My arm looks awful after brachioplasty

You have to be tired of waiting for the incisions to close up.  Sending healing thoughts your way.

I can't remember how it came up in discussion, but I remember my doc mentioning that the sides of your body are not the same.  Different circulation, different skin conditions, just generally different make-up.  Your doc may have done all of the cutting and suturing on both sides, and they're not going to look or heal identically.  But it's all very frustrating when all you're told is to exercise patience and let it heal!

Thanks for some uplifting words. I appreciate it. Dr. Capella has a PA who sews with him. Dr. Capella told me that the PA sews just as good as he does. The PA told me he sews better than Dr. Capella. I do not know if they specifically each take a side of the body, but it is curious to me if that is how they do it. I am just disgusted with this entire surgery right now and everything surrounding it. 

Wow, that is a lot of skin to be removed. Your weight loss must have been dramatic after your WLS.

Yes, it is likely I will need scar revision. Perhaps not, but I am planning on it just the same. At least that is free, whereas revision to brachioplasty can be expensive. Even if the surgeon waives his fee the patient still has to pay OR and anesthesia.

Of course I would rather not have any complications, but the wound in my arm that looks so horrible is really not that bothersome but rather the axilla openings are. Neither are serious complications and just need time to heal. I know dr. Sauceda does big surgeries, what did you have done and were there any complications? Are you planning anything more as far as surgery? I want my face done and implants. Then I am through!!!

Thank you again for your concern. I have been thinking a lot about what you and Heidi have written last night, as well as another poster on RealSelf, and the plastic surgery PA that I mentioned I am friends with... And I am now concerned enough that I will seek out the advice of my PCP.

When I had my tummy tuck, I was fraught with worry... And nothing it turned out was wrong with me in the end. As well, leading up to my recent surgery I was on an emotional roller coaster, filled with anxiety that was actually causing panic attacks. After all that I was determined not to get all worked up over the complications I am having with this surgery. But maybe I am being too laid back. I will phone my PCP today for an appointment. I will keep everyone posted on what he says.

It is curious that you mention the universe sending me message. Leading up to this surgery the universe set me many messages that I normally would have interpreted as a sign not to move forward with this surgery. If it were any other doctor than Dr. Capella then I would have canceled the surgery. But I knew him very well, much more than patients typically know their surgeons and I felt very safe with him. So I just chalked those message up to anxiety and wrote them off. Actually, I did try to cancel the surgery twice and Dr. Capella talked me down out of my tree.

I really would like to hear your opinion now, rather than wait until I am healed, of this situation and of Dr. Capella if you do not mind sharing publicly. The entire foundation of social media is to share the good, the bad, and the ugly of the patient experience. So many people only share the good when it comes to plastic surgery and this does not give a realistic portrait of it. 

I really hope that I am not being too idealistic when it comes to Dr. Capella. I researched him thoroughly before committing to him so I think my perspective is clear in this situation. He gets outstanding reviews from patients, with only a couple of complaints. The two negative reviews that I have read out of tons of glowing reviews have both had to do with breast implants. One was a long time ago and I had intended to ask Dr. C about her (she published her name) to get his side of the story but I just kept forgetting to do so. Obviously it was not that important to me. I am pretty sure that I know who the other woman is and since complaining she has disappeared off social media. So we may never know what happened, why it happened, and how it was taken care of. As far as my experience with Dr. Capella he always has taken good care of me surgery-wise and offered to revise me if I wanted something improved, even when he himself liked the outcome -- eg I want my nipple areaola complex higher on my breast and he very much likes the way my lift came out but said he would do whatever I wanted. 

Thank you again for your concern and support. I truly do appreciate it.

It's me again. I just came back from my PCP's office and wanted to update you and everyone else as promised. Again, I appreciate the concern and support that so many have shown. 

I had been worried about opening up this discussion, that it could get heated, that I might state something that was medically inaccurate, or that it might reflect negatively on Dr. Capella. But I believe in authenticity. As I wrote earlier, the purpose of social media is to share the good, the bad, and the ugly of the patient experience. Thus I wanted to be as transparent as possible and share not only all of the very wonderful outcomes I have gotten from body contouring plastic surgery, but also some of the surgical complications and emotional conflicts I have gone through. As I also mentioned before, Dr. Capella felt pretty much the same way, and he encouraged me to write about my complication.

My intention is to help people to be fully aware of what they are getting into with plastic surgery. I think it is unrealistic to think that we can abuse our bodies for decades by being morbidly obese and on top of that having obesity-related illnesses like diabetes, perhaps poor nutrition, and maybe even vices such as smoking, and then go to a plastic surgeon and expect him or her to make us look like Anna Nicole and do so without a single complication. For some people, I am sure this is their experience, and they are the ones who probably post the most on soc med and share their perfect stories. But this is not typical and it paints a very rosy picture that is a little off of what the average patient will experience.

Also keep in mind that healing has to do with many factors: the surgeon's expertise, the patient's health, age, aftercare and compliance, heredity and genes, and some things of which are not under our control such as "**** happens" and "good luck."

There is a patient on this forum of Dr. Capella who had pretty much the same surgeries as me, had great outcomes, and not a single complication. If she were telling her story then not a single person reading would be questioning his surgical abilities or aftercare. Please understand that I am not frowning upon those women who cared enough to express their concern for me - quite the contrary, I appreciate it, as well as respect their honesty and bravery to post what I know many others were thinking.

