Medial thigh lift - little bump in recovery

I had an inner thigh lift on Feb 25th. Overall, I'm doing well and the pain isn't nearly as bad as I imagined it would be, but any little thing that can go wrong has. It's all starting to add up and take a toll on me.

Both of my drains fell out early, so I have some fluid build up. The incisions in the groin area right at the top of the thigh have also opened up on both sides. The left side is not quite as bad as the right, which has turned into a hole about the size of a nickel. My surgeon and her nurse have been great dealing with it, and when I called in a panic on Friday morning about the incision opening up, they saw me in the office within an hour. My mother has been staying with me the entire time, and she is a nurse as well, so I have been well cared for.

This is my sixth surgery, and my third plastic surgery. I've always been a very informed, compliant patient, and my doctor assures me that I have been doing everything I can. She told me thigh lifts are just the most awkward surgery to recover from, and because of the location of the incisions in the groin, the wound healing issue happens a little more often. I have been following this board for about two years, so I was prepared knowing this could happen. I just wanted to whine for a minute to a group of people that would understand :( The most difficult part is going to the bathroom. I still can't sit on the toilet, so keeping the open incisions clean and dry during that process is impossible. I wind up having to wash the area, repack the wounds, and repad everything inside the compression garment every time I pee. It's getting old quick. 

On the bright side, the swelling in my thighs went down quite a bit today and I can get around so much better. My doctor also removed a ton a skin and touched up the lipo, so when things are (finally) all healed up, I think my thighs will look really good. I will post a before and after shot when I am recovered enough to be able to shave my legs again :)

-Angela

Thanks for sharing your story. Hope the road is smoother from this point. 

Hugs, 

kelli

I hope things get better soon!  There was a post a few months back about a ladies urinal.  That might be a handy gadget for you to have.

I agree with the other reply. Get a urinal.

Thanks for sharing.

I'm glad everything is going good for you. I hope your recovery will be soon.  Please keep us posted.  I want to have this done in the future.

Thanks for the words of encouragement ladies, I appreciate it :)  I feel like I have slept the past two days straight, and I'm already feeling so much better. It's amazing how much a good power nap can help. Will post pictures and update soon!

Angela I am following your story as I am hoping to get this done.  The problem is I talked to three surgeons and they all do things different.  You sound like had what the surgeon I talked to is saying.  

One surgeon says he only does one leg at a time and they have to heal 12 weeks in between.  But It sounds like he is doing inside and out at the same time.  But, he says he can't do anything about the fat knees.  The one I talked to today cut in the groin and down to below the knee about 6 inches to make the knee better too.

Would you mind explaining how yours was done?  What were your other 2 PS?  Thank You for any info you wouldn't mind sharing.

My first plastic surgery was a lower body lift with some lipo to the outer thighs, which took care of the extra skin on my stomach, outer thighs, and butt. When I was looking for a surgeon to do my LBL, I had four consultations, and was given four different opinions on what I should have done, so I totally understand how confusing it can be. I have some before and after photos from my first surgery on my profile if you would like to take a look.

My second procedure was just a round of liposuction on my thighs to prepare for the thigh lift. My surgeon and I talked about it quite a bit, and she was willing to do the thigh lift and lipo at the same time, but we just thought the results would be better and the recovery would be easier if we spilt it into two surgeries. I had quite a bit of fat on the back of my knees, and luckily the lipo did a really good job at taking care of that (although I will say it hurt like hell!). For the thigh lift itself, I have an incision that runs from just below my knee up to the groin, and then along the groin crease itself, both in the front of the leg and a little back towards the butt. I have heard that thigh lifts don't do as well at removing skin around the knee as they do in the upper portion of the thigh.

I talked to all four doctors I consulted with initially about the thigh lift as well, and I have not yet heard of a doctor that only does one thigh at a time. From what I have seen, most people that want both the outer and inner thighs taken care of do the outer thighs first (part of a lower body lift), and the inner thigh lift second. One doctor I spoke with was getting ready to perform an inner thigh lift on a woman that would go all the way from groin to ankle, since she had extra skin below the knee as well, so it's all possible. But it will definitely depend on your own body and what you are comfortable with!

Thanks for taking them time to post such a detailed response.  I can't believe the change in your photos.  You are built similar to me but, I don't have any chest left.  I guess I get confused by the term also. 

Your saying the medial thigh lift itself is when they cut from just below the knee up to the groin and then along the groin crease itself?  That is what the one surgeon is doing.  Sounds like I need lipo first as I still have fat in the inner thigh and the saddle bags.  My problem he said is to much stretched skin that isn't going to go back with fat removal due to age and amount of time obese.

The surgeon that does one at a time, did the PS on the winners of Biggest loser one season.  He does one leg at a time because he lipos the saddle bag, trims from knee to groin and almost all the way around the back following what would be the leg line of panties.  He lays you on the table in such a way you end up without the saddle bags or inner droopy skin.  This sound great to me but, he says, and I asked DH to make sure I heard right, nothing can be done for saggy knees.  The third surgeon was from Mexico.  I think he did his slightly different from the first an tightens muscle under to avoid re-drop.

I think it will come down to just using the one that is closes.  Unless my PCP insist I use the forth I don't like as he is "in network."  He works out of a surgery center though and I would feel better doing it in the hospital.

So confused.

I have been researching more and I guess some of my thigh lift confusion is that there is a Inner, Bilateral and Medial.  The surgeon that does one at a time does a Bilateral that work on the right and left side of the leg (inner and saddle bags), The one from Mexico sounds like a Medial and the first one, that did the face lift just does a inner, only tightening the skin.  I think I need to do more talking as I need fat removed.

Don't get too caught up in the terminology. You will find many different terms being used, and I found the same thing for LBL, which a couple of doctors referred to as a belt lipectomy or circumferential abdominoplasty. Some doctors used these terms interchangeably, while some had a distinction and considered them different procedures.

A surgeon will need to tailor the procedure to fit YOUR body and your needs, and should clearly explain during the consolation what they plan to do. This is what is important. One doctor even took out a piece of paper and drew out the pattern of skin that he planned to remove, and also drew out a second figure with where the resulting scars would be. Don't be afraid to go back to a doctor for a second consult with more questions, and don't be afraid to tactfully ask why they would recommend doing the thigh lift one way vs. another. For example, I had one doctor recommend an anchor cut tummy tuck because I had so much excess skin on my abdomen, and a second recommend against it. I told the second doctor about the first consult and politely asked her why she recommended something different. She told me that for my case, she thought the anchor cut would be the wrong choice because I was pear shaped and my lower body was so much larger than my upper body. She thought an anchor cut would further cinch in my waist and emphasize that difference. Both doctors were correct, but for different reasons, and in the end I had to decide what was more important - removing the maximum amount of skin, or getting a better balance between my upper and lower body with less scarring. I do still have some excess skin above my belly button, but I am very happy with my choice.

Lipo is great for contouring, but it won't take care of excess skin. When I had the lipo last November on my thighs, my doctor removed 4.5 L of total fluid, mostly from the front of my legs and around my knees. I was lucky the skin around the back of my knees responded so well, but it was a relatively small area. In the front of my thigh where the majority of the fat was removed, I wound up with a lot more excess skin. That actually was what I expected, and it allowed my doctor to better plan what skin was to be removed during the thigh lift.

Take your time thinking things over, as this is a very important decision and the results will last a lifetime. I know it's stressful and confusing, but just remember in the end, any of these procedures will provide a drastic improvement and we are so very lucky to have the opportunity to get these reconstructive surgeries :)