An upper body lift is a combination of procedures, such as an arm lift, an upper back lift, and a breast lift (mastopexy). The surgery’s goal is to create tight, smooth, and firm contours on the upper back, chest, and upper arms, bringing your body into alignment with your newly reduced weight.
Dr. Rammos will work with you during your consultation to better understand what your specific goals are for an upper body lift procedure, and in doing so can create a customized surgical plan to get your best possible outcome. After losing a lot of weight, your skin doesn’t always tighten on its own. An upper body lift eliminates excess tissue and tightens areas in ways you can’t achieve with diet and exercise alone.
Upper Body Techniques
Your upper body lift can be performed as either outpatient surgery or may require an overnight stay.
An upper body lift is a complex procedure to perform in body contouring surgery because it involves treating and coordinating three separate areas of the body: the mid to upper back, the breast or chest, and the upper arms. Your upper back lift incision will be placed strategically where one may wear their bra. Your arm incisions will go from elbow to armpit possibly extended down, depending on your excess skin.
Preparing for Upper Body Lift
Cease taking all supplements and medications that can increase your risk of bleeding at least two weeks before your surgery. Make sure you check with your primary doctor before stopping any medication. We will go over all your health history in detail prior to surgery. Eating healthy and staying active are also a must.
Recovering for Upper Body Lift
After your procedure you will need to wear a compression garment for 6-8 weeks.
Usually, patients have swelling that is noticeable for around two weeks after their procedure before it starts to lessen. It can take much longer for swelling to completely resolve itself, up to three to six months sometimes. Your body will have decreased sensation and numbness around the incision lines immediately after your procedure. This is to be expected as your swelling decreases and nerves start to recover from the procedure.
Moderate exercise can begin after a couple weeks, and more intense activity can be resumed after a month or so- with Dr’s permission. You will be fully active again after about six weeks. Depending on your job you may be able to return to work as soon as 3 weeks. This will need to be approved with Dr. Rammos as more rigorous jobs will require more time off.
