Arms and legs take a serious hit when you loose lots of weight to the extent that some people permanently cover up, despite being slim elsewhere. Loose skin between the thighs and around the arm pit is the cause of severe chaffing both during warmer weather and also when exercising in addition to the appearance.
Both inner thighs and arms can be reduced to remove this loose tissue, but not at the same time. You really need one set of serviceable limbs to function! The operation is not particularly painful my patients tell me, but rather like having your hair cut with a butter knife, is really irritating after a while. The reason is that you use your arms and legs more than you appreciate, and every time you move them, the area that bends (up in the groin and armpit) really pulls. That gets frustrating after a couple of weeks and the commonest problem we see, is areas of wound breakdown in the armpit of the dominant hand. That’s not a criticism of folks, it’s just a fact of life that you need to use your arms to live!
The scars from both of these operations run like a seam from the knee or elbow up to the groin or armpit and so are not little. All scars take a year to settle down, and the quality of them can depend on a number of things, like how stretched the skin has been, whether the wounds have healed without problems and how diligent you have been with resting during recovery. The commonest issue we see is stretching or spreading of the scar, particularly near the groin or armpit where there is most movement. Usually we can undertake a revisional procedure a year later to try and improve them if you wish. We also can see some tightness of the scar in the armpit of the dominant hand, particularly if there have been some healing problems, which again can be treated relatively easily.
Having said all of these relatively negative things about thigh and arm reductions, most people seem to be very pleased with the results. If you can accept a better shape for some scars and are happy to put the 4-6 weeks aside necessary for a full recovery, then it might be for you.
As ever, it’s always better for us to see you and provide individual advice, as everyone is different.
For more information on these procedures or to make an enquiry please visit our website at www.timbrown.com.au or phone us on 03 8768 5000.
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Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.