You’ve done sit-ups, core twists, lunges, and squats in order to tone up your abdomen and thighs. You’ve ridden miles on a stationary bike and climbed the equivalent of Mt. Everest on a stair stepper. You’ve followed a low-fat, balanced diet, and cut out sugar and carbohydrates. Finally, all of your efforts seem to have paid off.

Although you have definitely lost the weight that you wanted, you still have excess skin on your abdomen and thighs and loose abdominal muscles because they got overstretched before you lost weight. What can you do to tighten up your abdominal and thigh areas as the finishing touches to all those hours of exercise?

Dr. Paul Pin has seen many patients who are seeking to address these same problems. He recommends combining a tummy tuck and a thigh lift in order to get yourself looking toned and fit as your reward for your weight loss. Below, Dr. Pin explains how each procedure is performed.

Tummy Tuck (Abdominoplasty)

A tummy tuck procedure is a type of body lift, meaning that it is designed to remove excess skin and underlying tissue, and tighten up loose underlying muscle. Although a body lift can be performed on any number of areas on the body (as you can see below with the thigh lift), the abdomen is the most popular area for performing this type of procedure.

Dr. Pin will start with a horizontal incision that goes from one hip across to the other. This will allow him to lift up the skin and underlying tissue for the lower abdominal region, tighten up loose muscle by suturing it together, and then remove any excess tissue and skin before suturing it back into place. If the upper abdomen also needs to be lifted, this can be done through another incision near the belly button.

Thigh Lift

A thigh lift procedure can be done to either the inner or outer thighs, or both at the same time. There are a number of techniques that Dr. Pin can use, but the most versatile is what is known as a medial thigh lift. For this, he will make an incision from just below the groin at the front of the inner thigh, following around the upper leg around to the buttock. The incision follows that of the leg opening for a pair of panties. With this incision, Dr. Pin can remove excess skin from the inner or outer thigh. It also provides Dr. Pin with access to lifting the front or back of the thigh if needed.

You’ve done most of the work involved in getting into better shape. All of that time spent cycling, climbing, squatting, and lunging (not to mention turning down high fat treats) has finally gotten you almost all the way to where you want to be. Let Dr. Pin help you over that final hurdle with a tummy tuck and thigh lift procedure as the finishing touch.