Lower Body Lift

The lower body lift surgery is performed for patients in New York City that desire improvement of the abdominal region, the thighs, and the buttocks. A lower body lift surgery is more common in patients after significant amount of weight loss. Unwanted excess tissue of the inner and outer thighs can be treated by direct excision of loose skin and excess fat for enhanced body contouring.

Commonly the lower body lift surgery is performed first, and the lateral thigh lift is performed at a later time to allow the lower body lift to heal. Often with a lateral thigh lift, the medial thigh does see some improvement from the natural spiral effect of the lateral lift. The severity of the medial thigh laxity will determine what variation of the medial thigh lift procedure will be performed. The buttocks can also be lifted in the lower body lift surgery procedure to improve the shape as well, and if the buttocks are flat, then procedures for augmenting the buttock can be performed. The lower body lift procedure usually takes between four to six hours, a standard lateral thigh lift may take about three to four hours, and a medial thigh lift usually takes between two and three hours each with a recuperation time of one to two weeks. Body lift plastic surgeon Dr. Wallach has presented at national meetings and published plastic surgery journal articles on lower body lift surgery procedures.

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About

A lower body lift surgery is performed to improve body contouring of the abdomen, the thighs, and buttocks region.  It is often performed for patients after massive amount of weight loss.

Candidates

A good candidate for a lower body lift surgery is a patient that desires lower body contour improvement most often due to loose hanging skin and/or excess skin in the region.

Cost

A lower body lift procedure fee can vary from $15-25K

Consultation

During your personal consultation with Dr. Wallach, you will spend a lot of time with the doctor reviewing your surgical goals. An exam will then be performed during your initial consultation and a surgical treatment plan for lower body lift will be discussed with you at length.

Risks

The risks of lower body lift procedure include poor wound healing, infection, seroma, hematoma, dysesthesia, unfavorable scarring, rebound laxity, and need for further procedures.

Procedure

A lower body lift procedure is performed under general anesthesia. Often the patient is placed prone first and the excess skin and excess fat is removed and closed with stitches that dissolve. The surgery patients are then re-positioned on their back and the abdominal area is treated.  This may include repair of muscle weakness or diastasis and then the excess skin and fat are removed.   The patient usually has drains and is placed in a binder or compression garment.

Patients usually have discomfort in the abdominal midline where the muscle weakness was treated.  They might have a few drains which are removed in the office during one of the post-op visits. In general, the sutures dissolve on their own.

Lower Body Lift

The lower body lift (LBL) in New York City includes a variety of procedures that can be used for removing excess skin, sagging skin and soft tissue of the lower abdomen, thighs, and buttocks, depending upon the severity of the redundancy. As a result, the abdomen is tightened, the pubic area is elevated, hip rolls are removed, the lateral thighs are elevated, and the buttock is raised as well. Often, an abdominal diastasis (a weakness of the connective tissue layer between the rectus muscles) will be tightened with sutures.

Buttock Lift

A buttock lift is often done in conjunction with a lower body lift (LBL) for patients in New York City. The incision is usually kept low just above the buttock crease. After your surgeon removes the excess skin and soft tissue from the area, the buttock is lifted. As an isolated procedure, a buttock lift is often performed in patients who have undergone previous abdominoplasty or extended abdominoplasty. It may be combined with buttock augmentation as well. The buttock lift procedure usually takes about two hours and recuperation time is about one week.

Buttock Augmentation

When patients undergo a lower body lift (LBL), or a buttock lift in New York City, many times their buttocks remain relatively flat. Sometimes augmentation of the buttock can be performed by rotating skin and soft tissue that otherwise would be discarded during a buttock lift into the flat area. Another modality to achieve buttock augmentation is to inject fat into the area (See Brazilian Buttock Lift). This fat can be obtained from other areas that have excess fat.

Circumferential Abdominoplasty

A circumferential abdominoplasty is a plastic surgery procedure in which a full abdominoplasty is performed in conjunction with a buttock lift. This is performed for soft tissue and sagging skin in the abdomen, hips, thighs, and buttocks region. Often, an abdominal diastasis is repaired as well and the mons pubis is raised. The final incision is kept low on the abdomen and extends around the lower back at the level of the buttock crease. This lower body lift procedure usually takes four to five hours and patients need one to two weeks to recuperate.

Fleur-de-lis circumferential abdominoplasty

This is a variation of the circumferential abdominoplasty in which a vertical component is added so that the final abdominal incision closure looks like an inverted “T”. This is performed when patients have significant upper midline abdominal skin and soft tissue laxity in addition to sagging skin in the lower torso. This lower body lift procedure takes four to six hours and patients need one to two weeks to recuperate.

Mons Pubis Reduction

Commonly, mons pubis laxity is treated during an abdominoplasty or circumferential procedure. Elevation of this area is performed to re-create a youthful mons region in both men and women. The final incision closure is usually transverse, and is part of the abdominoplasty or circumferential procedure closure. If the mons is very wide, a vertical excision can be performed. Liposuction is occasionally performed to de-bulk the region.

Crescent Lift

A crescent excision pattern is a common variation for patients in New York City with moderate laxity of the upper inner thigh. This will not treat the lower thigh adequately and is the more common plastic surgery procedure performed in patients who have not had significant weight loss. The incision is usually confined to the groin crease and the inner buttock region. The procedure usually takes two hours and the recuperation takes one to two weeks.

Extended Medial Thigh Lift

This is performed in patients with severe laxity of the inner thigh that extends toward the knee. This is more commonly performed in patients with massive weight loss. An “L” shaped incision pattern is the final resulting closure. There is a groin crease incision as well as a longitudinal incision down the inner thigh toward the knee region. During the procedure, the plastic surgeon ensures removing excess skin and soft tissue within the pattern, and the result is an incision closure like the inseam of a pair of pants. For more information on the techniques and types of incisions used in a thigh lift in New York, visit our blog.

Recovery

You should expect that a lot of the excess skin and excess fat was removed, and the abdomen is flatter during the lower body lift. You might experience some rebound laxity as the tissues heal and the swelling subsides. Even though individual results from this life changing procedure may vary, you will soon enjoy the body contours you always desired.

Results

Your body lift results will be lifelong, and you can enjoy your new contour as long as you maintain a healthy and active lifestyle, following a regular diet and exercise regimen. Even though you will be able to see your body contouring results immediately, the final individual results may vary. With removal of the excessive and loose skin, you can enjoy a slimmer silhouette.

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