Question:
How long were you arms swollen and sore after brachioplasty?

Did anyone keep their arms wrapped in ace bandages or compression sleeves for an extended period of time. Help my arms are killing me. I am five weeks out tomorrow!    — Beth F. (posted on September 19, 2004)

September 19, 2004
hate to tell you but it takes FOREVER for the arms to feel better- have had many surgeries in my life but this was by far the worst- mine were done in late feb 2004 wit a tt and they still bother me- the tt was easy and i felt fine in a week! however, the arms look great and when the scar goes white they will be perfect (imho!) i wore bandages for a solid 6 weeks and then very tight sleeves, like a leotard, during the day and then wrapped them at night for another 6 weeks- made a huge difference- we are all different but the arms were awful and i have not heard of anyone that had an easy time with them- it took about 6 weeks to be able to comfortably wash my hair and things like that- but all of a sudden you will realize they are better and then every day after you feel progress- at this point i really feel it was worth it- last night i wore a strapless gown for the first time in many years and it was a real pleasure! good luck- you will feel better eventually!
   — Treva F.

September 20, 2004
Hi Beth. I had my arm lift Aug 19th. I wore the Ace badages full time for a week and only at night for the following 2 weeks (per the Doc). My swelling is gone, no black and blue marks and I am healing well. I have a long thin red line and the incisions are completly closed. Everyone heals at a different pace. I have stretching excersizes for my arm muscles. It still hurts when I extend my arms and hold the palms of my hands back in the excersizes, but I have healed quickly. Best wishes, Maggie B.
   — M B.

September 20, 2004
I'm nine and a half weeks out, and my arms are still swollen. I did have a problem with fluid build-up in the left one, near the elbow, that has had to be aspirated numerous times. That is finally about cleared up. Otherwise, the left arm is doing well. The right one is still uncomfortable (numb and swollen), but I use that one more often, and suspect that's the reason for the discomfort. I see the surgeon again tomorrow, but he doesn't seem worried about it. I wrapped my arms for about three weeks, but I think that wrapping it too tightly actually led to the swelling and accompanying infection in my left arm. So, I'm just waiting it out now. Even swollen with a big scar, my arms look so much better now than before. I would do it all over again.
   — Vespa R.

September 20, 2004
I'd like to say mine went great, but it didn't. I had my brachioplasty done about 4 years ago. I am pleased with how it looks to an extent, though I think he could have taken more off than he did. The scarring is so so, that's not my issue. But to this day, I still get some shooting pain in my arms, both the underside of the upper arms, AND the underside of my lower arms. I also have little to NO feeling in them in those areas. Example: a mosquito bite will itch, but I can't feel when I scratch it -- that's just torture. I have debated whether I would have this procedure again. I had it done at the same time as my breast lift/reduction which gave me no problems. I think I might do it again, but I would definitely use a different surgeon. I still have some sensitivity in them, but if I were to accidently, say, touch my lower arm to a hot stove, it would be a delayed reaction in even feeling it. Cindy
   — Cindy U.

September 20, 2004
Beth, I am four weeks out from brachioplasty and am thinking that I must not be the norm, as I think this was one of the easier things that I have done. Yes indeed, my arms were swollen down to my fingernails the first few days. I actually looked like I had blown up latex gloves for hands and fingers for those few days but that quickly subsided. I never experienced any true pain in my arms other than when the compression garment was pulled on after a shower. I had to cut the sleeves off of the garment below my elbow as it was really too tight and cut off the circulation to my hands. The garment was like a long sleeved leotard top made from girdle material and it fastened above and below the bra area with velcro. I wore the garment 24/7 for three weeks and now have beautiful arms and little or no pain associated with the surgery. I do still experience the slight numbing feeling on one arm from just above the elbow to just below the elbow and I do experience an occassional ache on the lower portion of my arm muscles, but nothing like the others are posting. I would do this again in the blink of an eye. I have beautiful scars but do wear silicon strips on the site to aid in the healing process. I wish you a speedy recovery.
   — [Deactivated Member]

September 20, 2004
I had a brachioplasty 10 days ago. I have minimal swelling at this point, had a lot more initially. my hands were like little sausages. My doctor had me in ace wraps when I woke from anesthesia, & insrtuctions not to remove til I cam into his office, which was 4 days later, I take off the wraps to wash up (still not allowed to shower due to drains from the belt lipectomy) and to wash the ace wraps them selves. They got icky from drainage. I get a little drainage here and there and put surgipads dressings over the incision, long sleeved top over that then ace wraps. the wraps them selves are itchy to my sensitive skin. I have almost no pain, only a little stiffness here and there.
   — **willow**