Thigh lift

Plan on 10 to 14 days for desk-based work and 4 to 6 weeks if your job involves standing, lifting, or physical labour. Sitting is uncomfortable for the first couple of weeks because of where the incisions sit.

A medial thigh lift hides the scar in the groin crease, where it is largely covered by underwear and most swimwear. A vertical or outer thigh lift leaves a longer scar that fades over 6 to 12 months but will not fully disappear.

No. A thigh lift treats loose skin and contour, not excess fat, and we want you within a stable, healthy weight range before operating. Doing it before your weight settles tends to undo the result.

Only if your skin still has good elasticity. Once the skin is loose — typically after major weight loss or with age — liposuction alone leaves the thighs looking deflated rather than lifted.

No. Cellulite comes from fibrous bands tethering the skin down while fat pushes up between them, and a thigh lift does not release those bands. Tightening the skin envelope can make the dimpling look less pronounced, but the cause sits deeper than the surgery reaches.

Only the ones sitting on skin that is being removed, which is usually the upper inner or outer thigh. Marks outside the excision area stay, though they often look tighter and less obvious once the surrounding skin is no longer slack.

Walking starts on day one. Light cardio usually resumes around week 6 with surgeon clearance, and lower-body strength training, running, and yoga are typically held off until around 3 months.

Yes, with planning. Plan to stay in Istanbul for 7 to 9 days so the drains come out and the surgeon can clear you before you fly, since flying too soon raises the risk of a blood clot. We arrange your follow-up before you leave and stay in contact for twelve months after.

You need a stable weight, good general health, and no medical conditions that impair healing or raise surgical risk — poorly controlled diabetes, clotting disorders, and ongoing nicotine use are common reasons to postpone. Surgeons also want a commitment to keeping weight and fitness steady afterwards, since large changes undo the result.

This is the most common reason people have one. After massive weight loss the skin of the upper leg has been stretched past the point where it can shrink back, and the folds left behind chafe, trap moisture, and make walking uncomfortable — so here the surgery is as much functional as cosmetic. We ask that you are at or near a stable target weight and in good general health first; most candidates are between 18 and 55. Where the looseness runs the full length of the inner thigh, the extended vertical technique is usually the one that fits.

Compared with other body procedures, it sits relatively low on the pain scale. Short- and long-acting local anaesthetics are placed in the area during surgery, so the first hours are well covered, and most patients are off strong pain medication by the end of the first week. Soreness peaks around days three to five and eases steadily from there.

Injectable leg fillers — usually hyaluronic acid — can adjust the contour of the leg temporarily, but they dissolve over time and cannot remove loose skin. When skin excess is the problem, which is the usual reason for a thigh lift, surgery is the only lasting correction.

Yes, for patients healthy enough for a longer anaesthetic. It is commonly paired with a tummy tuck or folded into a mommy makeover, and after major weight loss it forms part of a lower body lift, where the outer thigh incision follows the same line. Fat taken from the thighs can also be purified and used for a fat transfer to another area in the same session.

The price moves with the surgeon's experience, the technique and how much tissue is removed, the facility, and what pre- and post-operative care the package includes. Combining the lift with another procedure, such as liposuction or a tummy tuck, also changes the total. In Istanbul the all-in range starts from €2,750 and typically runs to €5000.