range of motion (z-plasty approach avoids this, but creates a more visible scar).

    Avoid an incision on the back of the arm. Inner arm is far less noticeable. Once you heal completely and have no swelling, scar revision may be an option, as it would allow the scar a chance to heal with less stress.
  • Cortneyrenee04
    Cortneyrenee04 Posts: 1,117 Member
    So glad to see this!

    I'm hopefully getting this surgery this year, or maybe next. I'm devastated when I see my arms and can't keep hating them for the rest of my life. My mom and grandma have big arms too... Now that I've lost weight, they look just awful!

  • Tubbs216
    Tubbs216 Posts: 6,597 Member
    pollypocket1021 wrote: »
    Google brachioplasty and look at before and afters to get an idea of what you might be able to expect.

    Doing extensive liposuction of the upper arms can help the surgeon pull the skin tighter, and is a reasonable option for some people (done at the same time).

    When the skin and fatty tissue is removed, so is the lymphatic drainage system in that area, so there can be swelling of the entire arms and hand for up to a year (similar to after mastectomy).

    Scars heal best without tension. If you plan on using your arms at all after surgery (most people do), there may be breakdown of the axillary incision. If you are prone to scar widening, these are scars that I would expect to widen. They can also tether at the underarms and limit range of motion (z-plasty approach avoids this, but creates a more visible scar).

    Avoid an incision on the back of the arm. Inner arm is far less noticeable. Once you heal completely and have no swelling, scar revision may be an option, as it would allow the scar a chance to heal with less stress.
    This is great information! It also reminded me that my sister did have massive swelling for about a week afterwards. Her hands looked like blown up surgical gloves. She actually believes that her hands are now more wrinkly (she's 51) than before, due to the swelling.
    I say this not to scare you - she's still happy she had the surgery - but so you're aware of all the possibilities.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Is your shoulder injury permanent? Is the physio working you up to a point where you can resume a normal ecercise programme?

    I would avoid any kind of cosmetic surgery until I was at least 2 years post weight loss / recovery personally
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
    My arms have loose skin from the weight I've lost. I do a lot of kettlebells and it's getting better. Other than that, I have always dressed modestly - no tank tops or sleeveless dresses - and I look just fine. There is no way I would spend the money, effort, time, or pain in doing surgery. Just my opinion.
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,660 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Is your shoulder injury permanent? Is the physio working you up to a point where you can resume a normal ecercise programme?

    I would avoid any kind of cosmetic surgery until I was at least 2 years post weight loss / recovery personally

    At this point, I can't do any overhead presses or shoulder raises. I am able to do tricep and biceps but with lighter weights (5 lbs.) My physio is having me do some shoulder and rotator type exercises with bands and very light weights (under 3 lbs.). I can't do a push up because I feel it right in the joint. I can do some yoga but modify planks to knees-down. Sometimes I can't do positions where I have to raise my left arm over my head. It just won't go there and hurts. The injury is due to deterioration between shoulder joint and collarbone; I've had X-rays but no MRI yet. If there's nothing further shown, though, there's nothing that can be done about the injury.

    Regarding weight loss -- I haven't lost extreme amounts of weight that would cause hanging skin. It's just old age (56) and lack of activity. When I started with MFP a year ago, I was 126. I'm around 120 now. The heaviest I've been is 140 lbs. about 5 years ago, but I was fairly fit even at that weight. I'm rather discouraged by hearing the reports of how the surgery would require me to be even more inactive for long periods of time. Maybe I should just avoid sleeveless or put on a good self-tanner so the flab isn't so obvious.
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