Thight lift disaster! Please read my post and help me. (Photo)

Anna Maria,Thank you for your question and pictures. What has happened is that your wounds have opened at the most vunerable spot; the "T" portion of the surgery. This can happen for various reasons such as poor blood flow due to smoking or a lot of tension on the wound. Infection can also cause wound breakdown. The proper way to get this healed is to do local wound care. I have my patients do saline moist gauze dressings and change them 2-3 times a day. Wash the wound with soap and water daily. It WILL heal but may take as long as 3-4 weeks. It is not recommended to try to suture or stitch it closed again because the tension will only cause it to open even bigger the second time. See you surgeon weekly until its healed. I hope my answer helps. Take care. 

Hello, thank you for your question about what to do with your thigh lift wound.  I specialize in thigh lifts.  Since there are many ways to treat a wound, it is very important you follow up with your plastic surgeon.  Through their extensive and long training, plastic surgeons know how to take care of these wounds -- often better than an other specialty.  In fact when wounds like this present to a hospital, they consult with plastic surgeons -- not any other specialty.  So stick with your plastic surgeon. When I have wounds like this, I use several methods to clean the wound.  usually, I start with wet to dry dressing.  Then, I progress to MediHoney and bacitracin.  Sometimes, I will use hyperbaric oxygen and a wound VAC.  Also, it is very important you eat 100 grams of protein a day, takes lots of vitamins, zinc, magnesium, and glutamine.  Fortunately, in my career, almost all of my patients with thigh lift wounds heal 100% without the need of surgical debridement or skin grafts. I hope this helps.  Please stay in close contact with your plastic surgeon.  Sincerely, J. Timothy Katzen, MD, FACS, FICS, FASMBS. (Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, member of the American Society of Plastic Surgery, American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, and International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, and fellow of the American College of Surgery, International College of Surgery, and American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery).

Dear patient!What I can see is that you had a so called T-thighlift with a vertical and horizontal scar. The junction point is always the weakest point and prone to dehiscence.Right now there is nothing really that you could do except good wound hygiene and special wound coverage.Luckily, the wounds will eventually heal without much disfigurement - worst case would be a scar revision once everything is healed - not before 6 months!I hope that this information may help you a little bit!Good luck and best regards,G Huemer

Hello and thank you for your question. Sadly these wounds are extremely common after thigh lift surgery.  They may get worse before getting better. There are multiple different ways to treat these wounds. Follow your doctor's directions.  No matter what, they will eventually heal.Peter Fisher M.D