[elizabeth39]

Hello everyone,
My name is liz, and I have my consult for a thighlift next month. I am kind of scared, but I really want them done. My insurance is going to pay for it because I am having trouble with chafing skin and boils. Has anyone had this done? Please any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I am 11 months out and i have lost 100lbs. I probably need 35 more pounds off at the most. Everyone says I am small enough. I would like to go down one more size. Thanks

[pretty woman]

THanks for the info. I may be right behind you on the thigh lift but hope to lose 50 more pounds. I am glad to hear insurance may cover it. Most of my weight was in my thighs.. not my torso.
Some have had lower lifts...which I guess includes the thighs. I am sure they will be on to give you info. You may also be able to do a Search on this site for thigh lifts.
Perfesser says we have a great Search engine.(I don't use it much.)
Good luck.

[barbara sutton]

Good luck, keep us posted. HUGS.

[dixieladybug]

You go for it my friend. You are looking good and I am so proud of you.

[Dr. Mel]

When you find out, please share information.

I made my first call to a local plastic surgeon regarding a panni. My abdominal skin has had a horrid rash. Had a biopsy and was told "spongiotic dermitits" or fancy term for "rash". They don't know a cause, but it is VERY itchy, my skin is scarred, and it comes back on hot days (which can be a cause).

This PS office told me they only do cosmetic procedures and do not take insurance. I haven't spent the time to look for another one that will do procedures that are "medically necessary". So, it would be appreciated you can share all you find out.

Thanks and good luck to you!

[not quite Barbie]

I've done a lot of researching into PS and had a couple of procedures (see the plastic surgery forum for pics). Just like bariatric surgeons have different rules, so do plastic surgeons. Here are some that are the most common:

Most won't do surgery until you are 1 1/2 - 2 years out. Why? One - because you are still losing weight in your second year and they hate it when they make you look great and then you lose more and get all saggy again. Two - and more importantly, you've just spent a year depleating all of your body's stores and you have malnutrition issues - neither of these are good for healing afterwards. Failure to heal well after PS will leave huge ugly scars. I suggest you follow some PS sites for awhile and learn about tissue necrosis and belly buttons dying and seromas. Be aware of what you are asking your body to go through.

Most surgeons don't want you under anesthesia for more than 6 hours so they will limit the number of procedures they will do at one time. They will also not do certain procedures together because of your need to use other body parts for mobility. For example, if you get a tummy tuck, they usually won't do your arms at the same time because you are going to need your arms to pull yourself up because your abs hurt too much to use. They don't like to do boobs and tummys at the same time because they're pulling the skin down for the tummy, which can throw the boobs off.

Thigh lift in particular: there are several procedures that affect the thighs. The lower body lift (some have called it the 360 because it goes all the way around) will fix the outer thighs somewhat by pulling the skin up and anchoring it to the hip bones. In addition, you get the tummy tuck which takes care of the front. Saggy, inner legs will NOT be affected by this procedure. You'll need an inner thigh lift for this. The cut usually starts along side your pubic hair and goes down the inside of the leg to the knee. (Some surgeons take the top part of the cut backwards into the butt crease instead of in the front).

Panni vs: tummy tuck. Insurance will typically pay for a panni if you have skin irritation under the folds. In a panni, they only cut off the part that is hanging below the pubis, which leaves the person looking pretty odd. All the saggy loosness will still be there above the pubis and the belly button is usually way down by the pubic mound. A tummy tuck will contour the shape, move the belly button up to where it belongs, and includes a tightening of the ab muscles which have been stretched apart by the fat that used to be there. Many PS will work with you to pay just the difference so I would recommend you find a way to get the extra money and go for the tummy tuck.

Saving money: PS is VERY expensive. There are a few options that may get it into a range you can afford. If you have a teaching hospital in the region you can find out if they have a residents program. It's where you let a resident doctor do the work (supervised by the attending) and they typically give a discount. Then there's Mexico - a lot of people choose to go out of country. They drawback is getting someone to take care of you if you have complications. Most US Docs will not take you on as a patient if the original surgeon was out of country.

Hope this helps.

[Tupper_Mom]

Question NQB...is there "an order" that the procedures should be done...my PS is willing to do it all, thighs, TT, boobs & arms, but I don't want him doing the boobs, waiting a bit and having the TT done and finding out I should have went the other way around when the boobs start heading south as the TT heals...I'm a flurry of questions, but would rather ask someone without a vested interest in it, if you know what I mean...

[not quite Barbie]

There's no particular order, you just have to leave some time in between for healing. There are even some surgeons who WILL do it all at once, though I personally wouldn't go that route. Too long under anesthesia and too much area needing to heal.

When I first went on my consults (and yes you should see multiple PS before you decide) they all asked me what I disliked the most. Each time I said my inner thighs, but guess what? When it came down to picking which ones to do, I did breast and lower body lift instead. Still havne't done my legs. I think I chose the others first because they helped my clothed image as much as my naked image. Clothing can hide the arms and inner thighs but not so much the boobs and hanging abdominal/butt skin. I did do my breasts and tummy at the same time but I didn't have a breast lift, just augmentation. And I was very unhappy with the results of my tummy-tuck - which was really just a panni removal.

Your PS will give you good advice as to what he will do together. Just don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions.

[Tupper_Mom]

Where I am, I don't hVe a ton of options when it comes to PS...thre truly is "one guy" but he's done other surgeries for me, so I'm familiar with him. He doesn't do panni from what he tells me, because the results aren't as good as a tummy tuck. So he's looking at doing the tummy tuck when he goes in to fix the hernia, as for my boobs, they're getting lifted and reduced...which for me is wierd. I have always hated them, they've always been big, I was in a bra (not training bra) by grade 5...because of them, guys treated me "different" and girls hated me for it...but for as much as I've always hated them, I was suddenly fear struck at the thought of suddenly being "without them" (or without the amount I've got) my thighs is a meh thing, along with my arms, they're those ones that if they get done, awesome, but I'm not going to be terribly upset if they don't...they don't really bother me THAT much

[Zenman]

I am having the inner thigh left done in 15 days. I did the abdominoplasty first, then the arms and chest in the second one. There is a medical credit card called carecredit which allowed me to finance it over 5 years! It is expensive and there is definitely a lot of recovery time, but I love to look in the mirror lol...good luck