Body Lift: Q&A

Ask a Question

How Much Skin Can Be Tightened During Lower Body Lift?

I am 50 years old, 5'4" and 120 lbs. While pregnant, I gained 40 lbs. twice. I have saggy unsightly skin, cottage cheese and piles forming in my thighs and buttocks, making me very self-conscious.

How many inches can a surgeon pull up on the butt to get tightening results of lower body lift on top of thighs? Will the scar be wider the more that is taken out? I had abdominal skin excision with pencil thin scar, can I expect the same scar results? Thanks!

Tags:

age 45-54 buttocks skin thighs sagging female 5 ft 4 in to 5 ft 7 in 110-129 lbs pregnancy

Comment on this

14 Doctor Answers | Asked by beautifulat50 in USA

Doctor Answers (14)
Community Comments (0)

Lower Body Lift

Most of my patients will have 3 to 4 inches of the buttock skin removed in between the upper butt and lower back. The most important thing is the placement of the scar. The incision has to be perfectly placed in between the lower back and the upper butt. It is this incision that demarcateds the butt form the back. If placed too high, the butt will look too long. If placed too low, the butt will look too short.

Skin resection in a body lift

That's a very good question, unfortunately there's no one answer for it. The amount of skin that can be removed varies according to how loose the skin is and this depends on the age of the patient as well as how much weight was lost and of course the quality of the patient's skin which has all to do with genetics. My average skin removal in the outer portions of the lower back/upper buttock area is about 5 to 6 inches which produces a very nice tightening of the buttocks and lateral... more

Lockwood technique improves body lift results

The more skin one takes out, the higher the risk of complications. Having said that, there are different techniques that diminish the risk and yield a better scar. The Lockwood technique preserves blood supply better, minimizes empty space below the skin closure, and minimzes tension at the skin closure layer. Because of these factors, for any given level of skin resected, you have less chance of seromas, wound breakdown, and a better scar. Check out the weblink below and the video... more

Significant amount of skin and fat can be removed with body lift...

Congratulations on your significant weight loss. Typically, a significant amount of skin and fat can be removed through a lower body lift or 360-body lift. The amount of skin and fat that can be safely removed depends on the amount of skin and fat you have and the amount of tension in the incision. The amount of inches that a plastic surgeon can remove is more dependent on the individual patient than on the procedure per se. If your concern is to tighten... more

Lower Body Lifting?

Thank you for the question. Generally I find that most patients benefit from excision of 2 to 4 inches of redundant skin and subcutaneous tissues between the buttocks and lower back area. As plastic surgeons we want to remove enough tissue to eliminate looseness/redundancy but not too much tissue ( that would leave a patient with deformity or wound healing problems). In my opinion, the planning stage for these operations are critical. As much as possible, I prefer to do... more

Lower Body Lift and Excess Skin

Your surgeon can give you an estimate of how much skin can be removed. The more skin removed, the better contour you will get, but this will lead to more tension on the closure which may lead to a wider scar. The fact that you made a nice scar on your abdomen is favorable but the quality of the scar cannot be guaranteed.

How mcuh skin to remove?

The amount of skin removed during a ower body lift varies based upon the patients laxity. I have taken off 14-20 cms of skin in some areas at one time.

Steven Wallach, MD

12 reviews

Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Tension limits amount of skin removed in body lifts

It's not so much the number of inches that can be removed, but the tension of the skin that remains that can play a role in the quality of the scar formed. We can remove most of what you can grab with your hands. Trying to get an extra inch or two, if it just increases the tension on the healing incision, may lead to a wider scar.

Varies...

Hello, Each case varies and the tension on the closure can stretch the scar, but using long term "dissolvable" sutures this can be supported to reduce this scar deformity. I have not needed to revise these scar very often (less than 10% and only partial revisions.) Best Regards, John Di Saia MD

Lower body lift skin excision

You are a great candidate for the procedure- mostly loose skin and you appear to be fit and non-obese. You can expect a scar that can be concealed by most swimwear and underwear- the scar quality is not as good a tummy tuck scars-

You should get a great result from lower body lift

Your are the best candidate for the LBL. You are not overweight and have mainly extra skin. The scar should continue with the abdominal scar and also should be placed under the bikini lines.

Kamran Khoobehi, MD

28 reviews

New Orleans Plastic Surgeon

Skin Tightening with Lower Body Lift

I think that you will get a good bit of skin tightening and a very good result from a well-performed lower body lift. The scar does not, however, tend to be as good as the scar you describe from your tummy tuck. One reason is a difference in the skin quality in the 2 regions.

How much can skin be tightened during Lower Body Lift

You should be able to get a very nice result - although you may wish to add some volume to the sides of the buttocks with fat transfer (Brazilian Butt Lift). "cottage cheese and piles forming in my thighs and buttocks" - is due mostly to sagging and a vertical lifting of the thighs and buttocks should GREATLY and nicely correct this. "Will the scar be wider the more that is taken out?' - No. Scars widen whenever healing is not proper. Malnutrition (especially low protein),... more

Lower body lift

Because all you have is extra skin and no fat, you are an ideal candidate for a LBL. The farther from the scar you go, the less will be the effect and the tighter you make the scar, the wider it will spread. Nevertheless, properly done you should have a very nice result.