Background and objective.

Currently, there has been an increase in body contouring surgery as a result of the increase in bariatric surgery. Arm deformities after massive weight loss are also a frequent reason for concern and consultation by patients. Numerous brachioplasty techniques have been described to improve the contour in this region, with a high satisfaction rate. Our Department of Plastic Surgery and Microsurgery at Hospital Pasteur in Montevideo, Uruguay, is using in recent years the L-shaped brachioplasty technique described by Hurwitz as being simple, reproducible and with good results, adaptable to different types of involvement.

The objective of this work is to show the experience of our Service with this technique.

Methods.

We describe the surgical technique used and carry out a review of patients operated on in our center between 2015 and 2018.

Results.

We collected a total of 28 patients, 20 women and 8 men with a mean age of 47 years and a mean body mass index of 27 Kg/m2. In 42% we used general anesthesia (severe cases or with associated procedures). In 9 patients the procedure was ambulatory, 15 were discharged after 24 hours and 3 after 48 hours. Only 1 case had 5 days of hospitalization due to a complication. These complications were 2 pathological scars, 1 suture dehiscence, 1 asymmetry in the height of the scar, and 1 compartment syndrome.

Conclusions.

In our experience, L-shaped brachioplasty in postbariatric patients is a versatile technique that allows different degrees of involvement to be resolved.

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