Thigh Lift Before And After: Don’t Search Before Reading This

When researching thigh lift surgery online, one of the most intriguing parts of any cosmetic surgery website are pictures of thigh lifts before and after surgery. But, understanding how to use before and after pics and what they mean about your own case makes all the difference to knowing how your own thighs could look like before and after thigh lift surgery.

Before And After Thigh Lift: Looking For Comparable Cases

Not all thigh lifts are created equal. To understand this important concept, it’s important to break down what factors define a particular thigh lift case. Pictures that show patients before and after thigh lift surgery should be analyzed with respect to several features, including:

• extent of loose skin
• extent of excess fat
• skin color

Before And Afters: Loose Skin

The amount of excess skin and where it is distributed on the thigh are major factors that separate one candidate from another. The surgical technique a surgeon will recommend depends mostly on these two details, which in turn will determine where the incisions will be made. So, when browsing thigh lift before and after galleries, focus on patients that have amounts and distribution of loose, sagging skin that are comparable to your own. This approach will allow you to use pictures from before and after thigh lift to more accurately reflect the results you could expect.

Here’s a link to a thigh lift before and after by Ohio, USA plastic surgeon Dr. Jennifer Greer, showing a case of sagging skin relatively isolated to the upper third of the thigh.

And here’s a contrasting before and after thigh lift set by Dr. James Lee of Laval, Quebec, Canada showing more diffuse skin sagging that is distributed over most of the inner thigh.

Thigh Lift Before And After: Excess Fat

Another feature that should be taken into account when looking at thigh lift before and after images is the extent of excess fat present on the patient’s thigh. The procedure removes fat from the thigh in two ways. First, when a segment of skin is excised either around the groin crease, or vertically down the inner thigh, or both, the fatty tissue that is directly beneath that skin is removed as well.

Secondly, liposuction is frequently used during surgery to suction out fat from areas not removed by the skin excision step. But, there are limits to how much fat can be removed from the thigh of any patient using these methods. Overdoing liposuction, for example, can create new problems of loose skin on the thigh or even lead to healing complications. So, if you have a fairly large amount of fat going into surgery, it may not be realistic to look at before and after thigh lift images of a person who goes into the procedure with much less fat excess.

Take a look at this thigh lift before and after by Michigan, USA surgeon Dr. Ellen Janetzke that shows a patient with substantial excess fat distributed over most of her thigh.

Compare that case to this set showing a before and after thigh lift with minimal excess thigh fat done by Tampa, Florida’s Dr Stanley Castor.

Before and Afters: Darker Skin Tones

One factor that has long been established to play a role in a person’s scarring tendencies is skin color. This should be taken into account when looking through thigh lift before and after galleries.

Individuals with darker skin tones are known to be up to 15 times more likely to form keloid scars, for example. Exactly why this is not fully understood. One theory suggests that pigmentation cells themselves, known as melanocytes, produce substances that prolong the phase of wound healing during which scar tissue is deposited along the healing wound. This can lead to thicker scars like hypertrophic scars and keloids. Fairer skin people and races are known to be less likely to form these problematic scars. So, when looking at before and after images with respect to scarring, keep in mind that skin tone and ethnicity are important variables that should be taken into account.

Conclusion:

One of the great advantages of online research is the availability of before and after shots. But, misinterpreting how individual photo sets may apply to your own case can lead to unrealistic expectations. When analyzing how different patients look before and after thigh lift, look for cases that have an extent and distribution of excess skin and fat similar to your own. Doing so will help you understand what overall shape your thighs may have after surgery. Also, keep in mind the issue of skin tone/color which is well known to impact scar quality. The following simple checklist can be useful when perusing thigh lift before and after galleries online:

Thigh Lift Before And After Checklist

Look For Patients With:

☐ similar degree and distribution of excess, sagging skin

☐ similar overall thigh girth and fat distribution

☐ similar skin color