Arm Lift Turn Back the Clock for a Youthful Look

It’s no secret that many of the most common signs of the aging process tend to make themselves known in the facial region. If you’re experiencing changes in other parts of your body as well, however, you’re absolutely not alone. It’s quite common to notice that your arms have developed increased laxity, and the resulting sagginess can feel frustrating. The Virginia Institute of Plastic Surgery is here to help, with an arm lift in Richmond—also known as brachioplasty— that can leave you looking youthful, toned, and contoured. Our offices serve the Richmond, Northern Virginia, Charlottesville, and Washington DC areas—reach out and set up your consultation to learn more about the arm lift today.

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Am I the Ideal Arm Lift Candidate?

While a healthy diet and regular exercise can keep your arms strong and healthy, even those of us who are at or near our ideal weight might still find it difficult to address that excess fat that can accumulate in the arms, or eliminate hanging, loose skin around the biceps. Brachioplasty, or a surgical arm lift, offers a powerful restorative solution and is ideal for you if you:

  • Would like to reduce the appearance of excess skin and fatty deposits on your upper arm (between the armpit and elbow)
  • Have sagging, loose skin 
  • Would prefer a smooth, taut, and toned appearance
  • Are interested in improved overall body proportions
  • Have recently experienced dramatic weight loss
  • Are struggling with stretched or sagging skin

Your Arm Lift Consultation Customizing Your Treatment Plan

Before an arm lift, you’ll get started with a thorough, in-person consultation with Dr. Sundin. This will give your surgeon a chance to discuss your personal aesthetic goals with you, so he can learn about your concerns and guide you to the treatment option that is right for you. During the consultation, Dr. Sundin will evaluate your upper arms skin volume and elasticity and the amount of excess fatty tissue in the area. 

The consultation is the point at which Dr. Sundin will decide whether or not you are an ideal candidate for the traditional arm lift, or if the mini arm lift might be a better option for you. Thanks to their extensive experience, Drs. Sundin are able to offer a truly unique surgical experience, and will work with you to create a bespoke treatment plan that is tailored directly to your personal cosmetic goals.

Your Arm Lift Experience

During an arm lift, board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Burton Sundin or Dr. Reps Sundin will remove excess fat and skin from your upper arm to create a more proportionate, toned, and smooth look. The procedure is generally performed under IV sedation or general anesthesia and involves an incision on the underside or back of your arm, between the armpit and the elbow. The specific location and length of the incision will depend on how much correction your surgical plan requires. Dr. Sundin will first perform a liposuction procedure to gently disrupt and remove the fat, before trimming away excess skin. The musculature of your arm will then be restructured and tightened with internal sutures to create a smooth, taut appearance before Dr. Sundin closes the incision with layered, absorbable sutures, clips, and surgical tape.

Rest and Recovery After an Arm Lift

After your arm lift, you’re likely to experience some temporary tightness and swelling in the treatment area, with some tingling and numbness in the hands. These side effects are expected, will remain mild, and will resolve within a few days after the procedure. 

You’ll likely be able to return to normal activities within two or three of your surgery, but you’ll be advised to avoid rigorous exercise and strenuous activities for up to six or eight weeks, to ensure proper healing. 

It will also be critical to avoid sun exposure and use proper sun protection (at least SPF 15 or higher), to ensure that your scars heal nicely and fade properly. Before your procedure, we’ll give you detailed aftercare instructions, and schedule follow-up appointments.

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The Mini Arm Lift

Thanks to the combined 30 years of experience offered by Drs. Burton and Reps Sundin, the Virginia Institute of Plastic Surgery is excited to be offering the innovative mini arm lift. This body contouring surgery creates tighter, smoother, and more youthful-looking arms. 

As a less invasive procedure, the mini arm lift eliminates loose and sagging skin from the upper arms, removes excess fat pockets, and sculpts the arm tissue to provide a slimmer and shapely appearance, with a more speedy recovery period and downtime.

