Vets- please help. Questions re: thigh and bra line lifts

 Hey guys,
So in 9 days I get my 3rd out of 3 plastic surgeries. My first stage was tummy and arms, then stage 2 was breast and butt lift... now here I am looking at stage 3, which will be thigh lift (going circumferencially and half way down my inner thigh vertically) and a bra line lift (horizontal incision along ribs running the length of the bra strap). My surgeon told me when we were originally strategizing the surgeries that stacking them in this manner would mean that pain and recovery wise I would be starting with the worst surgery and progressing towards the easiest. He was totally correct so far, my first surgery took about 6-8 weeks to recover from, I was on pain killers for the first month or so, with drains in for 3 weeks. My second surgery took about a month to recover from, but I was only on pain killers for the first 2 weeks and had no drains.

Now I'm looking for some insight about what to expect from this final surgery. As my surgeon said, this is SUPPOSED to be the easiest and least painful of all of my surgeries to date, Buuuuuut....
I have heard that the thigh lift is not only very painful, it is also a difficult recovery. Is this true?? What were your experiences?? What were your pain/mobility isssues??
I also have heard that the rib cage is a very sensative area.. has anyone has this surgery? What was your experience?

Thanks for taking the time to read this and respond if you have any input!!!

Crossing my fingers for Aug. 29th...

 The bra line lift was by far the easiest for me. It's just a simple incision and only skin was excised on me. No lipo or deep sutures. It healed easily and was not painful.

My thight lift was the most painful and difficult. I also had lipo done for more contouring. The sutures are deep if they are anchored to bone and there's a lot of stretching. The incisions are long. Mine wrapped from my groin into my butt cheeks and down to about mid-thigh.  I used the toilet seat riser and a Freshette. (allows you to pee standing up) they were a lifesaver in the early days. I would say the first 3-4 days were the hardest and it got easier after that. I didn't have drains with my thighs and that was wonderful. Others will tell you that they didn't think the thighs were very difficult. It just really varies from person to person.

I have pictures on my profile if you care to look.

Good luck to you!

 Thanks Renee, you look absolutely amazing!! Did you have any 'dog-ears' or pouches after your thigh lift that needed fixing after the swelling subsided? My surgeon warned me that this was a possibility with any large plastic surgery but i havent seen many thigh lifts where it was an issue... i am really hoping that this will be my last and final surgery, with no fixing necessary, but you never know..

So would you say your thigh lift was the most painful because of the anchoring of skin to bone, or is it just a sensative area in terms of skin sensativity? Did you experience any localized numbness as a result of nerve damage? All of my other surgeries left ne numb about an inch in every direction surrounding the scars. How long until you felt mobil? how long did you have drains. take pain killers? When were you able to start working out again?

The bra line, did yours connect in the back? did it effect mobility?

 Thank you!

I did not have any dog ears. I think the thighs were the toughest as far as recovery because it's such a big surgery. There's a lot of cutting and for me lipo and the lipo leaves you very sore. The mobility is certainly an issue because bending to sit and stand up put pressure in the groin area. Stretching to get in and out of the car is something you do slowly and carefully and if you have a high bed you might need a step stool at first. Everything just feels so tight.

I do have some slight numbness  in certain areas of my incisions but they are not bothersome. I would say that after a week I was a lot more mobile. I also had my arms done at the same time as my thighs plus a slight revision to my tummy tuck incision so I was pretty much a mummy for quite awhile. I didn't attempt to work out for about 3 months other than just walking. Due to all of the procedures I had done at that time I was on pain meds longer than I had been for previous surgeries. I didn't have drains for my thighs or my arms. I loved not having those pesky things!

My bra line incisions do not meet in the back. My mobility was not hindered at all with that procedure. I was just told not to lift weights for several weeks until everything was healed well.

Hi - I had a thigh lift in June this year and have to say that it was the hardest surgery to get over - both in terms of pain for the first few days and also in terms of mobility/swelling etc.

I did have a complication of a hematoma in my right thigh and some wound breakdown too - which delayed the recovery process.

I'm numb about 1 inch on either side of both of my long scars on my thighs and also the top of one of my thighs is also numb at the moment but I'm hoping that improve over time - but no biggie if it doesn't.

Never sure where surgeon's get their info on how easy a recovery is since we all heal differently - and to my knowledge my surgeon hasn't had any surgery himself so his description of quite an easy recovery differs from mine - I certainly woulnd't say the thighs were an easy surgery - but worth it - yes.

Pics and more info in my blog - feel free to ask any other questions.

Good Luck
Debbie