Are you worried about loose, sagging skin in your inner or outer thigh area? Do you have excess upper leg skin following massive, rapid weight loss? Do you think your self-confidence would improve significantly if your upper leg skin was tighter and smoother? If so, you may be a good fit for a thigh lift at Galanis Plastic Surgery in Beverly Hills, CA. Today, we’re taking a closer look at how long it takes to recover from this procedure and how to heal faster.
What Is the Recovery Time After a Thigh Lift?
You can generally expect your thigh lift recovery to take between four and six weeks to complete. During the first couple of weeks post-op, it is extremely important that you rest as much as possible. You should not anticipate working during this time, and some people don’t return to work until three or four weeks after surgery. After the first couple of weeks post-op, you can slowly start to resume your usual activities.
What Recovery Timeline Should I Roughly Expect?
During the first 24 hours post-op, you should not expect to walk as well as you usually do. If possible, you should set up a room on the ground floor of your home to recuperate so you don’t have to climb stairs. In fact, running, climbing stairs, squatting, and other activities that can significantly stretch the thigh tissue should be avoided during the initial phase of the recovery period.
It is highly advisable to take regular light, short walks to help you recover faster. However, you don’t need to worry about this during the first 72 hours post-op. Bed rest is recommended.
What Should I Expect a Week After Surgery?
If drains were placed at the end of your lift, you will most likely need to come in seven days after your procedure to have them removed. While at your one-week follow-up appointment, we will take a look at your incisions to ensure they are healing as they should. At this point, you should be going on short, gentle walks. These can be broken up into very small segments, but you should aim to get a total of 30 minutes of moderate cardio on most days.
What Should I Expect Two to Three Weeks After Surgery?
Depending on the scope of your procedure and job, you may be able to return to work two to three weeks after surgery. If you get both an inner and outer thigh lift, it is more likely that you will need to take three or four weeks off from work to focus on your recovery. During this portion of the recovery process, you should continue to avoid strenuous activities, like vigorous cardio and lifting heavy weights.
What Should I Expect Six Weeks After Surgery?
Six weeks after your procedure, you should expect to come in for another follow-up appointment. At this time, if you have been following aftercare guidelines carefully, you should be cleared to resume all of your usual activities, including vigorous cardio and intense anaerobic exercise.
What Can I Do to Heal Faster?
One of the most important things you can do to heal faster after this procedure is to wear prescription-strength compression garments for one month. At first, the compression garments will improve your recovery process because they will help to keep your sutured incisions in place. Once you are pretty well along in your recovery process, the compression garments become more important to help your slimmer contours become more readily apparent.
In addition to wearing compression garments for a full month after surgery, you can speed up your recovery process by eating nutritiously. If you take prescription analgesics after surgery, it is highly advisable to increase your soluble fiber intake. At the same time, you may want to increase your fluid intake. It is also important that you eat plenty of fruits and protein-packed vegetables. Here are some other tips for a smoother recovery:
Stay Hydrated
While individual hydration needs vary, drinking six to eight cups of water per day during the beginning of your recovery should suffice to keep you hydrated depending on your sex. Once your bed rest is over and you start exercising more, your fluid intake needs will increase.
Regardless of how far into your recovery you are, remember to check in with yourself every once in a while to verify if you’re adequately hydrated. Pale urine is the only reliable indicator of hydration. If you rely on feeling thirsty to tell you that you’re not sufficiently hydrated, you will be chronically dehydrated. The sensation of thirst is a lag indicator of insufficient hydration, and it is often confused as the sensation of hunger.
Sleep Well
Getting more sleep is another very important thing you can do to ensure your incisions heal as quickly as possible. Your body will work constantly to heal itself after your procedure, but most of its progress will be made while you are in the final stage of the sleep cycle. Therefore, setting yourself up for deep, uninterrupted sleep is ideal. It’s important to aim for uninterrupted sleep because you restart at the first sleep cycle stage every time you fall back asleep.
If you don’t feel well-rested when you wake up after a full night of sleep, you may not be spending enough time in the rapid eye movement stage of the sleep cycle. This is when your body gets most of its work done, like resting and healing itself. To improve the quality of your sleep, we strongly encourage you to minimize blue light exposure for a couple of hours before bed. You should also minimize caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine consumption in the evening.
Don’t Smoke or Drink Alcohol
To help you sleep more soundly at night, it is important to minimize nicotine consumption close to bedtime because it is a stimulant. For the same reason, you should try to stop consuming caffeine in the late evening, and you shouldn’t drink alcohol too late at night because it can impede your ability to sleep deeply. When it comes to surgery recovery, though, nicotine and alcohol consumption should be avoided entirely.
The reason these substances should be avoided while you are recovering from surgery is that they reduce the efficiency of your cardiovascular system. This vital system is important for your recovery because it transports the building blocks your skin needs to use to produce collagen so it can heal itself. The poorer your circulation is, the longer it will take these ingredients to get to your incisions.
Follow All Recovery Guidelines
You should also take care to follow all recovery guidelines if you want to heal from surgery as quickly as possible. Among the most important are to not sit for two weeks and not drive for three weeks.
Am I a Good Candidate for This Procedure?
We will advise you on whether you are a good candidate for this procedure during your initial consultation. Before a final determination is made, we will review your health very thoroughly to ensure this procedure will be safe for you. Furthermore, we will ensure your skin is free from irritation at the time of your procedure. If your health changes between your consultation and scheduled procedure, the procedure may need to be delayed while your health improves.
We also need to verify that this procedure will be an effective way for you to accomplish goals. Regardless of whether you’re considering a lift of your inner or outer thigh, you can give yourself a pretty good idea of what results you can expect at home. If you’re worried about your inner thighs, pinch your inner thigh skin and lift it towards your groin while standing in front of a mirror. If you have outer thigh concerns, squeeze your excess hip skin together.
Schedule Your Initial Consultation Today
After a thigh lift, you may need roughly four to six weeks to recover. During the first week or two after surgery, you should take time off from work and focus only on your recovery. To learn more about this procedure, including whether it’s right for you, contact us today at Galanis Plastic Surgery in Beverly Hills, CA to schedule your initial consultation. We look forward to meeting you and tailoring a treatment plan that helps you achieve all of your cosmetic goals.
