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Kliniken Day Surgery Centre in Harrogate, North Yorkshire

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Arm Lift Surgery

Also known as brachioplasty, arm reduction, bingo wings surgery or underarm surgery

You’ve probably tried all options already. The loose skin in your upper arms is the only part that will not budge, regardless of how much effort you put into it, as the issue lies in the skin itself and not in the muscles below.

A full arm lift addresses this by removing the excessive skin and fat from the armpit area down to the elbow making your arms appear firmer and feeling like they do. Your arm lift surgery takes place in Harrogate with a fellowship trained plastic surgeon and you’ll be going home on the day of your surgery.

  • Procedure time: 2 to 2.5 hours
  • From: £6250 (skin excision only)
  • Anaesthetic: General
  • Time off work: 2 to 3 weeks
  • Day case: Home the same day
  • Back to showering: After 48 hours
Book your consultation
Call us at 01423 206388
KLINIKEN - In Harrogate, Yorkshire, UK place picture
KLINIKEN - In Harrogate, Yorkshire, UK
4.9

Same day discharge

Home the same day

Multiple locations

Harrogate + North Anston

✦ Overview

What is an arm lift?

A brachioplasty (arm lift) removes the excess skin that sags under your upper arms and tightens what remains to make your arm appear slimmer. It’s more common than people often realise and there should be no shame or embarrassment involved.

Some reasons why a brachioplasty (arm lift) is necessary.

  • Regardless of how well you train, once your skin loses elasticity it cannot regain it.
  • This is commonly due to either significant weight loss or aging and therefore requires treatment for the skin rather than your training regime.
  • If you’re searching online using terms such as ‘arm lift operation’ or ‘bingo wings surgery’, then this is the type of surgery that you are most likely seeking.
arm lift surgery

Are you eligible for an arm lift?

If your arms are holding you back, you’re not alone and it’s possible that you can identify yourself within some of these scenarios.

  • You’ve recently experienced a large amount of weight loss and while you’re very proud of what you’ve achieved, unfortunately, the skin in your arms was unable to keep pace with the fat that previously existed, resulting in excess skin hanging from your arms.
  • You’re now in your 50s plus and your skin has naturally softened with age. There hasn’t been anything dramatic happen. It’s simply that your sleeves have become a staple in your wardrobe.
  • Your excess skin is hereditary or occurred after being pregnant.

How an arm lift works?

  • The cut is made in front or back from your armpit to the area where your arm meets your elbow.
  • The extra fat that has developed in addition to the looser skin is removed and stitched using dissolvable sutures.
  • As soon as your surgery is completed, you will be placed into a compression garment to provide support to your arm.
  • Each procedure can take approximately two to three hours while you are asleep and under general anaesthesia so that your doctor works precisely.
  • Small areas around your armpit may only require a mini arm lift. However if your loose skin extends down to the area closest to your breast bone then you would require an extended version.

Quick test

If you pinched the excess skin under your upper arms and it doesn't snap back to normal, you are likely a suitable candidate for 'bingo wing' surgery or an arm reduction. An arm lift treats the excess skin, not weight, therefore an arm lift works best when your weight is stable.

✦ What clinics don't talk about

Let's talk about your scar

People usually worry a lot about scars after arm lifts. We are going to be open and honest about this. Yes, arm lifts do leave scars. Surgeons who say otherwise are not being completely honest. What matters is where yours is and how you take care of it and both of those are good for you.

  • Your scar from the arm lift runs along the inside or back of your arm and it is hidden when your arms hang down.
  • It is a fine line and is carefully layered rather than pulled tight.
  • At first your brachioplasty scar looks pink and raised. That is completely normal.
  • Most fading happens in the first six months.
  • By about a year it settles into a pale and soft line. That is what your scar looks like a year after an arm lift and you were searching for.

We give you a simple aftercare routine. Follow it and keep scars out of direct strong sunlight and they will fade well.

✦ How will I recover after an arm lift surgery?

