Your procedure will only be done in a fully accredited facility. This is for your safety and to ensure optimum quality of care throughout the operation and the immediate postoperative period. Your anaesthetist, Dr Ross Foreman, will give you a general anaesthetic and you can expect the operation to take between 2-4 hours.

There are a number of techniques for lifting the thigh and buttock areas and this determines where the incisions are made and the subsequent scars. The scars will be shortest if you are having a medial (or inner) thigh lift only. The incisions in this instance will extend from the groin area around the inner part of the upper thigh to the buttock crease. If the entire thigh and buttock area is being lifted then the incisions are more lengthy and Dr Norris will show you where these are placed at the time of your consultation. The best option for you is something you will decide with Dr Norris after a complete assessment.

To further balance the result after surgical excision of the excess skin and fat you may opt to have liposuction to these areas as well.

At the end of the operation drains may be placed beneath the newly lifted tissue. If this is the case they are usually removed the following day. The incisions are closed with absorbable sutures to save you the inconvenience of having them removed. A dressing is applied over the incisions and you will leave the hospital wearing a comfortable and supportive compression garment.

Many patients will go home the day after the surgery, but some will go home later than this. When you go home you will require a friend, family member or partner to drive you as you won’t be able to drive yourself for the first week. You will leave with written postoperative instructions, a prescription for pain-relief and antibiotics, and a follow-up appointment with Dr Norris for one week.

At home you will experience some mild discomfort for the first 2-3 days after the surgery. Some degree of discomfort is normal and your thigh and buttock areas will be slightly bruised, swollen, tender, and sensitive to touch. It is important that you wear the compression garment day and night for 4-6 weeks to reduce swelling and to help the skin tighten against your new contours. Symptoms settle quickly enough so that you can return to light daily activities by the end of the first week and some patients will also return to work around this time. However you should probably allow 2-3 weeks off work. More rigorous and strenuous exercise and activities should not be started for 6 weeks.

At one week after the procedure you will have a follow-up appointment with Dr Norris in the consulting rooms. This is to check on how you are feeling, make sure the wounds are healing without problem, change the dressings, and reassure you that your postoperative course is going to plan.

If at any time before this first follow-up appointment, or at any time after this you note a problem or have any concerns at all please contact Dr Norris immediately.

The scars will be at their most prominent at 6 weeks and may remain this way for a few months. However, they will then begin to fade and become much less noticeable. Dr Norris uses various methods to minimize the impact of your scars and recommends massaging and moisturizing the scars to help this process.