Thigh Lift
Thigh Lift Overview
Thigh lift procedures remove excess fat and skin from the inner or outer thighs to give a slimmer, tighter look to the upper leg and buttock region. Most thigh lift procedures involve both liposuction and direct removal of fat and skin to recontour and tighten the thigh. This can result in a much better appearance than can be achieved with liposuction alone, especially in those patients with loose skin.
Best Candidate
Thigh lifts are best suited for those patients who are otherwise healthy, at a stable weight, and are not significantly overweight. If you have experienced significant weight loss, such as after a gastric bypass procedure, we generally suggest you be at a stable weight for at least 6 months before surgery. Proper diet and exercise after surgery will only improve your result.
Your First Visit
At your consultation we will evaluate your problem areas and discuss what might be done to achieve the best result. If liposuction alone is adequate, then a thigh lift may not be needed. If your skin quality is compromised, we will discuss in detail how we can perform a thigh lift.
Types of Thigh Lifts
Inner thigh lift
The inner thigh lift procedure is performed in the operating room under a general anesthetic. It can be performed alone or in combination with other procedures, such as abdominoplasty and/or outer thigh lift. The procedure usually begins with liposuction of the inner thighs and, when necessary, the knee area. This not only removes excess fat but also makes the overlying tissues easier to move and tighten. We then excise a wedge of skin from the uppermost part of the inner thigh and move the remaining tissues upward. The tissues are then reattached at a higher level with both deep anchoring sutures and sutures just beneath the skin. The incision and subsequent scar is placed so as to lie in or just above the groin crease where it can be hidden under a bathing suit or panties.
When there is extensive skin excess, such as may be seen after significant weight loss, we may have to extend our incision down the inner thigh to remove this excess. In these cases, the scar cannot be hidden under a bathing suit but may have to extend further down the leg, even all the way to the knee. While we don’t like these more visible scars, patients with this much skin excess find this to be a significant improvement over their preoperative appearance.
Outer thigh lift
Tightening of the outer thighs is similar to that of the inner thighs. Again, this is performed in the operating room under a general anesthetic and may be combined with other procedures, most commonly an abdominoplasty. The operation begins with liposuction of the excess fat in the thighs, followed by repositioning of the skin and deeper tissues in an upward direction after the excess skin and fat are removed. The incisions are placed high on the thigh and buttock region, where they can be hidden under bathing suits and other clothing. When combined with an abdominoplasty, the final scar may extend almost completely around the trunk but the result is a significant reshaping of the thighs, hips, buttocks, and abdominal region.
Combination Procedures
Thigh lifts may be combined with other procedures, both cosmetic and reconstructive. Most commonly, they are performed in combination with an abdominoplasty as this permits recontouring of the central area of the abdomen, thigh, hip, and buttock region. When abdominoplasty is combined with both an inner and outer thigh lift it is generally referred to as a “lower body lift”.
Other procedures may be performed with a thigh lift as well. These include:
- Breast surgery (augmentation, reduction, breast lift)
- Liposuction
- Hysterectomy (working with your gynecologist)
- Hernia repair
- Bladder suspension (working with your urologist)
- Facial cosmetic procedures (blepharoplasty, etc.)
- Injectables such as Botox, fillers etc.
We are comfortable working with your gynecologist, urologist, general surgeon or others to carry out other procedures at the time of your thigh lift. In some cases, we may suggest you NOT combine other procedures with your abdominoplasty, especially if it will significantly increase your time in the operating room or increase your chances of complications. Doing the operation well and safely is always our first concern.
Special Considerations
Surgery after massive weight loss must be approached somewhat differently than other procedures to achieve the best possible results while minimizing complications. Our experience, as well as that of others in this field, has helped us develop several guidelines for approaching surgical correction of the problems associated with weight loss.
- Patients must be at a stable weight before surgery, usually for 6 months or more. Not only does this help prevent a patient’s results from being “undone” by weight fluctuations after surgery, but allows the body’s metabolism to stabilize following significant weight loss.
- Patients should wait at least 18 months after gastric banding or bypass procedures before undergoing surgery, for reasons outlined above.
- Multiple staged operations may be preferable to a single operation that tries to do everything at once. As multiple areas of the body my need to be addressed, it is sometimes not practical or safe to address all areas at once.
- An overall plan should be developed for correction. We suggest starting with the area most troubling to the patient, then correct other areas in stages as the patient’s health, schedule, and finances permit.
- Safety should be the most important consideration. These operations are sometimes long and complex, and we feel that if they cannot be done safely and with minimal complications, they should not be done at all. We will tell you if we think the risk of the operation you desire outweighs the potential benefit we may give you.
Recovery
The rate at which you recover is highly individual, depending on the extent of the procedure performed and your own rate of healing. Patients usually require strong pain medications for the first few days, then can progress to less sedating drugs. In general, we recommend at least 1-2 weeks off from work. If your job requires strenuous physical activity or your procedure is extensive, we may suggest being off even longer. We can give you a better estimate at the time of your consultation once the extent of the operation is determined.
Fast Fact
From 2000 to 2019 the number of thigh lifts performed in the U.S. has almost doubled.
Financing & Payment Options
For information regarding insurance and payment options, please visit our Financing page. We can give you price information prior to the procedure so you can understand your financial obligations.
Patient Forms
Please fill out paperwork at least 24 hours before your scheduled appointment.
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