Here's how recovery looks like

  1. For the first few days arms feel tight and swollen and you shower after 48 hours.
  2. You return to work in two to three weeks, sooner if you work at a desk and later if you do physical work.
  3. You wear the compression garment for the first few weeks to control swelling.
  4. Avoid gym and heavy lifting for roughly six weeks and ease back in gradually.

Swelling decreases slowly so at two weeks you see an arm that is not your final result. Improvement continues month after month and our surgeon checks your progress at each follow up.

✦ Honest risks of an arm lift

Risks worth knowing

Arm lifts are safe and well established surgery but still a surgery, so here is the full picture.
None of these are common and your surgeon goes into each one with you.

Seroma

Fluid can sometimes collect under the skin and this is called a seroma. This usually settles by itself or is drained in clinic.

Infection

Infection risk is low thanks to the bandage, clean dressings and following care.

Non uniform healing

Healing can be slightly different on each arm because no arms are identical. Most people never notice this.

Slow healing

Sometimes a small part of the wound heals slowly and needs a little extra care.

✦ What if you have loose skin in other places apart from your arm too?

Combining procedures for arm lift

Skin that is loose doesn't usually show up in just one spot. If other parts of your body are bothering you too, you can combine a lift procedure with another procedure

Liposuction

Liposuction

Liposuction refines arms further and is included in our higher level of service.

View procedure
Thigh lifts

Thigh lifts

Thigh lifts treat loose skin on inner thighs as well.

View procedure
Breast Uplift or Reduction

Breast Uplift or Reduction

Reduction or uplift of breasts also balances your overall figure.

View procedure
✦ What can you see after the surgery?

Results

People notice right away. Even with swelling starting early, arms look firmer right from the beginning and loose skin that used to dangle is completely gone.

  • Contour gets sharper and the incision scar for the lift fades as swelling settles.
  • Results last as long as weight stays fairly stable.

Almost everyone tells us the same thing afterwards and it is rarely just about arms. It means sleeves without second thoughts. Photos no longer tug at your top. We show real results from our own patients at consultation time so you can see what this means for you.

How much does an arm lift surgery in Harrogate cost?

Your fee covers everything from your first consultation through to your final follow-up appointment.

  • Surgeon’s fee
  • Anaesthetist’s fee
  • Theatre and facility fees
  • Pre-operative consultation and assessment
  • Post-operative follow up appointments
  • Surgical support garment

No hidden costs. The price you’re quoted is the price you pay.

ProcedurePricing
Consultation with a consultant plastic surgeon£200
Skin excision only when loose skin is your main issue£6250
With liposuction and skin excision to remove stubborn fat £7350

We are present in these locations. Visit us anywhere.

Performed here

Kliniken Harrogate

Full surgical facility

Local, sedation & general anaesthetic

Your procedure is performed at our Harrogate surgical facility with consultant-led care throughout.

Not at this location

Kliniken Cleckheaton

Minor procedures

Local anaesthetic only

Cleckheaton supports selected local anaesthetic procedures close to home.

Consultations only

Aesthetika, North Anston

Consultation clinic

Consultations only

North Anston is available for consultation appointments before treatment at the appropriate surgical location.

Opening soon

Kliniken Worcester

Opening soon

Local anaesthetic only

Worcester is opening soon and will be updated by procedure once services are confirmed.

✦ Want to see our results

Request private case studies

At Kliniken Harrogate, patient confidentiality is taken seriously. As a consultant led private clinic, we do not publish surgical case studies publicly.

However, if you would like to review before and afters of previous treated patients, we can share relevant case information privately upon request.

To maintain discretion, case studies are provided directly on enquiry.

Request case studies
✦ Who is my surgeon for arm lift in Harrogate?

Meet your surgeons at Kliniken

Your arm lift at Kliniken is performed by Mr Chris Munson and Mr Andrew Kilshaw, both consultant plastic surgeons with subspecialist training in body contouring and aesthetic surgery.

