Is a thigh lift the same as a thighplasty?

Yes. Thighplasty is the medical name for a thigh lift, and a medial or inner thigh lift is the version Dr. Cat Begovic performs most: the loose skin of the inner thigh is removed through an incision hidden in the groin crease, with a vertical part down the inner thigh when more skin has to go, and the thigh is lifted upward and inward.

What is the difference between a mini thigh lift and a full thigh lift?

The incision. A mini thigh lift removes a crescent of skin from the top of the inner thigh through an incision that stays in the groin crease, for mild laxity; a full thigh lift adds a vertical incision down the inner thigh, hidden just behind the midline, when loose skin runs down the leg. Dr. Cat decides with the pinch test at the consultation.

Where are thigh lift scars, and will they show?

Thigh lift scars sit in the groin crease and, in a full thigh lift, down the inner thigh just behind the midline, where neither a front nor a back view shows them. Dr. Cat closes the incision in multiple layers and starts silicone sheets at two weeks; the scar is a thin, soft line at one year and keeps fading for up to 18 months.

How long is thigh lift recovery?

Thigh lift recovery takes about two weeks before returning to work and six weeks before strenuous exercise. You walk carefully from the first night, spend that night in a plastic surgery aftercare center with a nurse, wear a measured compression garment for six to eight weeks, and see the swelling settle over four to six weeks. Most of Dr. Cat's patients manage with Tylenol.

Who is a good candidate for a thigh lift after weight loss?

A good candidate for a thigh lift after weight loss has loose inner thigh skin that rubs or shows through clothes, a weight that has been stable for about six months and is within reach of the goal, and no nicotine. A GLP-1 medication such as semaglutide is stopped 1 to 2 weeks before surgery and resumed once healed, at 2 to 3 weeks.

Does a thigh lift hurt?

Not much. With the gentle technique Dr. Cat has developed there is minimal pain after a thigh lift: the thighs feel tight but should not be painful, and most patients take Tylenol rather than the prescription she provides in case, because those medications cause constipation and bloating. You wake with a numbing solution in the treated area and spend the first night with a nurse.

How long does thigh lift surgery take, and do I go home the same day?

A thigh lift takes four to seven hours under general anesthesia with a board-certified physician anesthesiologist, depending on how much skin is removed, and you do not go home the same day: the first night is spent in a plastic surgery aftercare center with a nurse, with gurney transport from the surgery center, and Dr. Cat sees you the next day.

Does a thigh lift treat the outer thighs?

No. A medial thigh lift treats the inner thigh only. The outer thigh is usually a fat problem, treated with liposuction; the hollow below the hip bone is filled with your own fat rather than lifted; and loose skin of the outer thigh and hip after a large weight loss is assessed with the extended tummy tuck, whose incision continues past the hip bones.

Do I need to stay in Beverly Hills after a thigh lift?

At least two weeks. Dr. Cat sees you the day after surgery and through the first two weeks, when scar treatment starts, and out-of-town patients fly home once she clears them. About 30 percent of her patients travel from out of state or abroad; their consultation is a private video consultation through OnPatient, the HIPAA-secure patient portal, with photographs of the thighs.

Thigh Lift in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles

Q: How much does a thigh lift cost in Beverly Hills?

Dr. Cat Begovic's surgeon's fee for a thigh lift is $55,500 to $82,500; the operating room and anesthesia are quoted at the consultation. Fees are typical ranges; a more complex case can cost more. How much skin is removed and how far down the thigh the incision goes set the fee; liposuction of the inner thighs adds $3,500 plus one hour of operating room time.

Q: Can a thigh lift be combined with liposuction?

Yes. A thigh lift with liposuction is the usual plan when the inner thigh carries fat as well as loose skin: Dr. Cat performs the liposuction first, with thin cannulas and no heat devices, and the lift then removes the emptied skin. Liposuction of the inner thighs added to a thigh lift is $3,500 plus one hour of operating room time, quoted at your consultation.

