What Are the Possible Complications of Thigh Lift Surgery?

Thighplasty is a difficult operation to recover from.  The incisions tend to be rather long and in a very difficult area to keep clean.  A recent study supports the fact that would healing complications are high for this procedure and patients need to be informed of this prior to surgery.  However, despite these problems, thighplasty remains a reliable and reproducible method of removing excess skin and fat from this area.

Thank you for your question about the possible complications of thigh lift surgery. Like any other surgical procedure, a thigh lift has risks and potential complications. With a thigh lift, the most common complication is wound breakdown. By definition, if any part of the wound opens, that is wound breakdown; by far, the majority of wound breakdowns are less than one centimeter. Often the sutures reflect in the upper inner groin. The incision opens in the upper inner thigh because of the lymphatic channels, sweat glands, hair follicles, and generalized movement postoperatively. Liposuction can also elevate the potential risks. Most people have a good outcome from a thigh lift, thigh reduction, or thighplasty. The other potential complications include infection, swelling, scarring, scar migration, and labial spread. There is also a chance of blood clots; all these risks are present but very small. The advantages of a thigh lift, thigh reduction, or thigh plasty include having skinnier thighs and getting rid of excess thigh skin and fat. This may allow you to exercise more accessible and avoid skin chafing when you walk or run. Ideally, it will make buying clothes easier. In addition, it may help with intimate relations.
I cannot stress enough the necessity to see a thigh lift, thigh reduction, or thighplasty. Not just any plastic surgeon can perform this complex procedure. There are many factors involved, and experience in performing hundreds of thigh lifts is necessary. Your regular aesthetic, cosmetic, nip tuck plastic surgeon should not be performing thigh lifts. I hope this helps to answer your question regarding the potential complications of thigh lift surgery.

                  Thigh
lift surgery is one of the most popular operations performed by plastic
surgeons following massive weight lost surgery.  The procedure is designed to remove and tighten excess thigh
skin.  The procedure is associated
with high satisfaction rates and improved quality of life.

                  Although
the procedure is considered extremely safe, complications may occasionally
occur.  These include bleeding,
hematoma formation, loss of tissue, wound breakdown,
excess scarring, infection, asymmetry and numbness.

                  Several
steps can be taken to minimize complications.  These include utilizing an accredited outpatient surgical
facility, a board certified plastic surgeon and a board certified
anesthesiologist.  Although these
steps won’t totally eliminate complications they will hopefully decrease the
incidence. 

Thigh lifts are effective operations to remove the excess skin of the inner thigh. The outer thigh generally needs a lower body lift or a posterior body lift to address the redundancy. The most common complications of this group of surgeries are small wound separations. It is rare to have a major separation. Other complications include fluid formation under the skin and fat, bleeding, infection, loss of blood supply to the skin and poor scarring. Medial thigh lift scars can also migrate downwards and cause distortion of the vagina. This is an ominous complication that is generally due to lack of experience of the surgeon. In general only surgeons who specialize in massive weight loss body contouring should attempt these complex operations.

In my experience, the two biggest complications are residual leg swelling and noticeable scarring.  However, with good technique the risk of both of these can be minimized.