My current dilemma is whether or not to have an arm lift done. In August I had an abdominoplasty, breast lift & augmentation, and lipo, which ended up being great- I am a fan of plastic surgery. In November I have a groin incision thigh lift scheduled, however I have been back and forth on the brachioplasty. I am afraid of the scars. Everything else I’ve had done can be hidden under a bathing suit, but those scars are not easily hidden and even with excellent scar therapy, they will be visible to some extent.

So, for those of you who have had an arm lift, do you regret it at all? Do you prefer having the scars over the wings?

I have always had fat arms….in college, when I was normal sized before I gained and lost a few hundred pounds over the course of 10 years, someone called me “the flying squirrel”, and my arms weren’t even that bad then! I am worried that I might be trading one cosmetic deformity for another and I don’t want to end up being even less attractive than I started out as! I know this sounds like I am insecure, but ok, I am, and I’m kind of shallow…I like feeling attractive. The thing is, I can’t decide if wings or scars are the lesser evil.

Also…one last thing. These will be the only scars that anyone can see. Very few people know I’ve had the other procedures done. For those of you who have had an arm lift, or plastic surgery that a lot of people know about, was anyone super judgey about it?

Thank-you for your thoughts!

I had my arm lift done in July. It was the one thing I cried about afterward, but the tears were all happy tears. I was overwhelmed with happiness when I saw how small they were.

I have had large arms forever. I usually had to buy shirts in a size larger to fit my arms and I never wore sleeveless. I told very few people about my plastics. I am a little bit disappointed in the scarring because I can tell the front of my LBL is going to fade to almost nothing, the breast lift scar is almost invisible already, but my arm scars are still red. Unless I lift my arms up or swing them dramatically you really can't see them from the front or the back. I'm still wearing sleeves around people that don't know about my plastics, but don't feel very self conscious in a bathing suit.

I say, I'd rather have scars...you might have to buy a larger size shirt just to fit around your arms

My arm lift probably made the biggest difference to my comfort dressing in stylish clothing. I could hide the tummy skin under spanx but the arm skin made me look heavy. I love love love my eesults. I year post plastics and I wear sleeveless all the time..people don't notice scars unless I mention it.

I went from 265lbs to 120lbs, in a little over a year. I just had my around the world and breast implants, and lift done. I have surgery scheduled for 18 November for my thighs and arms. I have to admit I am worried about it, but honestly I think I would rather scars then fat. Being as small as I am, having thighs that look like they belong to someone else is not worth it. I am excited, yet very nervous, but I am ready to have it done. I would love to walk around with pride in myself. For that is the reason I got the gastric bypass done in the first place.

I have not had any surgery yet but I would say I would prefer to have a scar as opposed to the bat wings. I bet the scarring is really not that noticeable in your normal clothing. If it makes you feel confident I would say go for it!

This collage... the 2nd photo is me at goal, with no shapewear. A bit of a melted snowman effect. What a difference plastics make and I get constant comments about what a great body I have (compared to other 50 year olds anyway!)

I love ALL my results, but the arms made a huge difference!!! I had the "small" thigh lift. I sometimes wish I had gone for the full/long thigh lift because then I would have tight thighs like my arms. Flip side, I do wear skirts and shorts and no scar is nice... tough decision. all in all, I am happy ... estatic really!!!

Edited October 23, 201411 yr by CowgirlJane

@deedadumble Thanks for your story! You mentioned that the scar placement is one that you can't really see from the front or the back...could you possibly send me a picture of one of your arms so I can see where they put the incision? If I could end up with that result, I would be SO much less worried about it!

@@CowgirlJane Thanks for the info and pics! If you don't mind me asking...where are your scars placed? I'm relieved to know that after a year they have faded to something that no one notices!

Thank-you everyone for your thoughts- I appreciate it!

I'm a ways from getting plastics, as I'm still on a pride high on my loss and don't mind that my arms "give me away". Two years from now I may feel differently about them, and if I was going to nip/tuck something, it'd be my arms.

Pre-op, mine were shaped like this: http://www.dbreath.com/images_content/before-arm-lift-knoxville-brachioplasty.jpg

I still have that crease line, and that's actually the marker I use for measuring consistency. ><

Scar wise, I could totally live with this: http://www.allaboutplasticsurgery.com/revis-photos/set2brachi8.jpg

I went to the Your Weight Matters 2014 convention in September, and the attendants (500ish) were pretty much all WLS peeps at various stages. I saw lots of plastics. What I noticed most and what I'm more afraid of than the scar is that it'll look chopped. I saw tons of that at the convention!

Let's say there was no scarring.... I'd rather keep my bat wings over this... http://www.palmaplasticsurgery.com/photos/brachioplasty_pt_5_right_front_after.jpg

To me the unnatural appearance is far more noticeable.

My arm scars are standard placement. Only can be seen if I wave bye bye! However, I go dancing, including swing dancing with arms up... and nobody even glances at scars - they are not very visible. I have told a a few dates about them, and they all say they didn't notice till I pointed out.

I said - YAY!

My arms before broke my heart. There was a photo of myself and some friends in a bar with our arms round each other - My arms were twice the width of my friends - All because of the skin.

It was the first Op I had and it made me feel soooooooooooo much better! (I had a breast reduction in same op and that one was AY-CARUMBA - Fantastic!)

