Thigh Lift vs Liposuction: Which Do You Need?
Thigh Lift or Lipo or Both? Know the Difference
Every woman’s body is different. Two patients can walk into our Birmingham, MI plastic surgery office unhappy with their legs and need completely different procedures. One woman may have too much fat on her thighs, another may have too much skin, and the procedure that helps one may not be right for the the other.
The good news is that top Birmingham, MI plastic surgeon Dr. Ali offers treatments, surgeries, and procedures for every type of cosmetic leg concern – including thigh lift surgery, liposuction, skin tightening and more. Fat and skin are separate tissues with separate solutions, and choosing the right procedure ensures you are happy with your thigh lift surgery.
Board certified plastic surgeon Dr. Ali examines both the fat layer and the skin quality before recommending a thigh lift, liposuction, or both at AMAE Med Spa & Plastic Surgery in Birmingham, MI. He has pereformed more than 1000 thigh lift surgeries – with and without lipo – for slim, smooth, beautiful results.
What Does a Thigh Lift Correct
A thigh lift removes loose, hanging skin from the thigh and tightens what remains. It is a skin operation first and foremost, which is why it works when nothing else does. Remember, diet and exercise can not tighten loose, lax or sagging skin!
Patients who need a thigh lift usually describe skin that sways when they walk, folds over when they sit, or rubs together painfully – especially in warm weather. Many are patients who have already lost significant weight and are frustrated that their thighs still look heavy despite all the work they have put in.
Because the surgeon is cutting skin away rather than simply suctioning fat out, a thigh lift does necessarily leave scars along the groin crease and, if significantly more skin must come off, the scar may run down the inner thigh. But a skilled and experienced plastic surgeon like Dr. Ali can conceal and minimize the appearance of scars.
What Does Liposuction Correct
Liposuction removes fat from beneath the skin through small cannulas inserted via incisions only a few millimeters long. It reduces the volume of the thigh and also refines its shape, and the tiny incisions usually fade to near invisibility.
The procedure works best on localized fat deposits that have not responded to diet and exercise, which is a very common frustration with the inner thigh and the area just above the knee. Liposuction is a contouring operation rather than a weight loss method, and it removes a limited volume of fat safely in one session.
But what liposuction cannot do is tighten skin. Removing fat from underneath loose skin leaves that skin with even less to fill it. So Dr. Ali will explain to a patient that skin may not retract sufficiently with liposuction alone – aand may recommend thigh lift surgery on the thighs as well.
When Is a Thigh Lift the Better Choice
A thigh lift is the right operation when loose skin is the primary problem. Patients who have lost fifty pounds or more almost always fall into this group, because skin stretched over years does not have the elasticity to shrink back once the weight is gone.
Age-related skin laxity is also ideally treated with a thigh lift as well. Some patients have never been heavy but have lost enough collagen and elastin that their inner thighs have softened and started to hang.
Chafing that causes rashes or open skin is another sign that skin removal via thigh lift suregry is needed – since no amount of fat reduction will stop two loose folds from rubbing together. Board certified Birmingham, MI plastic surgeon Dr. Ali recommends a thigh lift when the skin itself is what needs to come off to acheive your aesthetic goals.
When Is Liposuction the Better Choice
Liposuction is the better operation for a patient with firm, elastic skin and a stubborn pocket or pockets of fat on the upper thighs. Younger patients often fit this description perfectly, as do people at a healthy stable weight who simply carry extra fat on their inner thighs.
The advantages of choosing liposuction over a thigh lift are substantial – but only if and when the skin will cooperate. Recovery is shorter, the incisions are tiny rather than long, most patients return to desk work within a few days, and there are no significant scars to plan around.
A useful test is to pinch the thigh skin and release it, watching how quickly it snaps back into place. Skin that “snaps back” immediately will usually tighten well after liposuction, and Dr. Ali performs exactly this assessment at AMAE Med Spa & Plastic Surgery in Birmingham, MI when a patient is deciding between lipo or a thigh lift or both.
Skin Elasticity and Thigh Lifts
Skin elasticity is the deciding factor more often than any other when it comes to thigh reduction, and it comes down to how much functional collagen and elastin remain in the dermis. Age, sun exposure, smoking history, genetics, pregnancy, and how much weight a person has gained and lost all affect skin elasticity.
Skin that has been stretched severely, held there for years, and then emptied has usually lost the ability to retract regardless of how young or healthy the patient is. This is why a thirty-year-old who lost a hundred pounds may need a thigh lift while a fifty-year-old who has always been slim may do beautifully with liposuction alone.
Both thigh lift surgery and liposuction have benefits and limits. Dr. Ali gives patients at AMAE Med Spa & Plastic Surgery in Birmingham, MI carefully evaluates what thigh skin will and will not do after surgery – to help you determine which procedures are right for you.
Combining a Thigh Lift With Liposuction
Many patients get the best result from combining both procedures rather than either one alone, and combining them is standard practice in body contouring. Liposuction thins the fat layer first, and removing that bulk makes the overlying skin easier to lift and lay flat.
Thinner tissue also closes under less tension, which improves how the thigh lift scars heal. Dr. Ali often suctions fat away with liposuction, before excising skin – which often enables him to remove more loose skin while keeping the closure secure.
Most patients have the two procedures done in a single operation while some others may do better with liposuction first and skin removal several months later, depending on how much tissue is involved and how the blood supply to the area needs to be protected. Board certified Birmingham, MI plastic surgeon Dr. Ali will determine whether a combined or staged approach is safer for each patient at AMAE Med Spa & Plastic Surgery in Birmingham, MI.
Thigh Lift Surgery | Birmingham, MI
The choice between a thigh lift and liposuction comes down to one question, which is whether the problem is skin or fat – or both! Liposuction handles fat beneath skin that will bounce back, a thigh lift handles skin that will not, and a great many patients benefit from both.
If you live in the Birmingham, MI area and you are not sure which of these operations fits your situation, an in-person consultation will settle it quickly. Schedule a consultation with board certified Birmingham, MI plastic surgeon Dr. Ali and discuss the procedures that will give you the slim, smooth, sexy thighs you have always wanted!