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Am I the Ideal Candidate for a Mini Arm Lift?

Plenty of patients come to us looking for a way to enjoy a more youthful look, and the arm lift continues to be one of our most popular procedures. We realize, however, that not all patients are the same, and some individuals are looking for a relatively minor level of correction. This is when the mini arm lift becomes ideal.

You might consider the mini arm lift if you’ve only just begun to notice that your arms are sagging or drooping, or if it’s determined during your consultation that your arms will only require a small amount of correction to produce the results you’re looking for. In either case, the mini arm lift may be a great option for you.

Drs. Buron and Reps Sundin make it a point to work closely with each patient, offering a truly elite-level experience. You’ll get a chance to explore the various treatment options available to you, and Drs. Sundin will call upon their extensive experience to help you choose the treatment protocol that’s right for you and your needs.

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Why Our Patients Love the Mini Arm Lift

  • The procedure is significantly less invasive when compared to traditional arm lift surgery.
  • Local anesthesia with IV sedation can be used in certain cases, depending on the patient’s goals and treatment plan.
  • The procedure can be performed in a safe and comfortable outpatient surgery setting, so you’ll get to return home on the same day.
  • You’ll experience minimal discomfort and downtime, a faster recovery period, and a relatively low risk of post-surgical complications.
  • Post-surgical scarring is drastically reduced after a mini arm when compared to a traditional arm lift, due to a much smaller incision.
  • Minimally invasive Awake liposuction and the Renuvion J-Plasma treatments can be used to aid in enhanced fat removal and skin tightening.

Your Mini Arm Lift Experience

Dr. Sundin will likely be able to perform your mini arm lift plastic surgery using only local anesthesia and IV sedation, making for a much more tolerable experience. Your procedure can combine two minimally invasive techniques as follows:

Step 1 Awake Liposuction for Fat Removal

Dr. Sundin will first place very tiny incisions (about a quarter of an inch, each) on the underside of your upper arm, near the armpit, to perform Awake liposuction. Local tumescent anesthesia will be used along with a saline solution to numb the area and loosen the targeted fat cells. Gentle, non-invasive radiofrequency energy may be used to minimize manual tissue manipulation. Applying a controlled suction process, Dr. Sundin will remove the unwanted fat to create a toned, slim look.

Step 2 Removal of Loose Skin

Dr. Sundin will then carefully and safely remove excess loose skin from your upper arms to eliminate sagging, doing so through the very small incisions made for your liposuction. Too much skin removal can create problems with wound healing or undesirable scarring, while too little skin removal may fail to fulfill your aesthetic goals from the arm lift. Drs. Sundin offer you the skill and experience needed to create an ideal right balance, and your precise skin tension will be triple-checked during your procedure.

Step 3 Renuvion J-Plasma for Skin Tightening

Dr. Sundin is trained to use the cutting-edge Renuvion J-Plasma technology to tighten and smooth the remaining skin of your upper arms. This technique involves the use of an advanced J-Plasma device, which delivers a cooling stream of helium plasma to the underside of skin in the treatment area that has become loose and lax. The treatment also introduces a low level of heat, which produces a substantial skin tightening effect and improves skin elasticity over time, as natural collagen continues to form in the treatment areas.

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Creating the Results You Deserve

Here at the Virginia Institute of Plastic Surgery, we understand the many ways in which the aging process can impact not only your body but your sense of self-esteem and your overall quality of life, as well. Drs. Burton Sundin and Reps Sundin bring over 30 years of combined experience to each procedure, offering you the skill and expertise needed to make your cosmetic goals a reality.

You’ll find our offices populated with a caring staff and expert surgeons who are excited to offer the latest surgical techniques and the most cutting-edge technology available. When you’re ready to learn about the arm lift, or one of the many other body contouring procedures we offer, reach out and set up your consultation with a member of our team today.

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