We’d all like to have the thighs of our high school and college years, where a weekend trip to Sleeping Bear Dunes or Petosky could spell all sorts of fun on the sand and the water, without trying to cover up our loose, sagging thighs.
That was then. If you were heavier and lost a lot of weight, or if during pregnancy you put on and then lost a good deal of weight, there’s a good chance your upper thighs aren’t what they once were. It’s difficult, if not impossible, for the skin to return to its former tautness after a large change in weight. The issue is elasticity. When the skin is stretched beyond its normal rebound level for too long it won’t fully return to where it once was. You can compare it to a rubber band that is overly stretched and then remains longer even after being removed from the item that was stretching it.
A thigh lift with Drs. Armstrong, Cullen, Martin, or Knoll can give you back the thighs you had before your baby or weight gain. A thigh lift is designed to correct loose, sagging skin on the thigh that doesn’t respond to changes in diet or targeted exercise.
How is a thigh lift done?
For an inner thigh lift, our Elite surgeons begin by making an incision along the line where the leg meets the groin. By making the incision in this natural fold, visible scarring is minimized. The length of this incision will be dependent on the degree of tightening required. (In a medial thigh lift, there may also be the need for vertical incisions from the groin downward on the inside of the thighs for better access to underlying tissue.)
Once the incision is made, your surgeon carefully reshapes and tightens the underlying tissue to improve the overall contour of the thigh. Excess skin that seems to have lost it elasticity will be removed. The end result is a firm, smooth contour, akin to what the thighs were before the weight gain.
Thigh lift recovery
Because the thighs are such a weight-bearing part of the body, recovery is gradual. For the first week or so, you’ll need someone with you to prepare food and help you get to the bathroom and the like. Your thighs will be swollen and bruised, and you’ll need to position them to not stretch the thigh tissue. You won’t be able to climb stairs, squat, or perform any strenuous activities. Briefs walks around the house will be important, though, to get the circulation working on healing. You’ll need at least two weeks, probably three, before you can return to work. You’ll wear compression garments over your thighs and bottom for one month after your surgery. Your recovery should be complete somewhere between six months to a year after surgery.
If you’ve lost a good deal of weight, but your thighs won’t seem to return to their former contour, a thigh lift with our experienced team at Elite Plastic Surgery could be the answer. Call us at (616) 459-1907 to schedule a consultation for a thigh lift.
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