Thigh Lift

The thigh lift is a plastic surgery procedure designed to achieve firmer and more attractive-looking thighs and legs. This surgical procedure is well suited for those who have loose, surplus skin as a consequence of weight loss. Many candidate patients have already undergone weight-loss surgical procedures such as gastric bypass or laparoscopic banding procedures. There are several technical choices with thigh lift surgery.

Technical choices

Dr. Chen Lee will use the location and volume of tissue redundancy in the thigh to plan the technical aspects of an aesthetic thigh lift. Below is a description of the techniques employed for each region of the thigh.

Inner Thigh Lift

The inner thigh lift procedure is helpful for those who cannot seem to lose the inner thigh tissue through exercise and diet. This surgical procedure is used to remove tissue from those who have flabby thighs due to aging or extreme weight loss. To perform this procedure an incision is made at the junction of the pubic area and the upper thigh. A wedge of skin and fat is removed and the skin is tightened up to improve the contour of the inner. Often Dr. Chen Lee will combine liposuction to reduce the girth of the entire thigh.

Outer Thigh Lift

The outer lift is helpful in tightening the skin in the area of the anterior (front) and lateral (outside) of the thigh. To perform an outer thigh lift, an incision at the superior thigh near the lower outer edge of a bikini or underwear garment is designed. Redundant and excess are removed. The outer thigh is tightened by pulling up the lower skin incision to repair it under the bikini line where it can be camouflaged by undergarments. To maintain symmetry both the right and left thighs must be treated identically.

Medial Thigh Lift

Massive weight loss patients often have too much redundant tissue to be excised by only an inner thigh lift. A more extensive procedure, a medial thigh lift, is often necessary to manage to remove the excess tissue from the upper inner thigh and improve its shape. This procedure commences with the incision of an inner thigh lift and then extending the incision inferiorly towards the knee. The excess inner thigh skin is then directly excised to reduce the girth of the thigh.

Is the scar visible?

Thigh lift procedures often leave noticeable scars. Often these scars are justified by the substantial deformity of the medial thigh redundancy of flabby skin and fat. Dr. Chen Lee will often place the incisions in locations that can be hidden by undergarments and bikini wear. If you are considering having a thigh lift, be sure to discuss with Dr. Chen Lee the expected scars and your preferred undergarments so that the incisions are planned in locations that can be concealed by your customary undergarments.