Brachioplasty in Istanbul
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Results of MAYCLINIK patients after an arm lift, photographed once the swelling had settled.
Results vary from person to person. Photos are shared with patient consent.
2–3 hours
Operation time
1 night
Hospital stay
About 7 days
Total stay in Istanbul
After about 2 weeks
Back to desk work
After about 6 weeks
Exercise & lifting
3–6 months
Final result
scar fades over 12–18 months
An arm lift (brachioplasty) removes loose, hanging skin and excess fat from the upper arms, the area often called “bingo wings”. Most people who come to us for an arm lift in Turkey have lost a lot of weight, or their skin has lost its firmness with age, and exercise hasn’t been able to tighten it.
The trade-off is a scar. It runs along the inner side of the upper arm, from the armpit towards the elbow, where it is seen least when your arms are by your side. How long it is depends on how much skin needs to go; with less loose skin, a short scar hidden in the armpit may be enough.
If your skin is still firm and the problem is mainly fat, liposuction alone can slim the arms without the scar. Your surgeon tells you which applies to you.
The amount of loose skin decides the technique, and the length of the scar.
Fat is removed through tiny incisions. The skin tightens on its own, so it only works when the skin is still firm.
Best for: Full arms with good skin and little sagging
Presentable after: About 1 week
Vaser Liposuction in TurkeyA crescent of skin is removed through an incision in the armpit, often combined with liposuction. The scar stays hidden in the armpit, but only the part of the arm near the armpit is lifted.
Best for: Mild loose skin in the upper arm, close to the armpit
Presentable after: About 10 days
Skin and fat are removed along the inner arm, from the armpit towards the elbow, usually with liposuction. The scar sits where it is seen least with your arms by your side.
Best for: Moderate to significant hanging skin along the arm
Presentable after: About 2 weeks
The incision continues from the armpit onto the side of the chest to remove loose skin there too. The scar is longer as a result.
Best for: Loose skin on the arms and upper chest wall after major weight loss
Presentable after: About 2–3 weeks
More loose skin needs a longer scar. Your surgeon recommends the shortest option that gives a smooth result.
Removes
Scar
Typical case
Presentable after
Typical values. Your surgeon recommends a technique after examining you.
Most patients are between 30 and 65, often after significant weight loss. What matters is a stable weight and good health.
Your operation takes place in a JCI-accredited partner hospital; the rest of your stay is spent recovering in a 5-star hotel, both included in your package.
JCI-accredited partner hospital
Modern operating theatres, private rooms and intensive-care backup, with specialist nursing care after your operation.
5-star hotel & VIP transfers
Comfortable recovery close to the hospital. Private transfers take you to every appointment and your coordinator checks in with you every day.
You know who will operate on you before you book, and you meet them on video first.
Four commitments that cover your care from the first video call to long after you fly home.
Before surgery
Surgeons are not interchangeable. Each of ours performs certain operations far more often than others, so you are matched to the one whose routine work is your operation. You meet on video before you travel, and the plan is agreed there, not on arrival.
MAYContourIn Istanbul
From the moment you land to the moment you fly home, one team is responsible for you: airport transfers, your hotel stay, hospital admission, a doctor and nurse who visit you at the hotel, and a check on how you are every day, in your own language.
MAYCare+Back home
The hardest part of recovery happens after you get home. For twelve months your aftercare nurse stays with you, reviewing how you are healing, telling you what is normal and what is not, and answering questions through our London and Stuttgart offices.
MAYCheckIf anything changes
Healing is not always a straight line, and a final result can take up to a year to settle. MAYCover is how we handle it, with your surgeon, if something does need revisiting. Ask your coordinator what it covers, before you book, rather than after.
MAYCoverYour price depends on the technique and whether liposuction or other body contouring is combined. You receive a fixed, written quote after your consultation, before you book anything.
A typical plan for an arm lift. Your coordinator adjusts it to your flights and your surgeon’s plan.
Day 1
VIP transfer to your hotel. Face-to-face consultation with your surgeon, marking and blood tests.
Day 2
Your operation under general anaesthesia, which takes 2–3 hours. You stay one night in hospital.
Day 3
Dressing check, drains removed if used, compression sleeves fitted, then back to your hotel.
Days 4–6
Keep your arms raised on pillows when resting. Short walks are good; no lifting and no reaching up.
Day 7
A wound check before you fly home; aftercare continues with our London and Stuttgart teams.
The arms feel tight and swollen for the first weeks. Keeping them raised and protected helps the scar heal well.
Days 1–3
The arms feel tight and bruised. Pain is controlled with tablets. Keep them raised when resting.
Weeks 1–2
Light tasks at waist height. Most people return to desk work after about 2 weeks.
Weeks 2–6
Keep wearing the compression sleeves. No lifting, pushing or stretching the arms above the head.
Week 6
Gradual return to exercise, including upper-body training, when your surgeon agrees.
Months 3–18
Swelling settles within months. The scar slowly fades from red to a pale line.
An arm lift is a well-established operation. These are the risks your surgeon will discuss with you.
The scar is permanent. It usually fades well, but on the arm it can widen or thicken. Scar care and sun protection help.
Small areas of slow healing can occur, especially near the armpit, where the skin moves a lot. Smoking makes this much more likely.
Fluid (seroma) can collect under the skin in the first weeks. It usually settles or is easily drained with a fine needle.
Small nerves in the inner arm can cause numbness or tingling on the forearm. This usually improves over months.
Temporary swelling of the forearm or hand is common in the first weeks and settles with elevation.
Plan about 7 days. Your surgeon checks the wounds before you fly home.
On the inner side of the upper arm, from the armpit towards the elbow, where it is seen least with your arms by your side. With a short-scar lift, it stays in the armpit.
Only if your skin is still firm. Liposuction removes fat, but it cannot remove hanging skin; if the skin is loose, it can even look looser afterwards.
Most people feel tightness and soreness for a few days rather than strong pain. It is controlled with ordinary painkillers.
Desk work after about 2 weeks. Exercise, including upper-body training, after about 6 weeks when your surgeon agrees.
The removed skin doesn’t come back. Results last many years if your weight stays stable, although the skin continues to age naturally.
Yes. After weight loss, an arm lift is often combined with a tummy tuck or thigh lift. Your surgeon may stage larger combinations for safety.
Usually 12–18 months after the operation, once your weight has been stable for at least 6 months.
There is no fixed age. Most patients are between 30 and 65. Your skin, health and stable weight matter more.
It can be, if your provider is licensed by the Turkish Ministry of Health, your surgeon is named and qualified, you are operated on in an accredited hospital and you stay long enough before flying. MAYCLINIK holds licence AK-0086.
Medically reviewed guides that answer the questions patients ask most about this treatment.
Which operations can be combined under one anaesthetic, how long a combined operation should last, when your surgeon splits the plan into stages, and whether a tummy tuck or a BBL comes first.
8 min readRead article Plastic surgeryA mommy makeover combines several operations, so planning matters. What it includes, the limits surgeons work within, the main risks and how your stay in Istanbul is organised.
6 min readRead article Plastic surgeryWhy skin does not always shrink back after major weight loss, what you can and cannot prevent, and how a body lift, arm lift, thigh lift or breast lift is planned.
6 min readRead articleContact
Send us photos of your arms raised to the side, from the front and back. A surgeon reviews them and you receive a personal plan and a written price within 24 hours.
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