Thigh Lift in Beverly Hills

Thighplasty (medial thigh lift: the loose skin of the inner thigh removed through an incision hidden in the groin crease, with liposuction of the inner thighs when fat has to go too) by Dr. Cat Begovic, MD, FACS, board-certified plastic surgeon with two surgical residencies, head and neck surgery and plastic and reconstructive surgery, Harvard-educated and UCLA trained

A thigh lift (thighplasty, usually a medial thigh lift) reshapes and tightens the inner thighs: the loose skin is pulled upward and inward and the excess removed through an incision hidden in the groin crease, with liposuction of the inner thighs first when there is fat to remove as well as skin. Most patients who come to Dr. Cat Begovic for a thigh lift have lost a large amount of weight and are left with skin that rubs, chafes and gets in the way of clothes; some have loose inner thigh skin after over-aggressive liposuction elsewhere. Dr. Cat performs every thigh lift herself at her Rodeo Drive practice in Beverly Hills, one major surgery per surgical day, for patients from across Los Angeles and from out of state and abroad.

Dr. Cat's surgeon's fee for a thigh lift is $55,500 to $82,500; the operating room and anesthesia are quoted at your consultation, because the operating time depends on your anatomy and on what is treated together. Surgeon's fees are typical ranges: a more complex case can cost more, and your fee is set at your consultation and is final only in your written quote. With her special technique, patients have a quick recovery, walking a few hours after surgery and most only needing to take Tylenol and no prescription pain medication.

15-minute Patient Concierge call, no obligation. The consultation with Dr. Cat is $500, credited toward your surgery.

Medically reviewed by Dr. Cat Begovic, MD, FACS

Board-certified plastic surgeon, trained in both head and neck surgery and plastic and reconstructive surgery. Harvard-educated, UCLA trained. Updated October 3, 2026

What makes Dr. Cat's thigh lift different

The decisions behind a smooth inner thigh and a scar nobody sees.

A scar hidden in the groin crease, behind the midlineThe front of the incision sits in the groin crease and any vertical part just behind the midline, barely visible from the front or the back, and only as long as the skin removal requires.

Both legs compared, every step by Dr. CatThe skin removed is measured, the flap tailored to the best possible shape, and the two legs compared throughout for symmetry.

Liposuction first, when fat is part of the problemThin cannulas and no heat devices thin the inner thigh before the lift removes the emptied skin.

One major surgery per surgical day, the first night with a nurseA physician anesthesiologist in her QUAD A accredited surgery center, nothing else that day, gurney transport to an aftercare center, and Tylenol for most patients.

What is a thigh lift?

A thigh lift is skin surgery. Liposuction of the inner thigh only reduces the pinch of fat under the skin; it does not tighten or pull the skin. A thigh lift removes the excess skin, with the fat inside it, and re-drapes the inner thigh upward and inward so the leg is smooth from the groin down. The extent varies greatly with your anatomy, from a crescent of skin at the top of the thigh to a long wedge down the inner thigh.

Some patients had excess inner thigh skin after over-aggressive liposuction in the past, the case our revision liposuction page sends here, because more suction cannot fix skin. Our post on what a thigh lift is covers the basics.

Who is a good candidate for a thigh lift?

The test is skin, not fat: thin skin that folds under the fingers needs a lift; thick, springy fat needs liposuction. Good skin elasticity is not required, because the loose skin is removed rather than asked to shrink.

You may be a good candidate if

Loose, hanging skin of the inner thighs after a large weight loss, after pregnancy or with age
Thighs that rub and chafe, or skin that gets in the way of shorts and swimwear
A weight stable for about six months and within reach of your goal, good health, and nicotine stopped
A scar in the groin crease, and sometimes down the inner thigh, accepted in exchange for a smooth leg

Not yet, or a different plan, if

Your weight is still coming down: skin removed now loosens again with further loss
You take a GLP-1 medication such as semaglutide or tirzepatide: it is stopped 1 to 2 weeks before surgery and resumed once healed, at 2 to 3 weeks
The thigh is full rather than loose, with skin that springs back: liposuction alone is the plan
You cannot stop nicotine for two months, or a medical condition is not yet controlled

Thigh lift after weight loss

A thigh lift after weight loss is the operation most of Dr. Cat's thigh lift patients have. Skin stretched by weight does not shrink back when the weight goes, and no exercise shortens it. After a large loss the loose skin rarely stops at the thighs: the abdomen, the mons and the breasts have their own operations, planned across separate surgical days within body contouring after weight loss; our post on skin removal after weight loss explains how they differ. Dr. Cat asks weight-loss patients to hold a stable weight for about six months first, because more weight lost afterward means loose skin again.

