Would I be a good candidate for Smart lipo? Hoping to remove fat from upper inner thighs (photo)

Question

I had what I call a fat deposit on my inner thighs that I want to remove with smart lipo but I don’t know if I’m a good candidate

Ryan Rebowe, MD · Answer

It is very difficult to tell based on the provided picture. However, if you are talking about the relatively small area at the uppermost and innermost part of the thigh, this would be a good area to target with a focused SMARTLipo procedure. This particular type of liposuction is difficult to perform over larger areas.

Daniel Barrett, MD · Answer

Dear Cute898302,
it is hard to tell for sure without an examination. If you are considering surgery, I would suggest you consult a board-certified plastic surgeon. Only after a thorough examination, you will get more information and recommendations.
Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Louis D. Cole, MD · Answer

Thank you for your question. Smart Lipo of the inner thighs is a common procedure. I think you could see marked improvement with smartLipo of your inner thighs. It would best be coupled with Microcannular Liposuction under local tumescent anesthesia. The downtime for this procedure would be 2 to 3 days. That should make the distance between your thighs less and you feel more confident in your clothing. I hope this information helps. Good luck on your journey.!

Mats Hagstrom, MD (license on probation) · Answer

In the end there are two variables that determine what liposuction results turn out like.
The first is patient candidacy which is what you are asking about.
The second is the skill and experience of the provider.
In the big picture both of these variables are probably of equal importance.
Just as many bad results turn out from patients having liposuction who were in fact not good candidates and half of unhappy patients probably chose a provider lacking sufficient skills and experience.
Some parts of the body respond really well so Liposuction and some individuals have certain variables that make them better candidates than others.
In a nutshell the ideal candidate for liposuction can be described as someone who is “young tight and pudgy”. The opposite is also true. Older individuals with history of weight loss or pregnancy related abdominal changes typically do not get great liposuction results.
Upper inner thighs are deceivingly difficult to assess.
It’s a common area for patients to want corrected but the area also has significant skin laxity and very little connective tissue to stabilize the skin. this allows the skin to move including dropping with gravity creating a substantial bulging effect.
One reason that liposuction of this area does not work well is that the skin with fat removed still has the same mobility and with gravity the contour is primarily based on how the skin drapes.
On top of this lower extremity liposuction is technically difficult and it’s more likely to end up with contour irregularities another anatomic areas one done by providers relax efficient skills and experience.
This puts the odds against you being happy with the outcome of any type of Lipo suction procedure of this area.
To get they are you treated correctly would most likely require two procedures. The first would be removing the subcutaneous fat with well done Liposuction including much of your inner thigh blending to include the front of the thigh.
This and it’s self will not address the skin laxity and how the skin drips so this would need to be followed by a thigh lift six or more months later.
Thigh lifts also don’t have the greatest reputation in terms of delivery and consistent quality results.
Generally speaking upper inner thighs do not delivery great liposuction results, the area is technically difficult to treat and a substantial number of providers struggle with doing the procedure without leaving problems like contour irregularities that are extremely difficult to correct later.
So not only is the chance of getting an impressive result fairly low in the hands of the most talented provider but there’s also a substantial chance of ending up with new problems you didn’t have before if you don’t choose providers correctly.
Personally I would probably steer you away from having liposuction but you’ll find other providers for more enthusiastic.
To find a sufficiently skilled provider for any procedure patients need to interview multiple plastic surgeons by having multiple in person consultations.
It’s not possible to do this sitting in front of your computer or using your cell phone.
Start the process by finding plastic surgeons who have a substantial number of quality before and after pictures for inner thigh liposuction on their website.
You’ll find a surprising number of providers don’t have any pictures for that procedure.
We’re looking at pictures pay close attention to body position and especially the distance between the feet in the before and after pictures. if the patient has their feet placed further apart in the after pictures damages often appear to look more impressive.
Once you found providers who show evidence of at least having done the procedure schedule in person consultations.
Bring pictures of your own lower extremities and any other area you may be interested in treating. do you have pictures of your own body for reference.
During each consultation ask each provider to open up your portfolio and show you their entire collection before and after pictures for the procedure you’re interested in.
Seeing liposuction results of any other body area is pointless.
Ask providers to show you as many pictures as possible of previous patients who have very similar inner thigh characteristics. they should have that same role and same degree of skin laxity in the upper inner thigh.
For a reference and experience provider should have no difficulty showing you at least 50 sets of before and after pictures of commonly performed procedures. Inner thigh liposuction is not as common as for example abdominal liposuction but it’s certainly not an uncommon procedure.
Being shown a handful of preselected images which most likely represent the best results of the providers career is insufficient to get a clear understanding of what average results look like in the hands of each provider or how many of these procedures the surgeon has actually performed.
Look very carefully at all areas treated to make sure there are no skin contour irregularities seen anywhere on the areas treated.
If the provider gives excuses for why they don’t have more before and after pictures and they simply don’t have the skill and experience and you need to go on to the next consultation.
The process is time consuming but you’ll become better at doing consultations and properly vetting plastic surgeons the more consultations you do.
Some may recommend going straight to a thigh lift.
That may be an option but again the proof is in the pudding and if they can show you 50 quality sets of before and after pictures of the previous patients with similar body characteristics to your own then you should have a pretty good understanding of what results will look like.
Ask providers to specifically show you excellent outcomes, average outcomes and results that didn’t turn out as well as they had hoped for.
Ask specifically what the providers revision rate is and what the revision policy is.
Because the area is technically difficult and often does not deliver results anything close to what patients had hoped for revisions or the request of revisions including second opinions is fairly common.
It may be that going straight to a thigh lift May be a better option but the number of plastic surgeons who remove fat aggressively while removing and putting tension on the skin is going to be limited.
To get rid of the fat and pull that skin tight it’s probably safer to do this as a staged procedure.
In the end it may be better to live with the thighs you have.
The conversation could carry on and you could probably write a book simply on this topic.
Positioning of the patient during the procedure has a big impact on the ability to do the procedure correctly. In my opinion the procedure is best done with patients laying on their side.
After the procedure is done using general anesthesia and operating room staff are apprehensive to turn patients laying on their side during general anesthesia. Doing so is cumbersome and has risks involved.
For that reason a lot of plastic surgeons do inner thigh liposuction with patients laying on their back under general anesthesia. The positioning is terrible for getting quality results because the contours are dramatically affected when you lay on your back on a hard surface.
For that reason it may be better to find providers who avoid using general anesthesia for inner thigh liposuction.
In the end you need to be very selective on who you choose if you decide to move forward with the procedure and you still need to keep your expectations on the low side.
Upper inner thigh Liposuction is my least favorite area to treat and the most common area for me to turn patients away.
I’m a board-certified plastic surgeon and I’ve been for 22 years. I have 22 years of Liposuction experience. The last 10 years of practice I’ve been devoted exclusively to doing only liposuction and fat transfer. I’ve done over 8000 liposuction procedures to date.
To convey how challenging inner thigh Liposuction is I sometimes challenge patience to find a single five star review for just inner thigh liposuction.
They are exceedingly rare.
It doesn’t mean you can’t have liposuction or have some improvement to your lower extremities.
What it does mean is that the process is fairly complex. There are plenty of pitfalls and things that can go wrong that you need to be vigilant about when making decisions. We need to recognize that may require two operations.
Good luck,
Mats Hagstrom MD

