At our practice we meet a significant amount of patients who want slimmer arms. We have over a decade of experience in arm liposuction and the before and after photos to back it up. That is not the case for other practices. During an internet search, the main reason you do not find a lot of good before and after photos of arm liposuction is that, in my experience, the majority of surgeons do not perform the procedure well enough to show off their results. Additionally, most plastic surgeons infrequently perform arm liposuction, or not at all, although they may have it listed on their website. Experience is key to properly liposculpting of this part of the body.
Let’s break it down a bit for more clarity.
Patients will be having 360 lipo of the abdomen, waist, flanks, and back and ask their surgeon to do their arms at the same time. The surgeon agrees to “throw it in” and when the patient is healed and assessing their results, they commonly find that there is little change of the arms or an unevenness due to limited partial treatment of the arms. Sometimes the only difference the patient notices with their arms is the new scars on the skin which are frequently in exposed areas. I have met numerous patients with poorly positioned scars used for arm liposuction. Scars that are over the upper outer back near the shoulder. These scars are used for the back portion of the lipo 360 but the surgeon has also used them to awkwardly reach portions of the arms. Poorly positioned scars lead to poor access, limited exposure of excess fat, and aggressive maneuvers to improve the reach of the liposuction cannula. I have also observed liposuction arm scars in the middle of the back of the arm. These are also poorly posited since they are in the middle of the desired area and not in the periphery. While on the contrary, properly placed arm liposuction incisions allow the surgeon to fully sculpt the entire arm from the armpit to the elbow in the 360 degree fashion. We use four well placed micro incisions to gain complete and thorough access. Two tiny incisions are hidden in the armpit crease. The other two small skin openings are placed on the inside and outside of the elbow hollows. All four of these strategic access points typically heal very well and are insignificant and almost invisible during the final post operative visit. We care about scarring and do everything we can to minimize it.
Liposuction of the arms requires delicate and meticulous technique with the suctioning cannulas. I find that most surgeons utilize not only a large cannula, but only one style of cannula for the entire case. Cannulas greater than or equal to 4 mm in diameter are considered large in our practice. Large cannulas remove too much fat with each pass and can lead to over resection, irregularities, and dents. Keeping the cannula size less than 4 mm will help control the fat removal amount with each pass and therefore assist in achieving a more controlled aspiration volume during the procedure. We use cannulas that range in diameter size from 2.1 mm to 3 mm. The deeper fat that is close to the underlying muscle is sculpted with the 3 mm cannulas. The more superficial fat closer to the skin is removed with the 2.1 mm cannula. This is a layered approach to the fat removal and it is important throughout the body but especially with the arms. The style of cannula is also very important. This refers to the design of the aspiration holes and the shape of the cannula tip. Again, most surgeons deploy a cannula with large aspiration hole sizes and occasionally a more aggressive tip shape. The common reason for this is a faster surgery but not necessarily a better result. We use less traumatic hole sizes and shapes as well as smooth cannula tips to assist in the delicate but thorough removal of fat from the arms.
Last but not least, arm positioning during the procedure is key to gaining complete exposure and fully addressing all of the excess arm fat. I think this is one big reason for lackluster results. Let me explain. The common positioning for liposuction is with the patient on their back and on their stomach. The arms are usually addressed when in one of these positions only. These positions decrease the exposure of the entire arm and especially decrease the visualization of the contours of the shoulder. In our practice, during the procedure, we use six different arm positions with the patient on their side and on their back. With this approach, we achieve a 360 degree natural proportionate sculpting of the arms.
Our liposuction is PRECISION SCULPT® because it’s precise sculpting as you can see above.
If you are considering arm liposuction then book your appointment with Dr. Yovino and get your arms sculpted the right way. Improve your arm silhouette, wear sleeveless shirts and dresses, maybe even a tube top, and start enjoying your arms.
