When having a lower body lift, how much of your thighs are actually lifted?

A lower body lift smooths and tightens the skin of the abdomen, thighs and buttocks.  Most benefit is in the abdomen, lateral thighs and buttocks.  There is benefit in the upper medial thighs and you can get an idea of the likely improvement by pulling up on your lower abdominal crease.  You will note the upper inner thigh skin contour improves.  For skin laxity further down the thigh a separate thigh lift must be done to get the best contour.  Best wishes.

Hello, ducomplainey in Boston. Thank you for your question regarding how much of your thighs are actually lifted during a lower body lift. The true answer is that "it depends on the individual patient outer thigh anatomy and the skill set of your chosen plastic surgeon." As a patient, if you have a little excess skin and fat on the outer thighs, then the body lift should correct and remove the excess. If you have a lot of excess skin and fat in the outer thighs, the lower body lift may not completely take care of the excess outer thigh skin and fat. Patients with excessive skin and fat on the outer thighs may require serial liposuction surgeries to debulk the outer thighs. If the patient has extreme saddlebags, they may require a wedge resection where a football-shaped area of excess skin and fat is removed. Alternatively, some patients have significant excess skin and fat on the outer thighs extending to the knees. This deformity is called a pantaloon deformity. These patients may need a lateral thigh lift and a lower body lift. The lateral thigh scar extends from the pelvis to the lateral knee. In addition to the patient anatomy factor, there is the plastic surgeon factor. If your plastic surgeon is inexperienced in performing the body lift, you may receive suboptimal results in the lateral thighs. Alternatively, if you have surgery with an experienced lower body lift plastic surgeon, you have much higher chances of maximizing the lift of your outer thighs. In most lower body lift cases, approximately 10 inches of excess skin and fat is removed from the lateral thigh. Good luck. I hope I have answered your question regarding how much of your thighs are actually lifted during a lower body lift.
If you have any more questions regarding the lower body lift, 360 circumferential lower body lift, belt lipectomy, belt abdominoplasty, or belt dermolipectomy, please contact an experienced plastic surgeon. Since the body lift is a big procedure, please seek an experienced, board-certified plastic surgeon with significant experience performing the lower body lift. Do your research. Ensure they have performed at least 100 circumferential lower body lift surgeries and have the before and after pictures to prove it. Carefully examine their before and after pictures and check their reviews on RealSelf. If you cannot find an experienced lower body lift surgeon in your neighborhood, consider traveling out of state. Sincerely, Dr. Katzen, MD, MBA, FACS, FICS, FASMBS (President of the American Society of Bariatric Plastic Surgeons, certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, Fellow of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, American College of Surgery, and International College of Surgery and member of the American Society of Plastic Surgery, American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery RealSelf Hall of Fame, and RealSelf Doctor Advisory Board for Medical Review and Consumer Panel.)

The lower body lift is a very powerful contouring procedure. It combines an abdominoplasty procedure along with bilateral hiplasty and buttock lift.  When combined, there is significant improvement in the upper anterior thigh, upper lateral thigh, and upper posterior thigh.  For maximum buttock/posterior thigh impact, performing an auto augmentation of the buttock is important. I would not expect to see much improvement in the medial thigh or around your knees as a medial thighplasty will have maximum impact in these areas.  Good luck