Randy Dean, MD - Account Suspended · Answer

Hi and welcome to our forum!
From your photo, there appears to be an excess of both fatty tissue and loose overlying skin of the upper inner thigh. .As your photo is limited to a portion of your upper inner thighs, I cannot determine if this represents a localized or generalized phenomenon. 
If it is a localized phenomenon, an inner thigh lift will eliminate both the excess fat and overlying loose skin. Liposuction alone may remove the underlying fat but does not address the overlying skin. 
If a generalized phenomenon, it may indicate obesity. 
BMI (body mass index equals weight in kg / square of height in meters) is one criterion to determine the anticipated results of a cosmetic surgery. You can find BMI calculators on the internet. If your BMI is greater than 30, the cosmetic result will not be optimal. If your BMI is greater than 35, your operative risk will rise. In our practice we recommend a BMI of less than 30. 
We recommend that you be at a healthy comfortable stable body weight at the time of surgery. The cosmetic effect improves with lower BMIs. 
We recommend a regimen of diet and exercise to reach a safe and healthy body weight. If not achievable, one may consider a bariatric procedure such as a gastric sleeve to achieve dramatic weight loss. The procedure is performed by a bariatric surgeon on an out patient basis.
Visit a board certified plastic surgeon for in-person evaluation and discussion.
Best wishes...

Would I be a good candidate for Smart lipo? Hoping to remove fat from upper inner thighs (photo)

Answers (5)

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