Mini thigh lift or full thigh lift: which incision?

The incision pattern depends on how much skin has to come out and how far down the thigh it hangs; the pinch test at the consultation decides it.

Medial (inner) thigh lift: the incision hidden in the groin crease

The medial thigh lift, the type Dr. Cat performs most often, removes a wedge of skin and fat from the inner thigh and lifts the thigh upward and inward. The incision looks like the number 7: the front part is hidden in the groin crease, and when more skin has to go a vertical part runs down the inner thigh, hidden just slightly behind the midline so it is barely visible from the front or the back, and only as long as the skin removal requires.

Mini thigh lift: the short-scar groin incision

A mini thigh lift (crescent thigh lift) removes a thin, crescent-shaped strip of skin and fat from the top of the inner thigh through an incision that follows the groin crease, with no vertical part. It suits patients without a lot of excess skin who want the top third of the thigh smoother, with a smaller surgery and a faster recovery; in Dr. Cat's words, patients who qualify for a short scar thigh lift are able to wear shorts.

Full thigh lift: the vertical incision

When the loose skin runs most of the way down the inner thigh, as it often does after a large weight loss, the vertical part of the 7 is needed. The trade is a longer scar for a smooth leg; Dr. Cat keeps it behind the midline and as short as the skin allows.

Outer thigh, lateral thigh and the lower body lift

A medial thigh lift treats the inner thigh and nothing else. The outer thigh is usually a fat problem, treated with liposuction, and the hollow below the hip bone is filled with your own fat in hip dip surgery rather than lifted. Loose skin of the outer thigh and hip after a large weight loss is assessed with the trunk, because the incision of an extended tummy tuck continues past the hip bones toward the back. The practice does not perform a full circumferential lower body lift: in Dr. Cat's experience it has a higher complication rate, especially wound healing or the incision opening, because the patient is always sleeping or putting pressure on part of a scar that runs all the way around.

Thigh lift scars: where the scar sits and how Dr. Cat places it

Thigh lift scars sit in the groin crease, under underwear and swimwear, and, in a full thigh lift, down the inner thigh just behind the midline, where neither a front nor a back view shows them. Dr. Cat works through the thinnest incisions she can and closes them in multiple layers, so the scar is thin, flat and low, without bunching, irregularities or step-offs. Scar treatment starts about two weeks after surgery with silicone sheets, then a scar gel; most of her patients never need laser scar therapy. The scar looks its worst between months two and four and at one year is a thin, soft line that keeps improving for up to 18 months; keep it out of the sun for six to twelve months. Our post on thigh lift scars after one year shows each phase.

Thigh lift with liposuction

A thigh lift with liposuction is the usual plan when the inner thigh carries fat as well as loose skin: the liposuction is performed first, by Dr. Cat, with thin cannulas and no heat devices, and the lift then removes the emptied skin; two of the three cases on this page had both. Liposuction of the inner thighs added to a thigh lift is $3,500 plus one hour of operating room time, quoted at your consultation. Our post on loose skin after lipo explains why fat removal alone can make a loose thigh look looser.

How Dr. Cat does it

Dr. Cat is a board-certified plastic surgeon who completed two surgical residencies, one in head and neck surgery, microvascular and facial reconstructive surgery, and advanced training in general plastic and reconstructive surgery, Harvard-educated and UCLA trained. A thigh lift is an operation about skin: how much to take, where to hide the line, and how to keep the two legs matching.

The markings

Before surgery Dr. Cat marks you with a surgical pen, so you know exactly where the incision will be before you are asleep.

