Thigh lift removes excess skin and fatty tissue from the inner side of the thighs.
Surgical tightening of the inner thigh, medial thigh lift or inguinal lift is a surgical procedure that removes excess skin and fatty tissue from the inner side of the thighs. Medial thigh lift is not a surgical treatment for obesity. Obese patients who plan to lose weight should postpone this type of procedure until they reach their wanted and stabile body weight. There is a number of different techniques that surgeons use for the medial thigh lift. The procedure can be performed in combination with other body sculpting procedures, including liposuction. Thanks to the implementation of laser technology in the liposuction procedure that achieves skin tightening, in majority of cases this procedure will not be necessary. Therefore, preoperative consultations are extremely important for the doctor to assess the degree of excess skin on the inner thigh and consider which type of procedure would be the most beneficial in your case.
Procedure
The procedure lasts for 1-3 hours, depending on the amount of skin that needs to be removed. Also, this procedure is often combined with other procedures. If the amount of skin to be removed is small, the procedure can be performed under local anesthesia. If the amount of skin is greater or the procedure is performed together with another procedure, general or regional anesthesia is required. Depending on the type of anesthesia used during the procedure, you can go home after the procedure or you will stay at the clinic 5-12 hours in case of general anesthesia. Antibiotics and analgesics are usually prescribed after the surgery. The incision is usually located at the inner side of the thigh at the edge of the underwear. In people with massive amount of excessive skin, which happens mostly after significant weight loss, besides the incision at the underwear level, a vertical incision as well needs to be performed on the inner side of the thigh. Depending on the skin excess, it can go down to the knee. Surgically, the aim is to try to adapt the skin edges perfectly so the scar would be less visible. However, every organism has its own mode of healing and there is no guarantee as to the final appearance of the scar, given it depends on individual tissue biology. This is important to stress out in case when vertical incision also needs to be performed along inner the thigh since the underwear does not hide that.
Recovery
Bandages and stitches are removed after 2-3 weeks. During that time, a girdle should be worn. Antibiotics and analgesics are usually prescribed after the surgery. Postsurgical swelling and bruises usually heal as well during that period. To all patients with skin atrophy problems we recommend non-invasive treatments such as Alma or Encurve after the surgery in order to achieve additional skin tightness and enhance the quality of the remaining skin and subcutaneous tissue.
Disclaimer: Results are individual, and can vary from one patient to another depending on the patient’s condition and their anatomical build.