Arm Lift (Brachioplasty)

Upper arm tissue relaxes and descends with aging, gravity, and weight loss. The drooping of skin is from stretching of the anchoring fascial system and loss of supporting fat. The extra sagging can result in the so-called "bat wing" deformity from the axilla to the elbow.

Brachioplasty can remove the excess tissue and reduce the circumference of the upper arm. Extra skin is removed from incisions placed along the inner arm or in the axilla. The most common incision pattern extends from the elbow to the axilla. This permits the excision to maximally address redundant skin in the middle of the arm. Modification of the incision may be necessary to limit scar contracture in the axilla.