People have procedures such as tummy tuck, liposuction, or CoolSculpting, but they overlook their thighs. Loose, saggy skin on your thighs can diminish the improvements made with those other procedures.
But a thigh lift with our expert surgeons at Elite Plastic Surgery can effectively change the shape of the thighs, making them proportional to the rest of the body, firmer, and more contoured. Sometimes a thigh lift is combined with moderate liposuction for the best results.
Who should get a thigh lift?
If you’ve lost a good deal of weight, especially if you carry your weight in your hips and thighs, chances are you’re now stuck with loose saggy skin on your inner and outer thighs. No amount of exercise will be able to firm this skin back up: it has been stretched for too long. In these cases, a thigh lift with Dr. Armstrong, Dr. Cullen, or Dr. Martin can be a perfect answer. Of course, the patient needs to be finished losing the weight and have been at a stable weight for a period of time. We also prefer our patients to not smoke and commit to a healthy lifestyle going forward: that will ensure your results will endure.
What happens during the procedure?
In a thigh lift, the incision locations depend on the extent of the loose skin and where it is. Every patient is different. The most common incisions are made in the groin area. Our surgeons usually try to place the incisions in natural body creases to conceal scarring as much as possible.
There are two procedures that target the two sides of the thighs:
- A medial thigh lift requires only a small incision in the groin region. The incision may extend down toward the pubic area. The target in a medial thigh lift is the inner thigh.
- A lateral thigh lift incision extends from the very top of the leg outward to the patient’s hips. The target in a lateral lift is the outer thigh.
In both cases, once the incisions are made, we tighten and reshape underlying tissue. Liposuction may be used at this point to remove fat pockets. Then excess skin is trimmed, and the remaining skin is then redraped across the new contours of the leg.
Recovery
Due to the tissue trauma, there will be a fair amount of swelling and bruising with a thigh lift. We will have you wearing compression garments over the surgery sites for a few weeks after surgery. This helps your body adapt to the new contours. Once the swelling is gone, you’ll love your new slimmer, contoured thighs that now have dramatically improved tone.
Does the loose skin on your thighs bug you? Let’s tighten them up for those summer days on Lake Michigan shores. Call us at Elite, (616) 459-1907 to make an appointment.
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