Almost 3 weeks post medial thigh lift. . .

I am doing a bit better each day. Legs are still quite swollen especially from knees down to toes.  At one point I was  5 lbs heavier than when I went into the hospital. I am now down to my day of surgery weight which still doesn't account for the 8 lbs removed from my upper thighs. Trying to be patient. I have never had swollen extremities and was surprised how painful it is on the joints and even how sensitive my skin is to the touch. I go back to Seattle one week from Monday for a followup. My incisions all seem to be healing nicely tho I can't stand to have my bare incisions touch one another.  I walk like an old cowboy who has ridden his last horse! Still taking pain pills but down to about 3 per days plus 3 extra strength Tylenol.

Karen, was this your first PS?  Do you regret doing it or would you do it again?  How long are you off work?  I'm sorry that I have so many questions but doing a full thigh lift is really plaguing me so I'm pestering everyone with questions.

I'm sorry you're still swollen.  It sounds really painful and annoying.  I hope that all that extra weight leaves you soon so that you can start to see more of your results.

I am 62 and had a lower body lift 3 years ago. This thigh lift recovery has been more difficult than the body lift I think because of the location of the incisions. But I am getting better. I would do it again as the end result will be well worth it. It was hard to exercise with the loose baggy skin between my thighs; kind of like baggy testicles on a female. Not a pretty sight. Ask away. I'll try to honestly answer any of your questions. There is a video on this site. It's very informative. Kind of glad I didn'****ch it until AFTER my surgery!

I'm a retired teacher so I don't have a recovery time frame. I will sub again but not until at least November!

Are you wearing some compression - like the Spanx with legs that go to knees or beyond?  I would think those would help you be able to walk a little more normal.  I also have a split "slip" thing that is made of nylon that keeps thighs from touching while walking or sitting.

Try to stay off feet with legs elevated when you can.

Best wishes.

I've been wearing soft cotton exercise shorts; not compression but snug fitting. They help a lot. I haven't wanted to tug anything over the incisions yet. I bought some extra extra large panty hose today. I will cut the legs off and see how those feel. I have a Spanx that goes from under breast to below knees but I think it would still be painful to put on. Here at home I walk around with a folded soft cotton towel between my legs. (TMI?) Vasoline on the incisions has also helped with the itching.

I find that elevating as high as possible is what helps the swelling. In bed I put 4 pillows and then drape my lower legs over them. I manage to get a few hours of sleep that way and it does help the swelling. Funny, my upper body is not retaining fluid at all.

 I hear you on the swelling! I gained 11lb right after my boob job (and have only come down 1lb so far). Wow, the thigh lift is supposed to be the hardest procedure. I also agree on the joints. I woke up from the surgery and the first thing I said was "my elbows really hurt!". Anyway, I'm in seattle too, it's been so nice here so hopefully the weather will hold up for your return. Good luck! 

The doctor that did the lower body lift said that it was much more complex and recovery longer than thigh lift. I beg to differ!!!

I had abdominoplasty and medial thigh lift 6 weeks ago and have had a variety of problems (my abdomin incision opened up and was infected; therefore, still packing the incision), but I am still having problems with swelling.  My knees are really bad after walking a while.  I do not know what I would do without my garment!  I woke up from surgery with a design veronique stage 1 with a 4"waist band that goes all the way to my calf.  I bought a secod one and wear it as often as I can still cause I seem to have "cankles" - (I have always had nice legs from the knee down so I notice a lot).
I totally get the concern of them touching, but it is much better with the garment!

Amy. When I had my lower body lift 3 years ago I had an area on each hip that took it seemed like foreverto heal. On my left hipbone I had an area about the size of a quarter that I thought was healing nicely. When I saw the doctor he was appalled. He opened it up, cleaned it out and "made it bigger to make it better". I had to pack it daily with some kind of sea kelp gauze that drew the infection out. So far my thigh lift incisions seem to be haling nicely. Today I bought some ex large support hose that I'm going to cut the legs out of. I just dread pulling anything up. Does your garment pull up or does it zip on the sides? I too never had large ankles even at 377 lbs. My feet and toes look like a bunch of breakfast sausages!

The stage one garments, have a hook and eye closure and a zipper over that.  Honestly, even from day one they did not hurt to put on over the incisions at all.