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Tummy Tuck vs. Body Lift

asked 1 year ago by CCC's Mommy in Raleigh, NC
Latest answer by Mary Lee Peters, MD
Question viewed 644 times
Tags: age 25-34, 130-149 lbs, 5 ft 4 in to 5 ft 7 in, comparison

I am a 27 year old mother of 3. I'm 5'5" and 133 lbs. Have been planning my mommy makeover for a while now and have even had a couple of consults. I am having a breast lift and implants. I was also planning a tummy tuck and it was suggested to consider a medial thigh lift as this area drives me crazy. I don't have much fat on my body, just lots of stretch marks and some saggy skin. I am not at all excited about the scars in my groin, because I've heard that they always migrate down and show, so bathing suites would be an issue. I was looking at the pics of body lifts and wondering if this would be a better option? How well does the inner thigh area get lifted? Wouldn't mind a little boost in the booty anyway... I don't mind the scar from the body lift that goes all the way around, but I don't want to do this if the thigh results aren't substantial... Any suggestions?

20 answers to Tummy Tuck vs. Body Lift

Tummy Tuck v. Lower Body Lift

Both a tummy tuck and a lower body lift give improvement in the thighs by pulling on adjacent areas. I often will have patents wait until after the body lift or abdominoplasty before making a decision on thighs because considerable improvement is possible. A body lift allows more thigh improvement than the tummy tuck because a wider belt of skin can be removed on the sides giving better lateral pull. The decision on which is best for you should be carefully considered... more

Mary Lee Peters, MD
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

www.maryleepetersmd.com

Body Lifting

Thank you for your question. This is difficult to answer without examining you to see how much of an improvement the inner thigh lift will provide. I would highly suggest that you meet with well experienced board certified plastic surgeons who work with weight loss patients (different skin elasticity issues, etc.). Also, I do not recommend doing all of these procedures at the same time. You may want to consider doing the lower body lift and after things have healed, you can... more

Tom J. Pousti, MD
San Diego Plastic Surgeon

Body lift and inner thighs

Lots of good advice has been given to you. In general I tell patients that are doing a lower body lift that in fact there is a 20-30% improvement in your inner thighs. The inner thighs are some what lifted. Of course individuals who have significant excess, need a medial thigh lift at some point. Significant past experience has thought all of us who do a lot of massive weight loss body contouring not to do a medial thigh lift at the same time that a lower body lift is being done.... more

Sepehr Egrari, MD
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

www.egrari.com

Lower body lift wont help your inner thighs

A circumferential abdominoplasty (i.e. lower bodylift or belt lipectomy) is an excellent operation that is designed to address the laxity of the torso. The tightening effect will translate to the outer thigh somewhat, but there will be no effect on the inner thighs. You will need an inner thighlift.

Kevin Brenner, MD
Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon

What is lifted by a body lift?

Body lifts work well with tummy tucks. The body lift and tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) will together lift and tighten the abdomen, back, hips, buttock, posterior thigh, lateral thigh, and anterior thigh. The medial thigh is least effected with the body lift and often requires its own operation. For limited skin excess, the scar can be tucked high in the groin. After massive weight loss patients will also need an incision (which leaves a scar) lengthwise... more

Bruce Genter, MD
Abington Plastic Surgeon

www.drgenter.com

Body lift vs tummy tuck and inner thigh lift

A circumferential - all the way around the waist - body lift will result in an improvement in the lateral thighs and lift the buttock, however it will not improve or lift the inner thigh very much. Performing an inner thigh lift at the same time with either a tummy tuck / abdominoplasty or circumferential body lift can result in a significant amount of post operative swelling in the pubic area. You may want to consider doing the tummy tuck or body... more

Vincent D. Lepore, MD
San Jose Plastic Surgeon

Inner thigh lift

It is always possible that the inner thigh lift scars may migrate a bit . Depending upon how bad the thighs look initially will determine the incision needed to be used and the quality of the result.

