Other Body Contouring Options at Our Mountain View Center Serving All of Northern California

Thigh lift and arm lift procedures can provide targeted improvement to specific problem areas of the body, improving definition and overall body contour. At his plastic surgery center in Mountain View, Dr. Robert Lowen carefully tailors these procedures to the unique needs of his patients to achieve beautiful, natural-looking results.

 

Thighplasty Overview

The thigh lift procedure is also known as a thighplasty or a circumferential body lift. If you have sagging or lax skin of the buttocks and lateral thighs, you may be a candidate for thighplasty. This procedure lifts and tightens the buttocks, giving a smoother, tighter, more youthful body contour.

When skin and fat sag, creating dimpled, wrinkled skin, a lifting procedure can dramatically restore tightness and contour. An analogy would be the difference between a fitted sheet and a top sheet. By reinforcing the attachments of the skin and counteracting the effects of gravity, the wrinkled skin is unfurled, tightened and restored to the contours enjoyed in youth. Excess fat alone is not an indication for a thigh lift, but when laxity is accompanied by excess fat, liposuction is used for the fatty component of the problem.

You can judge if you are a candidate for a thighplasty by holding the skin of your lateral thigh firmly, pulling up, and seeing how you look on direct examination and in a mirror. If you see a significant change that is pleasing to you, you may be a candidate for thighplasty. Thighplasty is frequently combined with abdominoplasty, sometimes done at the same time, but more often as separate procedures.

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Thighplasty Recovery

Thighplasty, like abdominoplasty, is an excisional procedure. Skin is removed and the skin flaps are sutured together under significant tension. Recovery takes into account the need to relieve tension on the wound by keeping the thighs bent and the knees about shoulder-length apart during the initial healing period of one week. Recovery for social activities and work is about three weeks, with gradual decrease of swelling and bruising in that time.

For a lateral buttock/thighplasty, aftercare in a surgical facility is required for two to three days. Activity is minimal during this time. Personal needs are cared for by nursing personnel. A catheter is usually left in the bladder for several days to minimize the need to get up to use the bathroom. The patient then recovers at home with some assistance for the next week. Dissolving sutures are usually used for the skin closure, so removal is not needed

Recovery from a medial thigh lift is much quicker. Most patients are up and about in two days, and discomfort is minimal. Care must be taken not to part the legs more than about shoulder width for one month to minimize tension on the incisions in the groin crease. Sutures are removed in about seven to ten days. Drains are used for at least one week to remove fluid that will accumulate under the skin.

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Key Thigh Lift Terms:

Abdominoplasty: when there is significant laxity of the buttocks and thighs, as in massive weight loss, the laxity involves the front of the abdomen as well. Abdominoplasty is frequently a component of a thighplasty. The surgery is more extensive and is sometimes done as two separate procedures, the abdominoplasty first followed by the lateral thigh lift. Excess skin and fat is removed from the abdomen, with the incision going across the upper border of the pubic area and up toward the waist at an angle so that the final scar is concealed by underwear. The incision blends into the incision of the thighplasty at the waist.

Circumferential body lift: another name for thighplasty, usually implying that the abdomen is treated as well. The incision goes across the upper border of the pubic area, up and over the front of the pelvis, and around the waist to meet in the midline at the back. In other words, the scar extends all the way around the body. It should be designed so as not to be visible in underwear or a bathing suit.

Drains: thin, flexible silicone tubes placed after surgery to remove accumulated fluid under the skin. The drains exit small incisions in the pubis and lateral thigh and are connected to silicone bulbs that pull the fluid out of the body. It is necessary in abdominoplasty and thighplasty to remove this fluid during the healing process so the tissue will stick down to the abdominal wall and anterior thigh. If not, the fluid will stay there and form a fluid cavity, called a seroma (ser-om'-a) that may grow a lining and require another surgery to remove. The drains are in place for up to a week after abdominoplasty and thighplasty. Antibiotics are used during the period that the drains are in place.