The technique: measured, tailored, compared

If liposuction is part of the plan, it is done first. Dr. Cat then makes the thigh lift incision, elevates the tissues carefully, measures the amount of skin that can be removed and tailors the flap to create the best possible shape, comparing both legs throughout to create as much symmetry as possible. Several further technical details of her own produce a thin, nearly invisible low scar, closed in multiple layers.

Anesthesia, surgery day and the first night

The thigh lift is performed under general anesthesia with a board-certified physician anesthesiologist, in Dr. Cat's QUAD A accredited surgery center on Rodeo Drive, with a numbing solution in the treated area. The surgery takes four to seven hours, depending on how much skin is removed, how far down the thigh the incision goes and whether liposuction is added, and the operating room is booked for longer than the surgery itself, for anesthesia, positioning and the garment; Dr. Cat schedules one major surgery per surgical day and performs every step herself. A measured compression garment goes on before you wake, and the first night is spent in a plastic surgery aftercare center with a nurse, with gurney transport from the surgery center.

Preparing for surgery

Dr. Cat's team gives you the pre-operative instructions: smoking and every nicotine product stopped two months before surgery, because nicotine restricts the blood supply the groin incision depends on; aspirin, anti-inflammatories, supplements and alcohol stopped two weeks before; medical clearance and blood tests 14 days before; nothing to eat or drink after midnight; and someone to drive you and stay with you after the aftercare night.

Bilateral medial inner thigh lift with liposuction: Dr. Cat in the operating room

Real surgical footage, shown with the patient's consent.

Thigh lift recovery, week by week

With the gentle technique Dr. Cat has developed there is minimal pain and a quick recovery; the thighs feel tight but should not be painful. She provides a prescription for a few pain pills in case, and most patients never need it: those medications cause constipation and bloating, and Tylenol is enough.

The night of surgeryYou go by gurney to a plastic surgery aftercare center, where a nurse looks after you and gets you up to walk, carefully, that evening. Tylenol for most patients.
Day oneThe aftercare center brings you to the office for your first post-op visit with Dr. Cat, then home with someone to stay with you.
The first two weeksWalk very carefully, with no wide steps or stretching of the groin; swelling is normal for a few weeks. Allow two weeks before returning to work, sooner if you work from home.
Two weeksDr. Cat checks the incisions and starts scar treatment with silicone sheets. Out-of-town patients stay at least two weeks after surgery.
Six weeksStrenuous exercise resumes; the measured compression garment comes off at six to eight weeks.
Three to six monthsNoticeable swelling settles by four to six weeks; mild residual swelling can linger for three to six months. The contour you see now is the shape you keep at a stable weight.
One yearThe scar is a thin, soft line that keeps improving for up to 18 months. The skin removed does not come back; a stable weight protects the result.

Thigh lift before and after: what to look for

In thigh lift before and after photos, look at the space between the thighs from the front and the line of the inner thigh from the back: a good result reads as a smooth, straight inner line without folds and no scar visible from either view, photographed six months or later. The three cases on this page are medial inner thigh lifts: THL-TL1 lost about 150 pounds and THL-0710 lost 70 pounds, both with liposuction of the inner thighs; THL-TL2 is a young woman lifted without liposuction. See the thigh lift before and after photos for every view.

Risks of a thigh lift, and how Dr. Cat reduces them

A thigh lift carries the risks of any surgery plus the ones the groin adds.

What can go wrong

Wound separation at the groin crease, where the incision sits in a moist, moving fold under tension
A scar that widens, thickens or migrates down the thigh, or holds pigment longer on darker skin
Lymphatic swelling: a fluid collection in the thigh, or prolonged swelling of the lower leg
Asymmetry, residual loose skin, or numbness of the inner thigh, usually temporary
Distortion of the labia when a lift is pulled too tight at the groin
Bleeding, infection, blood clots and anesthesia reactions, all rare

How Dr. Cat reduces these risks

Careful selection: a stable weight for about six months, nicotine stopped two months before, medical clearance and lab work
The incision in the crease and behind the midline, the skin removal measured, and a closure in multiple layers
The tension set so the groin closes without pulling on the labia, and both legs compared throughout
A physician anesthesiologist in her QUAD A accredited surgery center, one major surgery that day, and the first night with a nurse
Careful walking, the garment, scar treatment from two weeks, and follow-up visits through the first year

