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Is It Easier to Treat Body Fat in Certain Areas?

asked 3 years ago by Discofreak in Texas
Latest answer by Elizabeth Morgan, MD, PhD
Question viewed 1,391 times
Tags: fat

I have had four children. My upper inner thighs are fatty, with stretch marks and loose skin hanging. I have consulted a plastic surgeon and he said that since I already have a couple of dimples, it would be difficult to treat the area successfully. Is this true? Are there certain areas where body fat is easier to treat? What options do I have for my upper inner thighs?

14 answers to Is It Easier to Treat Body Fat in Certain Areas?

Liposuction and Skin Shrinkage

Despite everything you hear Liposuction does only ONE THING RELIABLY - it REMOVES FAT. Skin shrinkage AFTER fat removal (by liposuction) depends on: - the health and elasticity of your skin (Young skin will shrink better than older skin, Stretch Marks (cracks) are cracks in the skin with destroyed elasticity), - the thickness of the skin (thicker skin shrinks better than thin skin), - the area of the body (Back and Love Handles shrink better than inner thighs) and - your ethnicity... more

Peter A. Aldea, MD
Memphis Plastic Surgeon

Upper inner thighs

With pregnancy, there are often large swings in weight. These weight fluctuations, especially after four children, can leave hanging skin behind. This skin is most often present in the lower abdomen, but is often in the inner thighs as well. When skin is loose or dimpled, liposuction has a low success rate. In fact, the skin can appear more dimpled and loose after more fat is removed. Your surgeon is wise to advise you against liposuction in this already loose area! The good news is... more

Brent Moelleken, MD
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon

Liposuction Inner thighs

Don't have liposuction. Why not? Your inner thighs have stretch marks. That means the skin support is gone. Liposuction will give you fat-free, saggy thighs. . Your only option - a surgical thigh lift. It removes the sagging skin, tightens the deep tissues and can liposuction at the same time. Scars are usually hidden in the groin crease. Recovery requires 2 weeks doing nothing. Otherwise you'll get an infection. You'll need a month off... more

Elizabeth Morgan, MD, PhD
Atlanta Plastic Surgeon

www.drelizabethmorgan.com

Liposuction can help inner thighs

With superficial liposuction (Gasparotti technique) and subdermal tunneling, liposuction of the inner thighs can tighten the skin quite a bit.

George J. Beraka, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Best areas for liposuction

Liposuction is a safe, popular, and effective way to contour the body. Liposuction can be performed in almost all areas of the body. The most important factor for a successful liposuction result is the experience of the surgeon and the quality of the skin in the area that will be treated. For this reason, it is essential that you work with a board-certified plastic surgeon was great deal of experience in liposuction and body contouring. They will be able to examine your body and... more

B. Pat Pazmino, MD
Miami Plastic Surgeon

Liposuction to inner thighs depends on skin quality

If you have loose skin with stretch marks of your upper inner thighs, liposuction may not be a great procedure for you. The success of liposuction depends on the quality of the overlying skin in that area. If you have loose skin with poor elasticity, that skin will not contract and the final result could be skin with an irregular, bumpy contour. The skin of the upper inner thigh in general is more delicate than on other parts of the body (ex. abdomen) and does not respond as well to... more

William Bruno, MD
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon

Candidates for Liposuction

Although you have fatty tissue isolated in one area, the quality of the skin is very important to consider before going through with liposuction surgery. If the skin in the area is loose and stretched, it is very unlikely that the skin will bounce back, leaving with you even more loose and saggy skin. You may want to consider a thigh lift instead to help tighten the skin. It would require more scarring but will give you a better result.

Tom J. Pousti, MD
San Diego Plastic Surgeon

Upper inner thighs beware, but there is hope!

I agree with most of these posted that the inner thighs can be challenging from the skin laxity standpoint. If the vertical fibers in this area are left intact and the skin is addressed with a tightening technique such as laser, there may be more improvement that seen in the past.

Barry E. DiBernardo, MD
Montclair Plastic Surgeon

Upper inner thighs

The upper inner thighs are a tough area to treat. Liposuction may make it looser. For some the best way to treat this area is to perform a medial thigh lift. This can often be done with a crescent excision leaving the scar in the groin crease.

Steven Wallach, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

You have options.

There are some areas of the body that are harder to treat then others. This being said, the inner thigh area is a very commonly treated area. Without examining you it is difficult to give any real recommendations. What I can say is that the way to treat the inner thigh is either by liposuction or direct excision, called a medial thigh lift. If you have loose hanging skin and stretch marks you may be a candidate for a thigh lift, which can be done a number of ways. However a medial... more

Kari L. Colen, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

Inner thighs, Hanging Skin, Liposuction Not Good Option

The inner thighs are generally not the best area to liposuction. Now having said that, if the skin has good quality then liposuction may be a fine option. In general the inner thigh skin is some what thinner and does not have the elastic properties of the hips, lateral thighs or even abdomen. So if you already have stretch marks and loose skin, liposuction is likely not the best option and excision would be a better route. Hope that helps.

Farbod Esmailian, MD
Orange County Plastic Surgeon

Yes & Inner Thigh Lift.

Hello, It is easier to treat some body areas than others. It sounds like you have an issue with loose skin and fat. Liposuction alone is not effective for areas over which too much loose skin lies. A Thigh Lift might be in order. Thigh lift surgery is a bigger deal in that there are longer scars and a larger scale operation than liposuction. Best Regards, John Di Saia MD

John P. Di Saia, MD
Orange Plastic Surgeon

Spot on advice

Hi there- The plastic surgeon you saw could not be more correct. The final result from liposuction is very dependent on the quality and quantity of the skin present in the area. Because the skin thickness also varies on any given person's body depending on the area, (eyelid skin is extremely thin, the skin on our back's is extremely thick, and skin in other areas varies as well) different areas of the body will respond differently to the liposuction intervention. It sounds like you may... more

Armando Soto, MD
Orlando Plastic Surgeon

Inner thighs Dimpled

Yes your plastic surgeon is correct. Although you may have localized fatty deposits, it sounds as if you also have some loose skin. Liposuction could make it worse. I am not a real fan of skin tightening in this area (titan, thermage, velasmooth, etc) If it is a small amount of laxity, consdier and inner thigh lift using a crescent incision along the inner thigh crease.