Thigh / Buttock Lift

Thigh and buttock lift surgery is performed when a patient has excess skin rather than excess fat in the thighs, hips and buttocks. Patients who have lost 50 pounds or more often benefit from one or both of these procedures. Older patients with pronounced wrinkling of the skin can also benefit from thigh and buttock lift.

This surgery is designed to improve skin texture and underlying tissue that has become loose and flabby, whether due to weight loss or aging.

If the skin has poor elasticity and will not contract with conventional liposuction, then bodylifting procedures may be indicated. Bodylifting changes the texture of the skin by stretching it thereby making the crepiness and wrinkling less apparent.

Bodylifting is recommended in certain cases because liposuction cannot correct skin laxity. In fact, liposuction alone can make the appearance of the skin worse in patients with poor skin elasticity.

As with liposuction, bodylifting is not intended to correct obesity; patients should be at normal or near-normal weight before surgery.

Incisions for a lower body lift are made around the hips and back so that the skin of the outer thigh and buttock is lifted. The lower body lift may be combined with an abdominoplasty or a medial thigh lift.

All thigh and buttock lifts require general anaesthesia.

While scars will fade over time and will be kept as inconspicuous as possible, bodylifting necessitates long incisions that result in long scars. Dr.Waslen will make every effort to ensure that bathing suits and undergarments will cover your scars. You should know, however, that the scars will be permanent and that their final width, height and color are not entirely predictable.

Dr.Waslen will advise you during your consultation about the type of scar you can expect.

The most common complications of bodylifting are haematoma (an accumulation of blood under the skin), fluid accumulation (under the skin) and numbness of the skin. Both haematoma and fluid collection require intervention to drain the blood or serum that has accumulated. Problems with healing after surgery are also possible.

You should be able to sit comfortably one week after surgery. Normal activities can be resumed during the second week and many people return to work the third week after surgery.

It can take 6-12 months to see the final result of bodylifting surgery