Question:
Why is the scar soooo big for upper arm surgery??

I am within 20 pounds of my goal weight and am considering having my upper arms done. The problem I struggle with...the scar is huge! We had a plastic surgeon speak at our support group and he brought with him pictures of various procedures. The scar I saw for the upper arm sugery went from the elbow up to and past the arm pit. I don't understand why it has to be so big? I was wondering if anyone out there that had this done was dissatified with the way it looked afterward? Does the scar fade over time? I think I might be just as self-concious about the scar as I am about the hanging skin! I am so unsure about what to do! My arms look horrible right now and they drive me crazy so I really want to get it done just don't want to not be able to wear tank tops/shortsleeves because of a huge scar. My skin scars easily and even after my weightloss my stretch marks and incision sites are still very deep. I'm afraid to do this but more afraid not to! Thanks...Kristen    — kristen H. (posted on April 4, 2002)

April 3, 2002
I had my armlift and panniculectomy in November. The scars on my arms are from armpit to elbow, but they are on the underside of the arm and are not visible to anyone unless I raise my arms. My plastic surgeon didn't use any external sutures or staples, so right now I just have a fine red line which should fade nicely and hardly be noticeable over time (just like my previous abdominal incisions). My upper arms had large folds of hanging skin after my weight loss, and now they look like they did when I was a teenager. I couldn't be happier with the results of my surgery and the scars are not a bad trade-off at all for my new arms :-) Good luck!
   — Diana T.

April 3, 2002
As for me, I havent yet had my arms done but.. i would rather have a scar and be able to wear properly fitting clothes than have all this skin. If the scar is bad..which is rare from what I've seen you can always use derma blend or a similar scar makeup for special occasions.
   — Jennifer H.

April 4, 2002
Kristen, I want to have the same surgery too. However, I saw a girl at the support meeting who had her arms done in November and when she showed me her scar, I know I looked horrified!! I don't really have a problem with the scar itself (I expect it) however what made it look REALLY bad was it was SOOO red and probably about an inch wide and the scar stood up from her arm about a 1/2 inch high. I certainly would have thought that after 5 months it wouldn't have looked so bad. She did tell me she had 4 pounds of fat and skin removed from her arms. I KNOW I don't have that much to remove, but I seriously wondered about the doctor who did this procedure. She told me his name and I doubt I would go to him. I've found a different plastic surgeon then the one the surgeon's office recommends and I asked a TON of questions!! I also wanted to see pictures of people who are similar to me and had the same procedures so I could contact them to see how they felt, what the scars looked like afterwords, etc. ANY plastic surgeon should give that information willingly. I only want to have plastic surgery once to correct everything so I want to make sure I've picked the right plastic surgeon.
   — Patty H.

April 6, 2002
Your scares should be something to be proud of. You have made a very hard choice. You had your stomache totally changed and lost a ton of weight. You think every one will stare. They may but look and your reaction will set how people treat you. You should treat it with humor. If they ask about the scares tell them you were attacked by a great white off the shore of the Bahammas. You caught your arm in a combine. No one can make those scares matter except you. They aren't on your face, they aren't glaring obvious. I understand how it can be blown up in our minds to huge scares. We all have had a pimple. You couldn't see it with a microscope but as far as we were concerned it was blocking out the sun of the lower 48 states. I am not making light of your concern, just keep it in perspective. Ask around and see who is a good dr and see pictures. Don't let the scares take away from you what Obesity couldn't.
   — Rebecca K.