Mr Chris Munson

Consultant Plastic Surgeon — MBBS, MRCS, FRCS (Plast).
GMC: 7049201

Specialist in body contouring including liposuction, tummy tuck, arm lift, thigh lift & mommy makeover surgery.

  • Consultant Plastic Surgeon, Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust (2022)
  • Fellowship at the Canniesburn Plastic Surgery Unit, Glasgow
    Dual-fellowship trained in breast cancer surgery and reconstruction
  • Runs a specialist surgery service at Leeds with referrals from across the North of England
  • Honorary Senior Lecturer, University of Leeds Medical School
  • Exam writer for the Royal College of Surgeons
  • Runs a specialist plastic surgery course for junior doctors

Mr Andrew Kilshaw

Consultant Plastic Surgeon — MBBS, MRCS, FRCS (Plast).
GMC: 7130911

Specialist in aesthetic body contouring including liposuction and combined contouring procedures.

  • Consultant Plastic Surgeon, Leeds General Infirmary (2024)
  • Dual-trained in plastic and oncoplastic breast surgery
  • TIG Oncoplastic Breast Surgery Fellowship (2023-2024)
  • Breast Microsurgery Fellowship, Leeds Teaching Hospitals (2022-2023)
  • BAAPS mentorship in breast enhancement and body contouring
  • Member of BAPRAS, BAAPS and the Association of Breast Surgery
  • Published author on breast surgery and international conference speaker

One of these two surgeons will handle
your arm lift surgery and all follow up care.

We do not rotate staff, we do not have junior surgeons take over for senior surgeons after they operate on patients and our consultation teams are always made up of the same surgical team that does the actual work. Therefore the surgeon you see during consultation will be the same one performing surgery on you.

Book your consultation now
✦ They came for the procedure, but stayed for our service

Patient experiences at Kliniken

"I had a lipoma near my knee removed, the consultant was so reassuring throughout the whole experience and the aftercare with himself and the nurse was faultless."

Marion Harbron

Minor Surgery

"Called to minor skin surgery and was impressed how easy it was to get an appointment arranged to get surgery carried out."

George kennedy

Minor Surgery

"I recently had a minor surgical procedure with Mr Kilshaw and I am absolutely elated with the results."

Winona W

Minor Surgery

✦ Frequently asked questions

FAQs on arm lift in Harrogate

£6250 is charged for the skin removal alone or if you include liposuction of your upper arm, then it costs £7350 confirmed at the consultation prior to undergoing surgery.

No. The location of the scars will be either internal or posterior to your arm so they will remain hidden even when your arms are lowered. In addition, scars fade to almost imperceptible lines within approximately one year.

You should be returning to work in 2 to 3 weeks and can resume visits to the gym at approximately 6 weeks. You are usually discharged from hospital the same day as your surgery.

Only devices such as vacuum therapy or creams are available for minor sagging. With excessive looseness of the skin which makes it hang, only surgery will remove it.

The main difference lies in the length of incision used during the surgery and therefore how much excess skin is removed. A "mini" arm lift has a shorter incision for less excess skin whereas a "full" arm lift addresses all areas of the upper arm.

Generally, no. While the primary reason for surgery is generally cosmetic, there are certain medical conditions that qualify someone for surgery under an NHS plan. Your GP is best positioned to discuss whether or not your condition qualifies.

Yes, from across Yorkshire & the North for arm lift surgery.

Have a query that is not listed above?

We have tried to answer most queries that you might have for arm lift in Harrogate.
In case we missed any, please do WhatsApp us and our experts will get back to you immediately.

Whatsapp your query here
✦ Knowledge Centre

Related reading on arm lift in Harrogate

Ready to see whether you would benefit from an arm lift surgery?

At this point you will receive a truthful assessment as to how you look in terms of your arms, what should be done about them and what your cost will be. There is no obligation to have the procedure once you have had these discussions. We will always be here when you are ready.

Book your consultation
Call us at 01423 206388

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