Thigh Lift For Patients Who Have Lost a Large Amount of Weight
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The thigh or buttock lift can be performed for patients who have lost a large amount of weight. In these patients there is a huge amount of redundant skin and the thigh lift is more akin to a body lift procedure where a scar is carried all round to not only lift the thigh skin, but sometimes rebuild and lift the sagging buttocks. A redundant part of the buttock skin or flesh may be used to actually give the buttocks some shape. The scars for this operation are individually tailored depending on the shape of the patient and the areas of sagging skin.These patients usually find a huge improvement following surgery.
What are the possible side effects or complications? – Infection, collection of fluid or blood, skin loss and wound healing problems can occur. It is essential to prevent these by not using any tobacco products prior to surgery.
Thigh Lift
This surgery is suitable for patients who have sagging skin due to ageing and excess skin around the thighs both on the inside and the outside. These patients should have skin laxity or have a need to tighten the skin. Patients who are generally obese or on any form of nicotine are not suitable. Patients who have had cardiovascular, heart and chest problems and with a history of deep vein thrombosis may not be good candidates for thigh lifts.
Patients with thick skin which does not move by physically lifting may also not be good candidates.
The scars run on the inside of the groin . Although this lifted skin is attached to the underlying tissues, the scars in the groin crease do have a tendency to drop down slightly with time and the effect of gravity. A further scar is placed on the inner side of the thigh if a reduction in the thigh circumference is required. The patient will normally have drains which suck out fluid after surgery.
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The patient is required to wear a pair of long cycling shorts in order to control the swelling and hold the dressings in place. The area takes about 2-3 weeks to heal up. There is usually an area of numbness on the inner and the outer aspects of the thigh. This gradually goes smaller but may not completely go away.
Other complications that sometimes can occur are: collection of lymphatic fluid, breakdown of the wound and infection. Thigh lifts are slightly more prone to problems with infection in view of the difficulty of keeping this area clean.
You would require a minimum of 2 weeks depending on the job you do. However, the range for patients is often between 2 and 4 weeks. The effect should last for approximately 5-7 years. This is obviously dependent on the patient not putting on, or losing weight and maintaining a steady weight.
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