Thigh Lift in South Africa

A thigh lift is performed under general or epidural anesthetic. Your surgeon may create an incision in the groin area, then they may remove excess skin and fat. After that, your surgeon reshapes and tightens the underlying tissue, and the remaining skin is smoothed, lifted, and stitched into place at the incision site. Your doctor may also combine the procedure with liposuction.

Since thigh lift is often performed as an outpatient procedure, you should be able to leave the hospital on the same day of the surgery. However, the recommended total length of stay in South Africa is about 14 days since your doctor needs to remove the stitches within two weeks following the surgery.

You can expect to go back to work within 7 to 10 days after your surgery, but the full recovery period until you can resume physical activity may take about 4 to 6 weeks. Since the recovery period can vary from one person to another, make sure to ask your doctor about your recovery timeline, including when you can start doing intense exercise, heavy lifting, and other vigorous activities.

You will be given specific instructions regarding medication, wound care, diet, and exercise. You will likely need to attend a follow-up checkup with your plastic surgeon to monitor your healing progress. After you are fully healed, it is important for you to follow a healthy diet, have regular exercise, and maintain a healthy weight to retain the result of your thigh lift.

A thigh lift is generally safe and the success rate is high. However, you need to be aware that the procedure has some side effects and risks, such as poor wound healing, infection, bleeding, seroma, asymmetry, deep vein thrombosis, skin loss, persistent pain, skin discoloration, numbness, recurrent looseness of the skin, and allergic reaction to the anesthetic. 

If you do not like the idea of undergoing surgery or you are not an ideal candidate for the procedure, you may want to consider the alternatives, including liposuction, Vaser liposuction, and laser skin tightening. Consult with your plastic surgeon about which procedure is better for your situation.