Dramatic reductions in weight usually result in an unsightly byproduct - lots of saggy, dropping skin. Fortunately modern technology and plastic surgery has made it possible for you to trim up and tighten your skin to heighten and complete your weight loss joy. The most popular surgeries after serious amount of weight loss are arm lifts and thigh lifts.



An arm lift, also known as Brachioplasty, is a procedure designed to get rid of extra, stretched out skin on your upper arms. To perform this procedure, a cosmetic surgeon will first give you an anesthetic, usually either an intravenous sedative or general anesthesia. Then he or she will make an incision along the inside of your arm from the armpit to the elbow. The incision can also be made at the back of the arm. If you feel that you need to get rid of the additional fat from your arms, your surgeon can suck out the excess by liposuction at this point. The plastic surgeon then reshapes the tissue and tightens it by placing permanent sutures. He or she removes the excess arm skin and stretches the remaining skin to sew it back up.

An arm lift can be performed in an outpatient facility or a hospital and it usually only takes an hour or two to complete. The bandages and stitches will be removed after several days and you can be back to work or other normal activities (excluding exercise) within a week. The recovery from an arm lift includes some swelling and bruising as well as pain that can be managed with medications. The main negative side effect of an arm lift is the scar left on the arm. You just have to decide whether you would rather have tight arms with a long scar or flabby arms with no scar.

A thigh lift can help you get rid of loose and dimpled skin on your upper legs. There are three different types of thigh lifts. These include lift on the areas of the inner thigh, the bilateral thigh, and the medial thigh. They all target slightly different areas and differ in the exact positioning and size of the incision. In general however a thigh lift is performed as an incision is made somewhere between the thigh and the pubic area. Some excess skin (and fat by means of liposuction, if desired) is excised and the remaining skin is pulled up to meet at the incision and is stitched back together. All of the lifts are intended to reshape the leg and reduce the look of sagging skin and cellulite.

The recovery for a thigh lift is very similar to that of an arm lift, but with slower healing. It will typically take two weeks before you can go back to work and three weeks before the swelling really starts to subside. You may find it uncomfortable to sit or lay on your back for awhile. When you do heal, there will be scars, but they are usually easily hidden by swimsuit lines or underwear lines.