Inner Thigh Lift

Some discomfort is expected following an inner thigh lift, but pain is usually well managed with prescribed medication. Most patients in Fairfax and the greater Washington D.C. area describe it as a tight or sore feeling rather than sharp pain. Swelling and bruising are common in the first week, and it’s important to rest and avoid straining your legs during this period. Compression garments help support the area and reduce swelling. Most people find that pain improves significantly within the first 7 to 10 days.

You can expect a series of follow-up appointments after your surgery. These begin with a next-day check-in, followed by regular visits throughout your recovery to monitor healing and address any concerns. Most patients have around 3 to 5 follow-up visits in the first few months. Your final appointment is scheduled about a year after surgery to assess your long-term results. Of course, you’re always welcome to come in for additional visits if needed.

You’ll notice a change in your thigh contours almost immediately after surgery, although swelling will temporarily obscure the final look. Most of our patients in the Washington, D.C. area experience improvement in tone and shape within 4 to 6 weeks. Scars will continue to fade and refine over several months. With proper post-op care and a stable weight, results from an inner thigh lift can be long-lasting and incredibly rewarding.

Yes! Many Washington D.C. area patients choose to combine their inner thigh lift with other body contouring procedures, such as a tummy tuck, arm lift, or liposuction, to enhance their overall proportions. In some cases, it can also be done as part of a larger post-weight-loss body lift plan. Dr. Bitar will review your goals and anatomy to determine the safest and most effective combination of procedures for you.

At the Bitar Cosmetic Surgery Institute, we take pride in ensuring that we provide our patients with the best possible surgical experience, anticipating potential problems or setbacks and addressing them before they occur. This process encompasses preoperative preparation, the actual surgery, and postoperative care.

• General Complications
  General complications can occur with any surgery. Cosmetic surgery is typically a safe procedure performed on healthy patients and, like all surgeries, carries a low risk. To lower the risk of complications, we operate at a first-class surgery center with board-certified anesthesiologists and nurses. To avoid postoperative complications, we advocate for early mobilization – patients seen in our office one or two days after surgery- and active participation in their own postoperative care. When we create a partnership, the results invariably improve.

• Bleeding
  Bleeding after a thigh lift is rare. Before surgery, our patients are tested to make sure they don’t have any common bleeding disorders by their own physicians and by lab tests. The use of tumescent solution before liposuction of the thighs, particularly during a thigh lift, minimizes bleeding. Additionally, at the conclusion of the extended inner thigh lift operation, a drain is inserted under the skin in each thigh to manage any early postoperative bleeding. In our practice, the rate of significant bleeding is less than 1%. The treatment of a hematoma or blood clot under the skin of the thigh involves opening the incision and removing the blood clot. Typically, this is a straightforward procedure.

• Infection/ Open Wound
  The most important step in avoiding infections is to undergo surgery at a first-rate surgical facility with board-certified anesthesiologists and nurses. Patients are given the appropriate intravenous antibiotic coverage throughout the surgery. During the surgery, the patient’s skin surface is cleaned thoroughly. After the procedure, my patients are prescribed antibiotics to minimize infection. As a result of these extra precautions, our rate of infection after a thigh lift is extremely rare. Conservative removal of skin is crucial for achieving good results, as well as preventing the skin from being under too much tension after the thigh lift. Small to moderate-sized wounds occur in approximately 20% of cases during this procedure, due to the tension on the inner thigh incisions. Wounds typically heal well with regular dressing changes and antibiotic ointment. Occasionally, we need to do a scar revision to improve the aesthetic outcome of inner thigh lift scars.

• Nerve Injury
  The way to minimize nerve injury is to resect a conservative amount of skin, thereby creating minimal tension in the thigh while achieving an aesthetically pleasing result. Occasionally, nerves can become stunned or bruised, and function may take several days to weeks to return. Our rate of significant nerve injury in thigh lifts has been non-existent.

• Gaping Vagina
  In women who have inner thigh lifts, if the incisions are made too close to the vagina, and the skin is closed only superficially, then the appearance of a “gaping vagina” may occur. This is an unsightly complication from an inner thigh lift procedure. In order to minimize the occurrence of this known complication, the scars need to be placed relatively distant from the vagina, and the skin needs to be sutured in multiple layers to avoid tension on the vagina. In my practice, we have not had this complication.

• Smoking
  Smoking is an absolute contraindication for a thigh lift. The carbon monoxide and nicotine in cigarette smoke cause a severe reduction in blood supply to the skin during healing. This results in delayed wound healing, wound separation, skin death, and a higher risk of infection. Cotinine testing is performed in patients with a smoking history to ensure that they are safe when having this procedure.