Brachioplasty aka "Bat Wing Removal"- How Much $?

Just curious...how much did it cost you and if you had your surgery in the LA area- who did it?

I'm up in Northern Cal., but my insurance paid for my arms and tummy tuck because I was getting rashes and sores almost constantly.  I was getting yeast infections in my arm pits even because of the extra skin.  The total if I had to pay out of pocket for both procedures would have been around $13,000.00.

My insurance paid for it also...and Dr. Katzen did mine. Good luck because it is getting increasingly harder to get insurance to pay for these things.....I was pretty lucky. Out here where I live, a doctor had quoted me $5500 to have it done, but now I am glad I did not just get my arms fixed because I would have been severely mismatched by just having my arms fixed.

Like I said good luck, but I would not do anything in the way of reconstructive surgery until you are at goal or close to goal.

You need to be at your goal weight for at least 3 months before considering plastic surgery, according to a well known plasitic surgeon in southern CA. He is on the board at San Diego State, has two offices in Orange County. If you want his name, send me a private message. This particular doctor has extensive experience in working with WLS patients. Due to the stretched skin that may have been around for so many years, the skin tends to be thinner than normal. This means that the surgincal procedures and instruments had to be developed to deal with these problems. He had an extensive slide show presentation. Costs would probably be similar to the other quote of around $13000. This surgery and thigh surgery tend to be more expensive than tummy tucks or breast augmentation. This particular surgeon said he performed 70 surgeriers on WLS patients this past year, whereas most plastic surgoens may do around 10-12.  Don't shop for the cheapest price, or you'll probably end up with a improperly trained or certified surgeon.

You mean you don't like the pteradactyl look?  I've come to appreciate my wingspan.   I can wrap myself up and stay warm when I'm cold, I can go for short glides on windy days, and, hey, draping is back in on all the fashion runways.  Seriously, really research your surgeon, because I've seen and heard horror stories about this kind of surgery.  Because of it's impact on the lymph system and drainage, people can have huge issues with swelling and fluid retention, as well as problems with wound healing.  Get lots of information about complication rates etc before choosing your surgeon! So far, I'm keeping my wingspan, but if techniques change or I get tired enough of the wind drag, who knows!  ;-)

Beatrice... Oh you funny girl!!!!  You give me new appreciation for my "wings". I met you somewhere.. at convention a coupleof years ago maybe... you are so lovely.. I'm glad a couple of wings dont get you down!