Brachioplasty Update

On December 12, I had brachioplasty, so it's been a little over five weeks and certainly not what I had expected. Honestly, I didn't really know what to expect. Even though I had read as many posts about this procedure as I could find, I was not prepared for how totally incapacitated I would be for the first week after the surgery. My PS told me to keep me arms raised as much as possible, even when I walked around the house. It hurt to lift anything heavier than a toothbrush. Well, maybe that's an exaggeration but not much. My son even had to cut up a banana because its weight put too much pressure on my tender arm nerves and muscles. And the "electrical shocks" I felt when I made a wrong or sudden move! I had never thought about all the nerves running from our brains to our finger tips, nor had I thought about the disruption and shock this surgery caused those nerves. Basically for the first week I needed someone to do just about everything for me (except for going to the bathroom--I did that regardless of the pain!). Also, the antiseptic the surgeon used to prepare my arms for the surgery completely dried out my skin, so it was super sensitive to anything that touched any part of my arm. PS told me to lather my lower arms with lotion, which helped so much. That was certainly something I had never heard about or thought about before the surgery.

Into the second week, however, my arms began to recover rapidly. I think staying as immobile as possible the first week really helped my recovery. My children all needed to go home and return to their normal lives, so I had them move everything I would need to my kitchen counters and on the two middle shelves of my fridge within easy reach since I still couldn't raise my arms higher than a 90 degree angle to my shoulders. I began taking short, mile-long walks during the second week, but I held my arms close to my chest. It sure felt good to get moving again and to be outside (middle of the day, little snow, warm sunshine). 

I went back to work--English teacher--after three weeks. During that first week, I couldn't write on the board and still wore my ACE bandages all day long. Now five weeks post-op, I can go through a school day without the bandages, but by the time I get home, my arms (mostly the scars) are sore and tired and the bandages provide comforting support.  I can raise my hands above my head, write on the board, and reach things on lower cupboard shelves. I am walking three to four miles daily, but wear bandages for added support. Still no weight lifting for my arms, but I can do weights for legs, butt, and stomach. And talking about the scars--I'm very pleased with how mine look. The right scar is barely noticeable, although the left one kind of puckers in one spot. Both scars run down the back side of my arms and cannot be seen from the back or front unless I lift my arms for the purpose of seeing the scars. Good job, Doctor!

Last night when I finally got home from work and running errands, my arms were tingling quite a bit. This hasn't happened since the first 2-3 weeks, so I wonder if I've become too confident and overdid my arms a bit much. Even though I've been able to sleep on my sides with arms propped on a pillow for a couple of weeks and on my stomach for an hour or so for about the last week, I slept on my back last night with arms propped with a couple of pillows, hoping that would help relieve the tingling. They still tingle a bit this morning, but feel much better. Just a reminder that they are still healing and I need to take it easy on them--they've been through quite a shock.

From the very first time I saw my arms after surgery, I loved how much smaller they look. Now that they're not so swollen, I am so pleased I had this surgery. I have wanted to do this for over ten years and finally did it. The first week after the surgery, I wasn't so sure I had done the right thing, but that feeling passed quickly and now I'm so glad.  On the other hand, now that I know what plastic surgery does to our bodies, I'm even more nervous about having a tummy tuck in June. I now know that we do not recover quickly from any plastic surgery and I know that a TT takes much longer to recover from, but if the results are as satisfying as my arms have been, I'm willing to go through that surgery and take care of my body for as long as necessary.

I am sorry that you experienced so much pain.  I had brachioplasty in August of last year and I guess I was one of the lucky ones.  I really had none of the pain that you described beyond the first 2 days.  I was able to lift my arms a little more each day and was able to get them up over my head by the end of the first week.  I had lifting restrictions as well, but don't remember experiencing pain when I tried to function around the house.  It is surgery and it can be tough to recover from.  But the results can be amazing.  I am so glad that there is someone out there who can help us fine tune the results of our weight loss.  Sending you healing thoughts.

Thank you for your thoughts. I hope I didn't sound like I was complaining; I actually just wanted to journal my experience with the surgery so far in case someone out there was thinking about having it done and didn't know what to expect. I'm glad that not everyone experiences the same thing, and it helps to hear every possible effect and feeling someone might go through. I probably didn't need to be so careful the first week, but I didn't want to do any damage that would require repair. My range of motion increased rapidly and steadily after the first week, and now I can do almost anything I want even though my arms do get tired after a while.

Yes, I am so glad that we have such fine surgeons who can help us look and feel better. Thanks again for your comments.

I didn't read any whining in your post.  I think it is wonderful that people post what their reaction to the surgery is for others to learn.  I do find it interesting how different both these surgeries are and how people recover from them.  There are lots of discussions about how different surgeons perform what is in theory the same surgery both from the procedure standpoint and the after care view.  Patients are all individuals and we each recover at our own pace.  I would appear that you and I are at opposing ends of the spectrum.  I will say that my brachioplasty was by far the easiest of my surgeries to recover from.  Take care of yourself.

Thanks for your comments and support. I agree with absolutely. I have had several female-type surgeries and have healed from those quickly, easily, and almost painlessly. This arm surgery took me by surprise, but I'm doing much, much better--almost 6 weeks later.

I didn't experience any of that, my arm scars felt weird but no pain like you describe, no swelling, healed easily.  At a month out I was lugging a 50lb suitcase through O'Hare.  As for tt, that was worse but not bad either, I skipped twelve days of work and then went back working 50+ hours a week with just swelling at night.

Good Luck.

Wow! That sounds wonderful! So glad you flew through your recovery so easily. My surgeon would have put me in the hospital if I tried to carry anything as heavy as a suitcase! My scars do feel very weird, but not as tight as they have done. My daughter-in-law thought that maybe the lotion I was using was making them tight, so I bought some Bio-oil and some udder cream (a type of lotion at Walgreens), neither of which have absolutely no alcohol.  After two days, the scars are loosening up quite a bit and massaging is beginning to really work.

Glad also to hear about your tt. You must heal quickly.

Thanks for your comments and input.

Thanks for sharing. I am researching an arm lift and want to know what to expect. 

It certainly sounds like you can hear as many different stories about the surgery and recovery as there are people have the surgery done. I wish I had could have found more stories so I had been better prepared for what recovery would be like. That's why I shared.  And I'm sure if you decide to have the arm lift, you will have your own unique experiences as well.  Good luck.

You were not whining at all!  Your post will help many others who don't know what to expect.  While others didn't have the same pain problems, it's good to know what may happen.

As far as the tingling... it's probably just your nerves continuing to heal.  When I had my BL/BA I'd have sharp pains in the nipple on occasions... and did for about a year after...  Nerves take a long time to heal. 

Congrats on your surgery!  It's great when we do something for ourselves and love the outcome.  The TT was tough... but now you know what to expect.  I took 4 weeks off from work for mine.  But what you said is right - it was SO worth the outcome!