Superficial fascia: think about the old Chinese finger trap puzzle. You put a finger in each end and pull, the trap tightens and you cannot remove your finger. Such a network of interlacing fibers, called the superficial fascia, exists under your skin. It is utilized in the closure of the thighplasty and abdominoplasty to get long-lasting support of the tissues and put the least tension possible on the skin. Minimal skin tension is a favorable condition for minimal scarring

Venous or fat emboli: these are uncommon risks which can occur in the post-operative period. Blood clots which may form in the legs can travel to the heart and impair circulation. Small fat particles or metabolic products of fat called free-fatty acids are thought to damage cell membranes in the lungs, causing fluid to accumulate. While there is no specific prevention for these conditions, precautions such as calf-compression devices are usually worn during surgery. Warning symptoms can include shortness of breath, rapid heart rate, and chest discomfort. Treatment is medical, supportive, and directed at the underlying cause.

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In-Depth Thigh Lift Discussion

Lateral thigh lifting is a formidable surgical procedure. It is a long and tedious operation, but can be rewarding to both patient and surgeon if careful attention is paid to suturing the flap margins using the superficial fascial system.

Lateral thigh lifts can easily take eight hours and longer if combined with abdominoplasty. That is why they are often staged. It is best if the procedure is done in a facility where the patient can stay after surgery. This is not an outpatient procedure.

Pre-operative markings are done with the patient's assistance, wearing typical underwear, so that the final incision location can be planned to be hidden beneath them.

As previously mentioned, women are often disappointed when after their liposuction, they still have bulging at the lateral hip area and waviness or wrinkling of the skin of their thighs. They sometimes seek more liposuction and the problem of deflated, wrinkled and unsupported skin is made worse. By doing the lifting test, you can tell if the problem is because the skin has fallen down. When you lift the lateral thigh skin, if the bulges that concerned you are almost gone, then further liposuction will not remove them. If you have not had liposuction, and the bulges are substantially corrected by lifting up, then a thighplasty will be needed to correct the problem.

The idea of having a long scar is not that appealing. That is why not many of these procedures are done. However, using the technique of multiple-layer suturing of the superficial fascia system, the die scar quality can be good. When it fades to a fine line, assuming it does, it may be an acceptable trade-off for a major change in skin tightness and restoration of youthful contour.

Wound healing problems can occur from localized infection, exposure of one of the permanent, buried sutures that come up close to the under surface of the skin, or from suture breakage, allowing a portion of the skin edges to come apart. Should this happen, healing will proceed more slowly, and that area of the incision will have poorer scar quality.

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Thigh Lift Risks

Risks are similar to those for abdominoplasty and include seroma, infection, blood accumulation under the skin, also called hematoma, wound opening, also known as dehiscence (de- hiss'- ence), and asymmetry. Failure to meet the goals of the operation is also a risk, and partial revisions for further tightening should be accepted ahead of time since they could be necessary. Revisions would not usually be as extensive a procedure as the initial procedure.

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Summary

Circumferential body-lifting, including lateral and medial thighplasty and abdominoplasty, give the most dramatic changes in body contour and body image. They can be combined as needed with localized liposuction. The lateral thigh lift is a major procedure that is time-consuming and correspondingly expensive and requires a three-week recovery. For the motivated patient, the long incisional scar is a satisfactory trade-off for the results obtained.

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Arm Lift Overview

Brachioplasty, or arm lift surgery, is a procedure to remove excess skin or fat from the upper arms. The decision to perform brachioplasty depends on how much of the undesirable contour of the upper arms is due to excess fat and how much is due to sagging and excess skin. If the problem is fat excess with minimal skin excess, then liposuction is the indicated procedure. Significant sagging with loose skin requires brachioplasty and excision of the skin. In addition, liposuction is performed for excess fat.

The arm lift incision usually extends from the hollow of the underarm down toward the elbow. The greater the sagginess, the further toward the elbow the incision must extend. The incision is placed to minimize any visibility unless the arms are elevated.

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Arm Lift Recovery

Brachioplasty is an outpatient procedure performed under general anesthesia. The arms are wrapped with elastic or ace bandages for a week. The scar often has a tendency to become raised and red. Dr. Lowen recommends use of silicone gel sheeting or silicone ointment to improve scar quality and shorten the healing period. Scar redness gradually fades over six to 12 months. Time off work is usually one week.

To learn more about body contouring options like thighplasty and brachioplasty, please contact our plastic surgery center in Mountain View today. Dr. Lowen can help you explore your options and make an educated treatment choice.

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Schedule a body contouring consultation at our Mountain View plastic surgery center today to learn more about the many options available.