A thigh lift is done to remove excess skin from the thigh and buttock area. This sagging of skin is usually caused by weight loss or ageing. After patients have lost a lot of weight, having this surgery performed is like the "icing on the cake".

Who is a Candidate?
• If you have experienced a loss of skin elasticity of the thigh, hip, or buttock areas.
• If your skin area is saggy, has an "orange peel," flabby and/or dimpled appearance.
• If your thigh appearance improves dramatically when you lift the lax skin.
• If you are self-conscious about your lower body appearance.

Intended Results
• Tighter, more attractive thigh and buttock skin.
• Improved contours.
• Decreased irregularities in skin surface.

Thigh Lift Procedure
• The procedure is performed under general anesthesia on an outpatient basis unless otherwise advised by the surgeon.
• A surgeon will show you what procedures are available to solve your particular problem. Wide variations in the design of the incisions to meet clothing or personal desires are possible.
• Lifting the inner thighs requires only short incisions extending from the anterior part of the thigh/groin crease around to the buttock crease.
• Lateral or anterior thigh lifts can be performed as separate procedures if desired.
• Lifting the entire thigh and buttock (circumferential lower body lift) will require much longer incisions that start in the buttock crease, extend around the groin, up over the side of the abdomen, over the flank and across the back.
The buttocks can be lifted with upper or lower scars.

Recovery
• The patient is placed in a compression garment (similar to a long-line elastic support girdle) at the end of surgery to reduce swelling and assist in the natural shrinking and tightening of the skin.
• Smaller thigh lifts: Initial discomfort is usually easily controlled with prescription pain medication.
• Larger thigh lifts: One or two nights care in a skilled nursing facility or hospital are usually required. This allows for pain injections, intravenous catheters, etc.
• Bruising and swelling usually subside within a month, strenuous activities are usually possible in 6 weeks and almost all symptoms are gone in 4 to 6 months.

What To Expect After Surgery
Patients may spend their first night in an overnight care facility. Bruising and swelling are to be expected as well as a "tight" feeling in the thighs.

Resumption of Physical Activities
No work or driving for 2 weeks. No exercise for 4 weeks.

Other Options
Additional procedures that may enhance the result include Liposuction / Liposculpture, Breast Enlargement and Tummy Tuck (Abdominoplasty).