The scars fade - And you make friends with them somewhat - My scars are part of my journey - Part of my story - Part of me..... I have so many scars now after reconstruction that had I not made friends with them I think I would be upset but - ALL of my scars are my friends as they are all part of what makes me so determined to never slip back in to old habits - To always appreciate the gift my surgeon gave to me - And the money I invested in the nw me

Pics taken a while ago - June 2014 - Had op in 2010

You can see definite scars (I made sure you can see otherwise pics would be worthless lol) But in real life - Nobody has ever mentioned them to me - I do not noticed them day to day and have to have my arm in that position for them to really notice...

Edited October 23, 201411 yr by Scamp

@Ava324- I could also totally live with that scar picture on your post! I'm going to show that one to my doctor.

@CowgirlJane- Thanks for answering my question- I feel much better knowing that no one notices your scars!

@Scamp- Thanks for posting the pictures- your scars look great! You make a good point about being friends with your scars. My breast lift scars don't bother me and my abdominoplasty one is something I've gotten to be ok with, but I suppose I'm more concerned about people noticing them and commenting about it. Only my three best friends know I have a sleeve and only my closest friends know about my other plastics, but I feel like doing my arms is something that suddenly everyone will know I've had work done and people can be judgey. I know I shouldn't care, but I do!

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts- I really do appreciate it! I called my PS this afternoon, and he said he had no problem adding the brachioplasty to my thigh surgery and he should be able to place the scars where I want them. So, now I guess I need to make a decision, lol.

Oh, one more question- for those of you who had your arms done, do you remember if you had any issue with using your hands afterward? I need to be able to type. I can technically do it in bed if neccessary, but I can't completely just lay around for more than a few days without being on a computer working. That's something I should have thought to ask before.

I haven't felt judged at all. People either like me or they don't. The ones that do are pleased as punch that I have finally found my real body under all that fat (and excess skin). I was most worried about arm scars preop, but post op they don't bug me at all. My LBL scar probably bothers me more than any, but it is easily covered by clothing so just not a problem.

Frankly, I think self confidence and knowing your own value and hotness simply overshadows all these little worries.

Oh, one more question- for those of you who had your arms done, do you remember if you had any issue with using your hands afterward? I need to be able to type. I can technically do it in bed if neccessary, but I can't completely just lay around for more than a few days without being on a computer working. That's something I should have thought to ask before.

I worked on my computer the day after I had surgery. There was a project that didn't get finished before I left and it had to be done. I never had a problem with it.

I had no problems at all after my Op - No pain at all (No pain from the breast reduction either) So much no pain that stupidly i wednt shopping and bought some potatoes then thought 'I shouldnt be doing this' Called someone to come take me home LOL. My surgery was on a Thurs and the next Monday I was out for lunch with friends...... I can't believe that the Ops didn't hurt (Bar the inner thighs - That one was OUCH the first time I got up - But the moment I was in compression garment - It was all fine again

I do think that maybe cos I am the type of person who is very open with my surgeries because I am proud of what I have achieved - I have lost half of myself - And changed myself in so many ways (Emotionally and physically - in every way) That I guess the new found confidence has helped me to accept this new me - And learn to like myself for the first time in my entire life...

Good luck to you in your surgery

Hi! I am a writer on the web as My Bariatric Life and I am one year out from my body contouring plastic surgery with Dr. Joseph F. Capella in Ramsey NJ, and approaching one-year out from my facial plastic surgery with Dr. Catherine Winslow in Carmel IN. The scars on my arms are dark, but I've seen other patients of my surgeon whose arm scars were practically invisible at 3-mos. Generally speaking the lighter your skin the less noticeable your scars will be.

I also will say that other scars on my body, also made by Dr. Capella, have lightened more than my arm scars have lightened, So therefore, I would say that you cannot assume that your arm scars will be light or dark based on previous scars you've had from plastic surgery. The area inside the armpit is an area of great tension and that is where my scars are darkest.

I also had a series of serious complications with the right arm that caused darker scars in that arm. I've been battling with the complications for more than a year. You can read about it beginning here (note there are a series of posts that chronicle the worsening complications). I've lost full range of motion of my arm and I have intermittent pain that can sometimes "hit the high note." I was supposed to have surgery to correct the injury. Why that did not take place is explained in the articles.

Aesthetically, the shape of my arms is very pretty. You will see the before and after photos in the linked articles above, as well as photos of the scars and complications. I've been waiting for someone to ask me if I regret the surgery, and how I might answer that. The thing is, I am just not the kind of person who believes in regret. There are no do-overs so I cannot even think in terms of regretting something I've done. Whether something is good or bad, it is all part of the experience of life. I don't want to make too light of what happened. I struggled long and hard to make peace with the complication, and I still get depressed about what happened, because in matters like this we as human beings always feel "it should not have happened" and "its not fair." Well, my dears, "what is" and "what should be" are not always in alignment. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. We all know that; we just never expect it to happen to us.

Maybe a better way to put is that I do not regret the surgery. I do not regret my choice of plastic surgeon. What I do regret is that there was a complication that could have been avoided (as is true of most complications). I remain an advocate of plastic surgeon after weight loss and I still refer patients to Dr. Capella. I look and feel wonderful and am living life fully since having my plastics, doing things I would not / could not have done before. I've attached a pic of my victory in completing a challenging ropes course this year.

So my point of view is that you do the procedure because your bat wing arms will look very out of proportion with the rest of your now tight body. I would make sure that the surgeon does not put the scar behind the arm, because it is very visible there (some surgeons prefer this technique because they feel there are less risks). If after a year your arm scars are dark, you can try laser -- either r IPL or v-beam to lighten the scars.

Good luck in your decision making!

My Bariatric Life