Is uneven swelling OK after an arm lift?

Hi, everyone!

Well I am three weeks out as of today from my arm lift (with lipo) and neck lipo.  I'm definitely still very swollen in all areas.  I've noticed that my right arm is more swollen than the left, in fact  that is even apparent just by looking at my forearms.  My husband glanced at my wrists and immediately saw it, which made me a bit paranoid that it is abnormal.  He isn't usually especially observant of such things.  ;)   My husband did a quick measurement - my left wrist is 6 inches and my right is 8 inches- thats two inches difference!!  Yikes!    I haven't taken off my compression garments to measure any differences in my upper arms, but it seems more noticable visually in my wrists.

Now, I am sure I wasn't totally symmetrical before surgery and I'm sure my right side is always a bit bigger because I am right handed.  I just wanted to know if this could indicate anything I should be worried about.  I also have some pain in my forearm that I already talked my surgeon about.  He thought it was just nerve damage and it would get better, but I wonder if it is the swelling pressing on nerves.

Any thoughts?  Anyone else have a lot more swelling in one arm than the other?  When can I hope for this swelling to go down?  I gained five pounds in the last two days, and I haven't changed my diet - I'm sure it's the swelling!  ACK!  Swelling sucks.

Thanks very much in advance for any thoughts on this.

You have been so wonderful and helpful with all your sharing!!  So sending you a big hug!!!  as I have no answers to help you!   Recover soon!!

That is so sweet... thank you so much for your kind words!!

My surgeon said that uneven healing is expected.  No one side of you is the same as the other - blood vessels and nerves run differently and all that stuff.  I would think this is particularly true with arms, where one is dominant.  Don't think it's anything to worry about!

Oh, thank you!!  What a relief to hear that.  It's a bit creepy, but I'm not letting myself get too worked up because there are no other strange symptoms accompanying it - serious pain or redness, for example.  So I don't think it is likely much more than what you describe- just a matter of the arms being different and healing differently.

I'll be so glad when this swelling goes down.  I can't fit into most of my compression garments now - literally cannot get them on!  So I'm wearing "light compression" and I'm going see about getting my husband to wrap my arms with an ace on top of it tonight.

I had the same thing happen with my legs.  As long as there are no other symptoms, I don't think there is anything to worry about.  My swelling seems to decrease dramatically during the night so maybe in the morning you might be able to get those compression garments back on.

JoAnn

Thank you so much for your response and reassurances.   Unfortunately, I woke up this morning even MORE swollen.  Arg.  But I've figured out a pretty good compression arrangement with Ace bandages and cut up tights.  Haha - it's makeshift, but it works.

Hopefully this will get better soon... I'm trying to be patient. :)