Body lifting


Thigh and buttock lift surgery is performed when a patient has excess skin rather than excess fat in the
thighs, hips and buttocks. Patients who have lost 50 pounds or more often benefit from one or both of these
procedures. Older patients with pronounced wrinkling of the skin can also benefit from thigh and buttock lift.

This surgery is designed to improve skin texture and underlying tissue that has become loose and flabby,
whether due to weight loss or aging.

If the skin has poor elasticity and will not contract with conventional liposuction, then body lifting
procedures may be indicated. Body lifting changes the texture of the skin by stretching it thereby making
the crepiness and wrinkling less apparent.

Body lifting is recommended in certain cases because liposuction cannot correct skin laxity. In fact,
liposuction alone can make the appearance of the skin worse in patients with poor skin elasticity.

As with liposuction, body lifting is not intended to correct obesity; patients should be at normal or
near-normal weight before surgery.

Incisions for a lower body lift are made around the hips and back so that the skin of the outer thigh and
buttock is lifted. The lower body lift may be combined with an abdominoplasty or a medial thigh lift.

All thigh and buttock lifts require general anaesthesia.

While scars will fade over time and will be kept as inconspicuous as possible, body lifting necessitates
long incisions that result in long scars. Dr. Guichon will make every effort to ensure that bathing suits and
undergarments will cover your scars. You should know, however, that the scars will be permanent and that
their final width, height and color are not entirely predictable.

Dr. Guichon will advise you during your consultation about the type of scar you can expect.

The most common complications of body lifting are haematoma (an accumulation of blood under the skin),
fluid accumulation (under then skin) and numbness of the skin. Both haematoma and fluid collection require
intervention to drain the blood or serum that has accumulated. Problems with healing after surgery are also
possible.

You should be able to sit comfortably one-two weeks after surgery. Normal activities can be resumed
during the second week and many people return to work the third week after surgery.

It can take 6-12 months to see the final result of body lifting surgery.