Steven Wallach, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Inner Thigh Lift vs. Outer Thigh Lift: Two Areas needing two procedures

Inner and outer thighs are common areas of sagging after weight loss and after weight loss after pregnancy. It sounds like you are in great shape and likely have just excess skin, so liposuction in either of these areas will not be effective. I approach these areas differently, but agree that both will need excisional techniques to provide the shape you want. Unfortunately, with excisional procedures come scars, and accuracy of scar placement is key. A lower body lift combines a tummy tuck... more

Andrew P. Trussler, MD
Dallas Plastic Surgeon

www.drtrussler.com

Medial thighs and abdominoplasty

I think a well done abdominoplasty (where the skin and fat are undermined in the suprapubic region and pulled up tight and Scarpas fascia is carefully closed) can improve the medical thigh quite a bit, expecially if there is not a lot of extra fat. Try this on yourself. Stand in front of the mirror and grab a handful of your lower abdominal fat and yank it up. See the improvement in your medial thigh? Your post-surgical improvment won't be as much as you may be... more

Lisa L. Sowder, MD
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

Body lift, mommy makeover,breast lift, tummy tuck,thighplasty,cost of tummy tuck

A body lift does help with the tummy as well as lifting of the buttock. It usually does noit significantly lift or remove excess skin from the medial thigh. I do modify these procedures to try and maximize the removal of the excess skin from wherever the patient needs removal. In many cases,I do combine this with breast surgery and what is referred to as a mommy makeover. These procedures can even be done as an outpatient.

Edward J. Domanskis, MD
Orange County Plastic Surgeon

Body lift much more powerful procedure

Full abdominoplasty also known as tummy tuck is a surgical procedure to remove excess skin and fatty tissue from the middle and lower abdomen and to tighten muscles of the abdominal wall. Abdominoplasty is not a surgical treatment for being overweight. Obese individuals who intend to lose a lot of weight should postpone all forms of body contouring surgery until they have reached a stable weight for the period of at least 3 months. Abdominoplasty can be combined with other forms of... more

Gregory Turowski, MD, PhD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

I s thigh lift a prudent choice for inner thigh laxity?

Without any photos, some recommendations are of limited value. The scars of the inner thigh for the inner thigh lift are not necessarily narrow or inconspicuous. You need to weight whether the costs, scars, etc. are worth the trade-off versus what your present situation is. A body lift will not address this area. You would be well served to see one or more additional board certified plastic surgeons in your area to obtain more information and suggestions. Then, you may better be able to... more

Steven Turkeltaub, MD
Scottsdale Plastic Surgeon

Does a body lift improve the inner thighs?

A lower body lift is a great option for contouring your abdomen, OUTER thighs, and lower back and buttocks. But it won't do much of anything for your inner thighs. You can always add the medial thigh lift down the road, if you choose. It sounds like the lower body lift will be the bigger bang for your buck right now--just don't expect to see much of a change in your inner thighs from it.

Carmen Kavali, MD
Atlanta Plastic Surgeon

Thigh lifting from a circumferential body lift ?

Don't expect any lifting effect along the inside of your thighs after a circumferential body lift - you will get some lateral and posterior thigh lifting effect from the procedure. My advice is to do the circ body lift and wait several months. Come back and do the medial thigh lift.

Scott Sattler, MD
Bellevue Plastic Surgeon

Body lift for medial thighs

A body lift will not improve the excess skin over the medial thigh area. Unfortunately, only a medial thigh lift will improve that with trade off of having scars in the area.

Lawrence C. Lin, MD
Long Island Plastic Surgeon

Body Lift versus Tummy Tuck

It sounds like you are planning many procedures - breast lift / augmentation, body lift and medial thigh light. You might want to consider have two different times for surgery. Do the body lift one time and then the breast surgery and medial thigh surgery at another time. If you post pictures, we may be able to give you more specific advice or suggestions. Good Luck.

David Shafer, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

Body lift vs medial thigh lift

Circumferential body lift will provide lateral thigh lift and buttock contouring in addition to the abdominoplasty. It will not improve the medial thighs. Scar migration is a common problem but can be avoided by securing the elevation to the perisoteum of the pubic bone.

S. Ozan Sozer, MD
El Paso Plastic Surgeon

www.elpasoplasticsurgery.com

Body lifts and thighs

Body lifts can help the lateral thighs but not the medial. The only way to tighten the inner thigh is with a medial thigh lift. The scars in the groin are your trade-offs and red badge of courage.

Robin T.W. Yuan, MD
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon

Body Lift Doesn't Address Medial Thigh

A body lift improves skin excess in the medial or inner thigh minimally if at all. You are correct in suggesting that the scars from a medial thigh lift can be troublesome and do have a tendency to migrate downward. As with all surgery, you must weigh the benefits and risks which it seems you doing.