I have been deeply studying body contouring after massive weight loss and the patient experience for the last 7-months. I have seen patients butchered and patients whom have been turned into stunning versions of their former selves and everything in between. Some of the patients whom have been butchered were under the care of very expensive, board-certified, prominent plastic surgeons, who then would not care for the patients after surgery. Some patients have had serious complications that were managed by their surgeons.

By contrast, I have had a few minor complications with this surgery and Dr. Capella has been all over me -- just like he was all over me after my tummy tuck. And with my tummy tuck there were no complications, but rather it was my first surgery and I was scared and thought I had a seroma or something else was wrong. There was never anything wrong but Dr. Capella carried me through it until I was satisfied that it was just normal swelling and I was OK. As far as my inability to have an ****** after my mons lift, it is possible that over time I would have healed. I will never know for sure. Dr. Capella and Dr. LoMonaco both explained that to me... something to do with nerves having a cardboard like feel (I do not recall their exact words). Regardless, I would have had the mons lift to get rid of my hideous disfigured pubic mound even if I had been told that it was certain I would never in my life have an ****** again. Fortunately, I am back to being multi-******ic after my monsplasty. 

As for my second stage plastics, some people think this was too much to do in one surgery. Dr. Capella gave me the option of a smaller surgery and a larger surgery. I chose to do the larger surgery after he and I discussed the risks and benefits. As for aftercare, Dr. Capella insisted on knowing the hotel I was staying at alone in NJ. He wanted a way to get in touch with me super fast and said he or his office would call me if they had not heard from me for a few days. He made sure that both he and I were completely sure that I could take care of myself on my own before I left the care center.

My first night in the hotel he asked that I call him at any hour of the night if I were to have a complication. He was operating on my friend in the morning so I told him that I did not want to bother him. He then made me promise to call him if I had shortness of breath and he would have me admitted to a nearby hospital. Well, I did awake from a dream with labored breathing at 4am and called him. I told him I did not know if it was anxiety induced or something serious. He told me to have the front desk send the paramedic and they would be able to tell. Later that day Dr. Capella called me to make sure I was OK. I was fine. It was just anxiety.

Other times before I left NJ I had fevers, groin pain, depression, and my axilla opened. He saw me immediately each time and treated me. He called in prescriptions and had them delivered to my hotel. At one point his PA possibly saved my life because I was taking diuretics w/o doctor's orders and depleting my body of water and potassium. I was pretty ill and he picked up on it.

Once I developed the wound back home, Dr. Capella sent me for a CBC to make sure I did not have an infection. Since then he has been monitoring my healing via photos and we have exchanged emails and phone calls. He has phoned me during his lunch time on a number of occasions, as well as answered my emails across the weekend. He also told me to do some stretching exercises for the tightness in my leg and arms and reassured me on the phone that I was OK and the skin would stretch and my arms would heal.

When I asked him if it would help if I saw my PCP, Dr. Capella said he was fine with that and he would be interested to know how another doctor might treat the wound. Well, my PCP, who is a team medical doctor for Indianapolis' beloved Colts, told me exactly what Dr. Capella has told me all along.

And leading up to surgery, Dr. Capella was always there when I needed him. He took my calls on the weekend. He saw me in his office before hours. He saw me late in the day when he typically does not see patients. He gave me all the time in the world and never made me feel rushed. 

I ask you, what more could I expect from Dr. Capella? Yes, I did have issues with his bedside manner and some of his staff -- so I would expect more there -- but his surgical skills and aftercare are superb. I always felt safe going into surgery with him and under his care afterwards, and I still do.

Again, I appreciate this open and honest discussion. That's all I have for now... Thank you for reading through this long post and I hope it helps everyone considering or going through plastic surgery what to expect. 

Best...

 

I can tell a HUGE difference with the opening.  YOUR arms are going to be amazing!!!  I can't wait to see the final result.

 Your arms are going to be tiny.

Thank you!!! They were very thin after surgery; there is some swelling now but they're still small. Despite this minor setback in recovery, I am glad that he pulled my arms very tight. The trade-off is worth it to me. My perspective is that if I am going to have a scar from arm pit to elbow, then I want the result to be the very best shaped arms I can get. Too many surgeons under-correct the arm and the end result is mediocre. Dr. Capella is highly experienced in this procedure, with the largest published series in the world of arm lifts on the massive weight loss patient. Yes, I know that I sound like his PR person right now, but his experience speaks for itself. The man knows what he is doing like none other.

People that knew me before this last surgery and are seeing me now are amazed at how small my body is... one person told me with great sincerity "you are a gorgeous woman." No one has ever said that to me before (even when I was young and gorgeous) and I remain so very touched by his comment (or should I say by his very accurate assessment, hahahaha). 

I cannot wait to see my final results. The waiting is the hardest part!

My g-darn arms still look awful and I still have limited range of motion... so freaking pissed off right now because they were supposed to be healed by next Thursday and they look just as bad as they did last week. Why am I not healing?!?! I take super good care of my health and nutrition. I am not even going to bother sending these over to Dr. Capella. What's the point?

They are sooo much better.. YOU are just stressed. Three weeks and they are going to look great. I don't think your scar is going to be that bad.

Thank you for being positive. I am in a foul mood since yesterday. The pix I took this morning and sent to Dr. Capella absolutely look worse than those above.

Not stressed, f-ing pissed off... in the heat of the moment I do not want to post something that I will later regret SO I will bite my tongue for now.

It has been 3 weeks since the first opening and they should have closed by next Thursday, but they don't look any better than they did last week. 

I am not worried about the scar right now. I am frustrated over what the heck it is going to take to get these to close.