“The Constriction Arm Band Deformity in Brachioplasty Patients: Characterization and Incidence Using a Prospective Registry”

Background: Demand for post-passive weight loss (MWL) brachioplasty in the United States has seen a dramatic increase, from 338 procedures in 2000 to 17,099 in 2015. New challenges are emerging, some without clear solutions. Here we describe our series of arm band deformities not yet been described in the literature. Methods: This is a retrospective review of MWL patients undergoing brachioplasty at our institution (2000-2016). Pre- and post-operative photographs were reviewed to identify the defect. Descriptive statistics and t-test were used. Results: In our cohort of 1,090 MWL patients, 172 patients underwent brachioplasty, 25 patients (15%) were identified with the deformity. Twenty-four (96%) were female (ave 60y [36y,85y], BMI 34 at time of surgery, ave 2y since GBP, mean delta BMI 22). The bands were generally single bands (100%) found bilaterally (68%) in the distal third (74%) of the upper arm and exacerbated (50%) by brachioplasty. The average specimen weighed 1005g. We found arm banding was associated with higher current BMI, but not with maximum BMI or delta BMI. Conclusions: For MWL patients, arm band deformity is a challenging problem which can be exacerbated by brachioplasty and is not currently surgically correctable. It can be identified pre-operatively to aid in counseling. We found patients with higher current BMI to be at a higher risk for the arm band deformity after brachioplasty. Financial Disclosure Statement: The authors have no disclosures. Corresponding Author: J. Peter Rubin, MD, University of Pittsburgh Department of Plastic Surgery, 3550 Terrace Street 6B Scaife Hall, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA. rubipj@upmc.edu ©2018American Society of Plastic Surgeons