What to expect
- Average Time: Two to three hours
- Anesthesia: General
- Am I a good candidate? Adults with excess soft tissue along the inner or outer thigh, in good health, stable weight
- Recovery: Recovery instructions will be given to you post-surgery.
- Risks: Bleeding, infection, poor healing, uneven body contour or body asymmetry, and anesthesia risks
- Inpatient/Outpatient: Outpatient
- Cost: The cost of the procedure will be discussed at your consultation with Dr. Peterson.
A thigh lift is designed to remove small amounts of fat and skin while tightening the supporting tissue underneath. A thigh lift is not a substitute for weight loss and is not intended strictly for the removal of excess fat. If skin elasticity is sufficient, liposuction, instead of a thigh lift, may be used to remove unwanted fat. If the skin is not able to support liposuction only, a combination of the two procedures may be needed to achieve best results.
Surgery Details
To perform a medial thigh lift — or inner thigh lift — it may be possible for Dr. Peterson to use only an incision in your groin. If more correction is necessary, the incision can be extended downward to wrap around the back of the thigh.
To perform an outer thigh lift, the incision generally runs from the groin to around the top of the hip.
Once the incisions have been made, Dr. Peterson will first shore up and reshape the tissue that supports your fat and skin. This improves the contour of the finished thigh. Excess skin is removed before the incisions are closed, and the skin is pulled tight to fit the new contour of the thigh.
The results of your thigh lift will be noticeable as soon as swelling goes down and fluid build-up has been removed. If you maintain a stable weight, the results of the procedure will be mostly permanent.