How Much Does A Body Lift Cost?

Q: I am interested in a full body lift. How much does that cost?

A: The term ‘full body lift’ is a rather vague term from a plastic surgery standpoint. Even though it is a widely used term for a plastic surgery procedure, I have learned that what it means to a patient can be very different from what it means to a plastic surgeon.

A body lift is  a specific procedure that is almost exclusively used in the extreme weight loss patient, usually after bariatric surgery. It is essentially a 360 degree or a circumferential tummy tuck. It is best perceived as a combined tummy tuck (front) and buttock lift (back) done together through a single incision that rums around the waistline. It is done to deal with the extreme skin excess that develops after a lot of weight loss with an abdominal overhang, sagging thigh skin, and a deflated and droopy buttocks. By removing a large amount of circumferential skin, the lower half of the body is lifted, like pulling up your pants so to speak.

From a patient’s perspective, however, a body lift can often imply that things are lifted from the arms done to the thighs in a single procedure. Much like the confusion from a facelift, where people almost always believe it lifts the face from the forehead down to the neck when it does not (only lifts the neck and jowls), a body lift is a waistline procedure. While it has a dramatic and often life-changing effect, it does not lift the ‘entire body’.

When patients ask about price for the body lift procedure, it is important to know exactly what they are really talking about and what a body lift means to them. To get a meaningful price for such a procedure, one really needs to come into the office and be seen and evaluated. It is a little like calling the auto shop and just asking how much it is to overhaul your car…one has to know exactly what it needs before an accurate quote can be given.  

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana