Brachioplasty

Massive weight loss (MWL) patients often present with fairly extensive excess skin of the upper arms. The excess is located in the posterior axillary roll and the Aly posterior brachioplasty technique is designed to eliminate as much excess tissue as is required to create an arm contour that follows the normal underlying musculoskeletal anatomy. One of the major contributions that the author feels he has made to brachioplasty surgery is the delineation of the posterior axillary fold and its extension onto the upper arm as the deformity encountered in all MWL patients. Presurgical assessment and markings, as well as execution pearls are shared with the reader. Sample results and potential complications are discussed.