Looking for a way to remove excess skin and fat from your thighs? Get a thigh lift surgery. But while it’s effective in sculpting your thighs, they also leave permanent thigh lift scars.
Each type of thigh lift will leave a different kind of scar. To know more about the various thigh lift types and the scars they create, continue reading the article.
What are the different thigh lift techniques and scars?
Inner Thigh Lift
This kind of lift focuses on the fats and sagging skin in the lower portion of the inner thigh that’s resistant to exercise.
Your plastic surgeon makes an incision at the spot where the thigh meets the pubic area. Once inside the tissues, he removes a wedge of skin and fat from the region. This helps tighten the remaining skin, improving your leg contours.
How the scar looks like: The scar runs diagonally along the groin crease. Since the incision is at the junction of your thigh and pubic area, it’s easier to hide the scars even when you’re wearing shorts.
Medial Thigh Lift
Unlike the previous lift, this one focuses on the fat found on the upper part of your inner thigh. This procedure suits those who would like to remove excess skin after losing weight.
During the procedure, your plastic surgeon makes an incision in the groin area. The incision extends to the back of your buttocks’ crease. Sometimes, it even reaches the hip region. Your plastic surgeon lifts your skin to remove excess skin and fat and tighten your thighs.
How the scar looks like: Medial thigh lift scars might be harder to cover as the vertical scars extend from the groin to the legs.
Lateral Thigh Lift
Got loose skin on your outer thighs? This is where the lateral or outer thigh lift comes in. If both thighs will be worked on, it’s called the bilateral thigh lift.
In this procedure, your surgeon uses liposuction to suck the fat around the side of your thighs and buttocks. He trims the excess skin in the area, making your contours tighter, smoother, and free from ripples.
How the scar looks like: Since the incision stretches from the groin toward your thighs and buttocks, it will leave significant thigh lift scars. You can still conceal it with underwear.
Vertical Thigh Lift
This kind of thigh lift treats the middle and lower sections of your thighs.
Your plastic surgeon creates an ellipse-shaped incision on your thighs. Because of the shape, this surgery is also called a crescent lift.
How the scar looks like: This procedure covers a large area of the body, so you also get a large incision. It starts at the upper inner thigh, going down to the inner area of your knee. Vertical thigh lift scars are the most noticeable out of all thigh lift scars.
Posterior Thigh Lift
This procedure targets the back of your thighs and buttocks. This is where a large amount of cellulite can often be found, causing the area to be saggy and dimpled. A posterior thigh lift helps give you a smoother and firmer backside.
How the scar looks like: There’s no standard appearance for a posterior thigh lift scar because the type of incisions depends on your body shape.
Spiral Thigh Lift
As the newest type of thigh lift, this procedure treats the front, back, sides and the whole length of the thigh. That’s why it’s also referred to as a total thigh lift.
How the scar looks like: This kind of surgery necessitates more than one incision. Most plastic surgeons make an incision from the groin area down to the inner knee, then another one from the groin to the hip bone. Sometimes, the incision may also stretch around the waist to meet the incision from the other leg.
Spiral thigh lift scars are more prominent than other types as it requires more stitches.
Mini Thigh Lift
A mini thigh lift is best for people who don’t have a particularly large amount of excess fat in the thighs. It focuses on reducing the sag in the upper part of the inner thigh to help tighten the entire thigh.
Don’t expect dramatic results as only a small portion of the upper third of the thigh is worked on. For a patient to be qualified, he or she should have a BMI of less than 30.
How the scar looks like: A small incision is made on the groin area for liposuction. After the removal of excess skin, you’ll find that the mini thigh lift scars are smaller and smoother in appearance, with only minimal bumps and dents.
How can you minimize the appearance of thigh lift scars?
Thigh lift scars can be difficult to look at during the first few weeks. With this in mind, there are still ways to minimize their appearance.
Practice proper wound care.
Keep your scars clean so that you can protect them from infection. Use only mild soap and water when cleaning them, then cover them appropriately.
Avoid sun exposure for a few months after the procedure.
Keeping away from the sun prevents hyperpigmentation since the harsh ultraviolet rays make your scars more vulnerable to sunburn. If not prevented, your scars might leave a brown tint once they heal.
Consider scar revision.
If the appearance of your scars doesn’t improve or even worsens as time goes by, then you should think about getting scar revision surgery. But remember, you can only do this at least six months after your surgery.
If you want to learn more about thigh lift scars and how to manage them, Schedule a Free Consultation with one of our double board-certified plastic surgeons here in Face+Body Cosmetic Surgery.