Arm lift and movement

I am booked in for a TT and Brachioplasty on Saturday and I was just wondering how much you can move your arms when you come out of surgery? will I be able to feed myself and hold a book? How will they take my blood pressure as I'm assuming they won't put a cuff on my upper arm?

Were you given various instructions to read over?  I'm having these next week and my pre-op info says that after surgery I can't lift my arms above a 45 degree angle for some time (can't remember quite how long).  But feeding yourself and holding a book shouldn't be an issue.  Mainly you need to make sure you're keeping your arms a bit elevated anyway when you're sitting/laying down so that the blood isn't all running down to your fingertips and causing crazy swelling in your hands.

No idea about the blood pressure part though!

Thank you for replying!:)

I had a LBL and my arms done at the same time. I had no issue feeding myself or holding a book but had a hard time concentrating on the book due to the pain meds and leftover anesthesia. My mom (who's a nurse) stayed w/ me for the first week so did most of the things around the house. After that time she just made sure everything was basically at waist level or slightly below so I didn't have to reach too far for anything. 

As for the blood pressure, I think they used a cuff on my calf. But it's been 6 years so can't recall too much but I think that's what happened as your arms are out of the question.

I am so nervous, I go in tomorrow for the surgery on Saturday!! I'm booked to stay in hospital for 5 days... eeeek

You'll do fine. I was only scheduled for 1 day but they kept me for 2 and was home after that and did fine. However I was lucky to have a mom who is a registered nurse stay w/ me for the full week after surgery.

You will be able to feed yourself. Your bp will be taken on your lower leg, close to your ankle.

Good luck,

Annette 

Thanks for the reply - I ended up asking the nurse at work today and thats what she told me!

You should try and limit the amount of movement that you do with your arms. You should be able to feed yourself and hold a book. During surgery, my anesthesologist puts the cuff on the leg. Good luck! 

How are you doing? I had my TT and arms done 12/9. It wasn't easy, but manageable. Heading back to work tomorrow. Work clothes are going to be a challenge!