Thigh Lift

After weight loss and due to gravity over time, the skin of the inner thighs can become loose and hang. You may be frustrated with how you look in clothing and feel self conscious wearing shorts, bathing suits, and tight pants. You may even have symptoms like infections, rashes, and difficulty exercising. Thigh lift with or without liposuction can help improve the shape of your thighs and how you feel about yourself.

Techniques of Surgery

Each surgery is individualized depending on the amount of extra skin and fat and the amount of improvement desired.

Incisions - If there is only a small amount of extra skin at the top of the thighs and no extra tissue closer to the knees, there will be an incision hidden near the groin crease. If you have extra skin all around the thighs, then you will need to have an incision shaped like the letter L that goes from just above the knee to the groin and then along the groin crease. If you want to address all the skin around the thighs, you may consider a circumferential thigh lift (incision goes all the way around the thigh) or a lower body lift (link) which also addresses the abdomen.

After the incision has been made, I will gently elevate the skin and fat off of the underlying thigh muscles. The extra skin and fat is removed, and the skin is redraped over the underlying muscles. One or more drains may be placed beneath the incision. These slender tubes assist in draining fluid that accumulates beneath the incision and delays healing.

The incisions are carefully closed with multiple layers of strong sutures to minimize your scar. All of the sutures are beneath the skin and are absorbed by your body so they will not have to be removed after surgery.

A sterile dressing is applied to the incisions, and a compression garment is placed over your thighs to support your legs during healing, decrease swelling, and minimize bruising.

Liposuction - If you have extra skin but no extra fat, then a one stage surgery to remove the skin will give you the results you want. If there are fat deposits as well as extra skin, then you may get better results from a two stage approach with liposuction of the inner thighs first and skin surgery at a second stage to address skin that doesn’t shrink over time. Liposuction of the outer thighs can safely be done at the same time as an inner thigh lift. Please click here to read more about liposuction and what to expect after liposuction surgery.

Risks

• Infection – This can vary from a small amount of redness on the skin that may require antibiotics by mouth to a pocket of infection that requires surgery and admission to the hospital for IV antibiotics.

• Bleeding – A small amount of bleeding may cause bruising and swelling. Rarely, bleeding is severe enough that you need additional surgery to stop it.

• Blood Clots – After surgery blood clots can form in the veins in the leg. They can cause swelling, and they can break off and travel to the lungs where they can be fatal. Smoking, surgery time over 4-6 hours, and inactivity after surgery increase the risk. This is a rare but serious risk of surgery, and I take every precaution to ensure your safety.

• Poor wound healing – This is a common complication of thigh surgery due to the length of the incisions and the moist environment near the groin. This complication is even more common with smokers, patients with diabetes or obesity, and patients with poor protein intake which can occur with rapid weight loss or extreme dieting.

• Scarring – Wound healing depends on a combination of surgical technique and how your body naturally heals based on your genetics. That being said, the scars from thigh surgery can be more prominent than for other surgeries for a few reasons. Gravity puts a lot of tension on the suture line and you use your legs a lot which can put further stress on scars. If there are small areas that don’t heal well, they can usually be improved with a small procedure under local anesthetic in the office.

• Numbness – There may be some numb areas after surgery. For most patients it improves to full sensation over several days to weeks. Rarely, there will be areas of permanent numbness or areas of increased sensitivity. It is normal for the incision to itch as it is healing as the nerves recover.

What to expect after surgery

Most thigh lift surgery can safely be done in an outpatient surgery center. You will need to be taken home by a friend or family member. You may choose to stay in the hospital overnight, or you may choose to have us arrange for a private duty nurse to care for you in the comfort and privacy of your own home. Antibiotics and pain medication will be prescribed and should be taken as directed.. These pain medications can cause constipation, so I recommend you use over the counter stool softners to help prevent this. 

The dressings will be taken off in the office a few days after surgery, and the drainage tubes will be removed when the drainage is minimal. You should plan to take it easy following your surgery. No strenuous activities, heavy lifting (over 10 pounds), aerobic exercises, swimming, contact sports, tennis, or golf should be planned for the first three weeks. You should wear the compression garment for three weeks following surgery. You will see some results instantly after surgery, but it can take 6-12 months to see the final contour and scar.