The Thigh Lift Surgery Procedure

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The thigh lift surgery itself should now be relatively straightforward.  Any concerns before the surgery commences should still be raised, in order to quell unease.  It is also still possible to decline having the surgery, and this is an important patient right that you should not feel pressured into relinquishing.  If you are not comfortable about the procedure, the competence of the team to complete it to a satisfactory standard, or the strength of your reasons to do it, you are legally allowed to leave.  If you have paid a deposit, this will not (except under unusual circumstances) be returned.  Nevertheless, at the cost of a non-essential risk to your body and what is intended to be a permanent procedure, you should not feel afraid to exercise your right.

If you still consent to the procedure, you will be marked up by the surgeon with pen and changed into a gown suitable for surgery.  You may have some time to wait until the actual procedure commences, so it is a good idea to focus on relaxing and releasing tension before the operation. 

You will then by anaesthetised by a qualified anaesthetist, who will ensure you remain unconscious and pain-free without complication throughout the surgery.  You will be injected with the anaesthetic and encouraged to relax with a soothing voice and counting downwards.  This is usually a general anaesthetic, although occasionally a sedative is administered, together with a local anaesthetic on the thigh area when general anaesthetic is not deemed safe or appropriate for a patient.

The incision is then made, according to the place intended to be lifted.  This will be discussed during the consultation and made so that the scar that later forms will be as inconspicuous as possible.  Whether around the groin area, from the top of the thigh to the knee, or around the buttocks and hip, a piece of skin will removed, and the gap closed with stitches, tightening the skin across the thigh in the process.  The stitches are usually in several layers, with soluble sutures used beneath the epidermis (top skin layer) and regular sutures being used at the top of the skin layers.  It is common at this point to have drains inserted into the thigh in order to drain any blood or excess fluid that may seep out of the wound in the initial recovery period.
The surgery takes between two and three hours, depending on the size and complexity of the operation.  If combined with other surgical procedures, this may be considerably longer.

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