Revision thigh lift

A revision thigh lift corrects a thigh lift done elsewhere that healed badly: a scar in front of the midline where it shows, a scar that widened or migrated down the thigh, folds left at the top of the thigh, asymmetry, or a lift pulled so tight that it distorts the labia. A scar already present is revised, not erased, skin that was removed cannot be put back, and a second surgery through scar tissue has a longer recovery than a first. Dr. Cat's surgeon's fee for a revision thigh lift is $75,000 to $95,000; the operating room and anesthesia are quoted at your consultation, and the revision consultation is $1,500, credited toward surgery.

How much does a thigh lift cost in Beverly Hills?

Dr. Cat's surgeon's fee for a thigh lift is $55,500 to $82,500; the operating room and anesthesia are quoted at your consultation, because the operating time depends on your anatomy and on what is treated together. Surgeon's fees are typical ranges: a more complex case can cost more, and your fee is set at your consultation and is final only in your written quote. What moves the fee is how much skin is removed and how far down the thigh the incision goes; a larger frame or more skin sits toward the top of the range.

The quote is itemized: the surgeon's fee, the operating room and anesthesiologist, the aftercare night with gurney transport, your measured compression garment (a compression pant to below the knee) and Arnica, and every follow-up visit. Liposuction of the inner thighs adds $3,500 plus one hour of operating room time. The quote is valid for six months; insurance does not cover a thigh lift.

The price reflects one surgeon who marks, measures, tailors and closes both legs herself, one major surgery per surgical day, a physician anesthesiologist for the whole case and an accredited facility; a revision costs more than the operation done well. Our cost guides explain what a quote from this practice is made of.

Consultation fee, deposit and financing

A consultation with Dr. Cat is $500, or $1,500 for a revision consultation, credited in full toward your surgery. Your date is booked once the quote and the pre-op paperwork are signed and the $2,500 deposit is paid. To pay over time, the practice partners with Cherry, its primary financing partner, and also accepts CareCredit and Alphaeon Credit; see financing and payment plans.

Your consultation with Dr. Cat

It starts with a free 15-minute discovery call with our Patient Concierge, who books your consultation: in person on Rodeo Drive or, for out-of-town patients, a private video consultation through OnPatient, the HIPAA-secure patient portal, with photographs of the thighs. Dr. Cat examines the inner thighs standing, pinches the skin to judge how much can be removed and whether fat is part of the problem, looks at the outer thigh, the mons and the abdomen, and tells you which incision your thigh needs. You leave with an itemized written quote.

Clothes that fit, and legs that no longer rub

Thigh lift is an extremely life-changing surgery. My patients feel that they can finally fit into clothes that they like without the extra hanging thigh skin getting in the way. For patients who I am able to do a short scar thigh lift for, they are able to wear shorts. Many patients are able to exercise better and have increased comfort without all the rubbing that the excess fat or skin created between their legs. It is extremely important to me that I create the best possible result and thigh lift incisions without any bunching, irregularities or step-offs, so you have a smooth and seamless result.

Dr. Cat Begovic, MD, FACSBoard-certified plastic surgeon, Beverly Hills

Book a free discovery call

A smooth inner thigh, and a scar you can hide

The loose skin of the inner thigh removed through an incision hidden in the groin crease, liposuction added when fat is part of the problem, every step by Dr. Cat herself, the first night with a nurse, and a recovery most patients manage with Tylenol. It starts with a free 15-minute discovery call.

15-minute Patient Concierge call, no obligation. The consultation with Dr. Cat is $500, credited toward your surgery.

A QUAD A accredited surgery center in a Beverly Hills penthouse

Every consultation and every surgery is performed by Dr. Cat herself, with a board-certified physician anesthesiologist, in the practice's own accredited operating suite at 421 N. Rodeo Drive.

421 N. Rodeo Drive, Penthouse 4
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, by appointment

Thigh Lift in Beverly Hills

What makes Dr. Cat's thigh lift different

What is a thigh lift?