extended brachioplasty done

Had my surgery Monday morning - stitched from arm pit almost to my wrist. Had some pain first day and most of second. Now, no pain at all. A tiny bit of discomfort when moving my arms, especially at the elbow area, but otherwise doing great. Even swollen my arms look awesome to me. He removed two lbs of skin from each side. Measured as he went so both arms would look the same. Oh wow I look normal. 

thanks everyone for your words of wisdom - I wasn't nervous at all.

Now the waiting period begins - arms are great but swollen and need to heal - I ate lots of protein before surgery and am still eating high protein for continued healing. Just wish the time would fly by.

Thanks again all,

Sharon

 

wow, I hope you have a nice , quick recovery. I have never heard of the incision being that long. I hope that your pain is manageable.  I bet your super excited with your results already. Congrats!

Good for you, Sharon!! Just be careful not to overdo it for a while. When I was feeling better I would find myself reaching too far and wow it hurt.

Happy healing!!

Laura

thanks to both of you - I'm healing quite well so far - arms look great, to me anyway, even with all the bruises and discoloration. simply looking in the mirror and not seeing no bat wings is simply awesome. I do know about the reaching - since I have no pain the tendency is to reach and overdo but the stitches in my arm pits certainly remind me to take it easy.

The reason I had the surgery go beyond my elbow is that I had swinging skin below the elbow too. I didn't want the upper arms to look good and the bottom portion to swing in the wind. It's not anymore trouble, healing, by adding that additional area. Now my whole arm will look like new! 

Have a wonderful day.

Sharon

 How is your swelling? I read and was told by 3 different PS nothing could be done with skin below the elbow due to the Collateral Circulation being limited. Are you dealing with a lot of hand swelling?

absolutely not - I kept my arms elevated (and still do when I'm not up and around) and no hand swelling at all. I can attest to the fact the lower arm (below elbow) certainly can be done too. Of course I know everyone is different but it works for me. When I change the bandages, or hubby does it for me, I see lots of swelling, redness, some bruising etc. but nothing that won't heal with time. That part is just the process that goes along with any surgery. So I definitely won't say your doctor is wrong but my PS did it for me and I'm just fine. Good luck to you - hope your surgery is successful and heals as well as mine is doing.

 

Sharon

 Thanks Sharon! It was actually 4 different plastic surgeons who told me the same! I am glad yours was done! I had an extended brachioplasty that went just to the elbow in 2009. I had consulted with 3 US surgeons and Dr S. Dr S did my surgery and took over 5 lbs combined both arms! Isn't amazing how much we had?

oh my gosh yes - I took some before pictures and looking at my arms now and seeing all that skin I had before totally amazes me. It is so wonderful what the PS's can do for us. So glad your surgeries went so well too.

 Sharon

My brachio wasn't as extensive as yours (armpits to just below elbow).  I was told no lifting over 3 pounds for 1st month and then nothing over 5# for several months.

I kept a small stool in kitchen so I didn't have to reach high and used it to sit on to reach in lower cupboards.  I still "popped" a couple stitches in armpits and they took awhile to heal.  I had burning in armpit areas and had to make sure skin didn't rub on skin.

I wore ace bandages for the first 6 weeks 24/7.

My fleur de lis abdominoplasty & brachioplasty were one year ago.  I do have some bright red, thick keloid scars on my arms.

Best wishes for healing.  Penny

thanks for the well wishes Penny. I'm not sure how the scars will look - too soon to tell - but I will trade scars for all my bat wings any day. My dr. also told me lifting restrictions as well as reaching and regretting - lol  Saw my Dr. this morning and he said I was healing wonderfully. Still lots of swelling but of course will have that for a while. I'm really looking forward to wearing a short sleeve blouse in the not too distant future. I haven't worn short sleeves in many years.

have a great day 

Sharon