The armpit is predisposed to fat deposits in obese patients. In particular, prior drastic weight loss or excess accessory breast liposuction is prone to cause armpit skin laxity and redundancy, which affect esthetics in mild cases and cause eczema or undesirable odor due to long-term skin friction in severe cases. Patients may consider undergoing axillary lift to redress such symptoms.

This surgery removes the excess axillary skin and fats and is incorporated with arm liposuction or accessory breast surgery. The surgical method and incision are flexibly adjusted in light of the severity of skin laxity, most frequently by Z-plasty reduction and stitching at armpit creases with the incision parallel to the transverse axillary line. This method not only effectively removes the excess skin and fats but also sustains skin elasticity and extensibility to avoid scar retraction or hypertrophy due to postoperative axillary tightening, which causes limited activities of the arms.