HOUSTON -- Some women would rather bear the heat than bare their arms. But for those willing to go under the knife, sleeveless outfits are only a surgery away, KPRC Local 2 reported Wednesday.

Singer Sheila Swift, 24, and nurse Tracy Fry, 42, have what many women want -- smaller, firmer arms.

"Everyone women has something and for me it was my arms," Swift said.

"I used to call them my wings," Fry said.

"It is probably the area that is most difficult to come back with diet and exercise," plastic surgeon Dr. Scott Yarish said.

"If I can fix it and there are resources, why not see if it is out there?" Swift said.

What's out there is a procedure called brachioplasty, which removes fat deposits and excess skin on the upper arm.

The downside is a scar from the armpit to the elbow.

Yarish said new techniques are helping reduce the signs of scarring.

"We can't make our scars disappear, in many cases, but at conventional levels make the scars disappear," Yarish said.

Some women said the scar is worth the results.

"(It) just looks like a stretch mark," Swift said.

Surgeons such as Dr. David Wainwright from the University of Texas Health Science Center put the scar in the innermost area of the arm.

"I think the skin in that area is more likely to heal with a very satisfactory scar," Wainwright said.

"If I didn't want to tell them I had surgery, they don't know I had surgery," Fry said.

Yarish said for women with a certain type of arm flab, near the armpit, a smaller incision might work.

"You have to have the isolated skin up near the armpit for that to make people really happy," Yarish said.

It's not all about weight. Even women in peak shape can find themselves battling the wattle.

"A lot of women have a specific issue in the arms where they don't have an issue anywhere else," Yarish said.

For the genetically challenged, liposuction may be enough.

"Just to be able to slip on clothes or wear a jacket and not just wear big T-shirts … it's liberating. Wow, I can reclaim my womanhood," Swift said.

As the temperatures continue to rise, both women said scars or no scars, they are enjoying wearing sleeveless tops.

So, how do you know when you need to pick up a dumbbell instead of getting a doctor's help?

The key is elasticity. The younger you are, the more likely your skin will bounce back from weight loss.

The older you are or if you lose a ton of weight rapidly, the harder it is for your skin to bounce back.

So, what about the creams and lotions promising to tighten loose skin?

Both doctors said that while they have not seen scientific evidence that skin tightening lotions work, they do admit keeping your skin moisturized helps maintain elasticity.