The Center for Cosmetic Surgery
725 Heritage Road #100
Golden, CO 80401
Phone: (303) 278-2600
Monday – Friday: 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
The Center for Cosmetic Surgery
755 Heritage Road #100
Golden, CO 80401
Phone: (303) 279-6100
Monday – Friday: 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
The Center for Cosmetic Surgery
501 South Cherry Street #900
Denver, CO 80246
Phone: (303) 951-2100
Monday – Friday: 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
The Center for Cosmetic Surgery
501 South Cherry Street #900
Denver, CO 80246
Phone: (303) 951-2102
Tuesday – Friday: 8:00 a.m.–5 p.m.
The Center for Cosmetic Surgery
6985 Tutt Blvd Ste 110
Colorado Springs, CO 80923
Phone: (719) 380-1823
Monday: 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
Tuesday – Friday: 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
Lower body, buttock, and thigh lift procedures remove excess skin and fat and tighten the remaining tissues to enhance body contours after significant weight loss. After you’ve done the hard work and shed the pounds, the skin frequently remains loose and excessive. No matter how hard you try, you can’t alter your skin’s elasticity. At The Center for Cosmetic Surgery, our board-certified plastic surgeons perform lower body, buttock, and thigh lift procedures to help patients from the metro Denver area and Colorado Springs feel more comfortable and confident.
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The ideal candidate for a body lift is someone who is not obese and has excessive, loose skin around the midsection and thighs, along with sagging buttocks. The skin laxity and poor tone may be related to the normal aging process and genetics, pregnancy, or significant weight loss. Usually, people who have lost a large amount of weight through either dieting and exercise or weight loss surgery, such as a gastric bypass, are excellent candidates for a lower body lift.
Body lift surgery is not an ideal procedure for those who are presently obese. Although a significant amount of fat is removed during a body lift with liposuction and direct excision, it is more difficult to remove the necessary amount of skin in an obese patient because of the increased weight and stress on healing. Therefore, the ultimate aesthetic result is compromised and the risk of wound complications increases. The patient need not be thin before undergoing a body lift, but the operation must be individualized and carefully planned for each person to avoid a problem.
The excess skin and fat are removed at the hip level so as to hide the scars beneath your bikini or underwear. There are two types of body lifts. One entails a lifting of the buttocks and outer thighs tapering off into the inner thigh region. This is best performed on a patient who has minimal laxity of the abdomen or has already had a tummy tuck (abdominoplasty). The second type involves combining the buttock and outer thigh lift with a tummy tuck. This is the more common approach since most people with laxity of the thighs and buttocks also have a loose abdomen. Once the redundant skin and fat are removed, the remaining tissues are tightened and sewn together.
Most patients benefit from combining a lower body lift to elevate the thighs and buttocks with abdominoplasty to completely rejuvenate the mid and lower torso.
The final location of the scars is individualized to each patient. Marking prior to surgery takes approximately one hour in order to ensure a satisfactory position of the scars based upon your clothing. Generally, the scar extends from just above the buttock crease, slightly curving upward and forward over the hip and around to the groin region. When the procedure is combined with an abdominoplasty, the scar continues down into the pubic hair in the same way a tummy tuck alone is performed. Most patients find the scar a very acceptable trade-off for getting rid of all the loose skin and tightening up the lower body. The scar is initially firm and red, but over several months will fade and smoothen to become a fine white line.
The operation takes between four and six hours, depending upon your specific needs.
The Aesthetic Society membership applies to select physicians within the practice.
Our consultations are your time to meet with a board-certified plastic surgeon to discuss your aesthetic vision, explore your procedure options, and develop a personalized surgical plan. You’ll also receive clear pricing and details about available financing options to help you move forward with confidence.
Smoking has tremendous negative effects on wound healing. The small vessels that supply blood to the tissues shrink up and prevent the necessary nutrients for healing to get to the wound. Wound complication rates and skin death are much higher in smokers. Additionally, the rate of wound infection is also significantly increased in smokers because of the impeded blood flow. Therefore, a patient needs to stop smoking for a minimum of two weeks prior to surgery to decrease the risk of these complications.
General anesthesia is the preferred method of achieving adequate sedation and pain control during a body lift. You will be entirely asleep for the duration of the procedure and awaken in recovery before you know it. Board-certified anesthesiologists administer the anesthesia and care for you before, during, and after surgery so that you have a comfortable and safe experience.
After body lift surgery, you will feel mid-body tightness and discomfort that will gradually subside over the first one to two weeks. Elastic compression garments are worn for several weeks followed by a couple of weeks during times of activity. Usually, patients are able to return to non-strenuous work activities after two weeks. Low impact exercise can begin around four weeks after surgery and by six weeks, activity is unrestricted.
To learn more about how our plastic surgeons in Denver can help you rediscover your confidence with a body lift, please request a consultation online or call (303) 278-2600.
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