Brachioplasty

• Share your health information with your plastic surgeon, remember to mention if you have allergies, previous surgeries, use of medications, vitamins or supplements and any other relevant medical information
• Your surgeon will ask you questions about what you would like to improve on your arms, what your expectations are and inform you of what can realistically be achieved.
• Your arms will be physically examined to determine which will be the best technique to perform for your particular case
• Photos at different angles will be requested in order to carry out a complete evaluation
• Pre-surgery blood tests will be ordered
• You’ll need to quit smoking completely

For patients over 40 years of age or with any added cardiac, respiratory, renal pathology, etc. The following will be requested:

• Chest X-ray
• Cardiological assessment
• Electrocardiogram

🗓️ 1 MONTH BEFORE SURGERY

• Stop smoking 1 month before your scheduled procedure
• Stop taking alcohol 1 week before the procedure
• Avoid using aspirin, fish oil, garlic and omegas, at least 3 weeks before the procedure *if you are medically required to do so, it is very important you let your medical coordinator know about this
• No exercise 3 days before the surgery
• Avoid eating very greasy food 2 days before your surgery
• No skin tanning 2 weeks before the procedure to avoid skin damage
• Plan for your stay in Cancun for surgery and recovery
• Make sure you have lose button down shirts to use during the recovery
• Get a suitcase with wheels!!!! Most of the times you won’t be allowed to carry anything heavy for a couple of weeks.

⚠️ The day / night before the surgery you will be requested NOT to EAT or DRINK anything 8 hours before the procedure. This is a very important request that you will have to follow in order to assure your personal safety during the surgery.

Depending on how much excess skin and fat tissue is, the plastic surgeon will discuss the surgical options for you.

Anesthesia

The time for the surgical procedure is around 3 hours depending on the technique. General anesthesia is given for a safe and comfortable procedure. There may be the possibility of performing the procedure under sedation and local anesthesia. This should be discussed with your doctor during your pre-surgery consultation.

Incisions & Sutures

There are different incisions to perform braquoiplasty. Your plastic surgeon will discuss with you what is the best option for your particular case depending on the excess tissue you have.

In some cases it is possible to make an incision that only covers the upper part of the arm, and in other cases where the excess tissue is greater, the incision should be from the elbow to the armpit. Everything will depend on the personal situation of each patient.

Sutures are placed in different layers of tissue to close wounds and adjust the skin of the arm. Resorbable sutures are usually placed.

Over time, the incision lines will tend to fade. It is important that you understand that the quality of the scar depends on a wide variety of factors such as your skin, genetic predisposition, sun exposure and nicotine.

Right After Surgery

After the surgery is done and you have fully woken up from the anesthesia, you will have a compression garments around your arms.

You will be offered liquids and if tolerated a small meal. A few hours after the procedure you will be able to go back to your hotel / home.

Before You Leave the Hospital

Your plastic surgeon will come to assess your health condition and give you proper care instructions to take back home. It’s normal that you will be prescribed painkillers and antibiotics during the healing process. Your surgeon will offer you a check up appointment during the following days.

After the procedure the plastic surgeons will sometimes leave a drain in order to help with the healing process. You will wear an arm bandage for a few weeks. You should not lift anything heavy or raise your arms beyond your shoulders to avoid injury.

You must take in consideration the following:

• Take your medications as indicated on your post-operative care papers that you will receive before you are discharged from the hospital.
• First follow-up post-surgical appointment will be between the 3rd and 5th day to remove the drains
• Relative rest for 15 days
• No sexual activity for 4 weeks
• You should not exercise or exert yourself in the next 4 weeks
• You will be able to shower after your first office check-up with your doctor
• You should not sunbathe for the next 4 weeks
• You shouldn’t be touching your wounds
• You have to keep your compression garment at all times
• You will need to sleep on your back in a semi-sitting position and one pillow under each arm for at least the following 15 days
• You should not smoke at all

⚠️ It is very important that you understand that not following this instructions can ruin the results for your surgery.

During the recovery period your surgeon will provide with a list of things to take care during this time. It is usually recommended for the patient to have approximately 17 days stay at the destination, in order to have proper after care and medical check ups with your surgeon. After the procedure you will have to use a bandages, to help with healing and reduce pain & inflammation.

Initial recovery time 2 weeks.

The results of the arm lift are immediate although it’s important that you understand that the final results will take a couple of months until the incisions have healed, the swelling goes down and the skin gives in.

Although risks and complications rarely occur during arm lift surgery, they can include:

• Anesthesia complications
• Bleeding
• Infection
• Soreness
• Changes in sensitivity
• Incision dehiscence
• Scarring
• Necrosis
• Nerve injury
• Hypertrophic scar
• Surgery is contraindicated in patients with excision of nodules of the armpit or lymphatic involvement of the arm

In order to minimize the risks, your surgeon will order a series of blood tests and if necessary a cardiac evaluation to ensure that you are in good health for your procedure.

Following the recommendations of your surgeon will promote a good result.