Arm surgery, clinically termed as Brachioplasty, is performed to remove excess fat and sagging skin from the upper arms area. Fat deposits or sagging skin creates a bat-wing like appearance to your upper arms. This usually is a result of increasing age or localized fat deposition after a strenuous weight loss program. Like any other surgical procedure, arm surgery has its own recovery period. This period varies from patient to patient, however, by following certain recommendations, the post-operative recovery period of arm surgery can be expedited.
Recovery Period Overview
Though you are discharged from the clinic after one or two days, depending on your present health conditions, the complete recovery period might stretch up to 18 months. The surgeon removes the dressings after five to six days following the surgery. Since the surgery wounds are exposed to external factors, due to the absence of protective dressings, they begin to appear red. This redness fades away completely in a period of two to three months. The final look of the surgical scars becomes apparent only after a period of 12 to 18 months.
Support and Compression Garments
These specially designed garments are worn after the arm surgery has been performed. Compression garments are designed separately for men and women. Compression garments improve circulation of blood in the body areas that they are worn. They also help your body flush out potentially harmful fluids, minimizing swelling and speeding up the healing process. Support garments, on the other hand, lend support and comfort to the surgical areas.
Drain Tube
In few cases, a small tube is placed under the skin to drain out fluid or excess blood accumulating underneath incisions. This is done to prevent the formation of hematoma or serotoma.
Cold and Hot Therapy
Cold and hot compresses are applied on the swollen and bruised areas in order to speed up the healing process and reduce scarring. Cold therapy particularly reduces the pain and swelling. Hot therapy assists in breaking down the bruising coloration.
Vitamins and Other Supplements
Vitamins and supplements essentially speed up the repair and growth of tissues damaged during surgical procedure. Healing vitamins alleviate the bruising and swelling problems significantly. Prescribed by your surgeon, these supplements help encourage a faster recovery by speeding up the healing process. Supplements and vitamins also reduce pain to some extent.
Scar Appearance Improvement
Scar healing ointments, silicone sheets, silicone gels or creams are available to speed up the healing of scars that also alter the appearance of the scars. These products flatten the scar and make it appear smooth so that its visibility is not so obvious. Creams, on the other hand, lessen the redness and itching around the scar by maintaining ideal skin moisture in that area.
Though the above mentioned procedures appear to be simple, you should not resort to them without consulting your surgeon. Depending on your health conditions, your surgeon will prescribe the best suited recovery procedure for you.
