Thighplasty

Thighplasty is plastic surgery on the thighs in order to improve contour. Thighplasty is the medical term for thighlift. Plastic surgeons remove excess skin to tighten the thighs. Such excess skin typically results from weight loss. With the growing incidence of obesity, thighplasty procedures are increasing in popularity. Liposuction may lead to excess loose skin in those patients with decreased skin elasticity. A thighplasty is the perfect procedure to address excess thigh skin in such patients. Gastric banding or gastric bypass procedures are other surgical procedures the can cause excess thigh skin with decreased elasticity. Body contouring procedures are perfect additional operations to thighplasty. Body contouring procedures include reduction mammoplasty (breast reduction), abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) and brachioplasty (arm lift). With advancing age, skin loses its elasticity and fat accumulates in unwanted places. The fat can feel noticeable as it rubs together and looks noticeable as a person walks. A thighplasty procedure corrects this problem by excising excess fat and extra skin. Patients undergo a light general anesthetic, with long-acting local anesthetics added to minimize postoperative pain. If excess fat is present, the doctor performs liposuction on the thighs. The doctor then removes the excess skin with a particular technique to hide the final scars in the groin crease. The most important aspect of this surgery is the final closure. The key technique in this procedure is to secure the skin to the tough fascia covering the muscles at the groin in order to prevent the scars from migrating down the leg over time. Doctors close the surgical wounds in multiple layers to keep scarring to a fine line. Physicians place a plastic drain in each thigh to collect any fluid that normally accumulates during the healing process. The drains do not cause any pain.