A buttock lift is not a Brazilian butt lift, and the confusion costs patients years. A BBL adds volume with the patient’s own fat; it does nothing for loose skin. A buttock lift removes loose skin and repositions the buttock upward; on its own it does nothing for volume. After significant weight loss most patients have lost both skin tone and volume, and the operation that suits them is a lift with auto-augmentation: the tissue that would be discarded is kept, shaped and tucked under the skin to rebuild the fullness that was lost. That is how I do most buttock lifts, and it is the version of the operation that nobody explains before the consultation.
Buttock Lift, BBL, or Both
The test is the same one I use everywhere on the body: is the problem skin, volume, or both? A buttock that is flat but firm, with skin that snaps back, wants volume, and a BBL with fat transfer is the right operation. A buttock that has dropped, with a fold at the lower crease that hangs and skin that gathers when lifted by hand, has a skin problem, and no amount of fat will lift it; fat injected into loose skin sits low and the sagging remains. A buttock that has done both, which is nearly every buttock after a large weight loss, needs the skin removed and the volume rebuilt in the same operation.
The volume can be rebuilt three ways, and they can be combined. Auto-augmentation uses the patient’s own tissue from the area being removed, shaped into a flap and buried under the lifted skin; it is the technique I use most because it adds no foreign material and uses tissue that is already there. Fat transfer adds volume from liposuction of the flanks or thighs and can be done in the same session where enough fat is available. Buttock implants give the largest and most predictable volume and can be placed in the same session when the patient wants more projection than the flap or fat can provide.
Isolated Buttock Lift or Lower Body Lift
An isolated buttock lift takes its incision across the top of the buttocks, in the line where the lower back meets them, and lifts the buttock upward. It suits the patient whose excess is confined to the buttock and upper thigh. When the loose skin runs around the whole lower trunk, across the abdomen, the flanks and the outer thighs as well, the same incision is continued around the front as a tummy tuck, and the operation becomes a lower body lift, a single belt-shaped scar treating the entire circumference. The buttock lift with auto-augmentation is then the back half of it. I decide between the two from the photographs: an isolated lift for a limited problem, the full circumference when the front needs treating as well.
Who Is a Good Candidate
A good candidate has a sagging buttock with a hanging lower fold, usually after weight loss, is at a stable weight, does not smoke or is prepared to stop around surgery, and accepts a horizontal scar across the upper buttock, hidden by underwear or swimwear, in exchange for a lifted and reshaped buttock. A buttock lift counts as one of the major lifts, so it combines with a tummy tuck or a thigh lift but not with everything at once; I perform no more than three major lifts in one session, and the combination planner shows what fits. Patients whose problem is volume alone are steered to a BBL, and patients still losing weight are asked to reach a stable weight first, because the skin removed at a stable weight stays removed.
The Operation
A buttock lift is performed under general anesthesia, lying face down, and takes about three hours on its own, longer as part of a lower body lift or with implants. Liposuction of the flanks comes first when fat transfer is planned. The incision is made across the top of the buttocks along the line drawn with you standing, the excess skin is removed, and the tissue beneath it, instead of being discarded, is de-epithelialized, shaped and rotated into the center of each buttock as a flap; the lifted skin is then closed over it, with the deep layer anchored so that the weight of the buttock does not pull on the scar. Fat transfer or an implant placed under the gluteal muscle is added at this stage when planned. Drains are placed and come out at three to four days. A compression garment goes on in theatre. You stay one night in hospital for an isolated lift and two nights when it is combined with a tummy tuck or other major lifts.
Your Week in Istanbul
Day 0: surgery and one night in hospital (two for combined cases); you stand and walk the same evening. Days 1 to 4: at your hotel in the compression garment, walking short distances several times a day. You may lie on your front or your side; when sitting for long periods use a cushion that keeps weight off the buttocks, but there is no sitting ban, and I would rather you walked than worried. Drains out gradually at day three to four. Day 6 or 7: final examination, fresh dressings, and you fly home with the cushion for the flight. Six to seven days in Istanbul is enough. Showering waits until the drain holes have closed. Desk work at two weeks, walking as exercise from the first week, gym at about six to eight weeks. The garment is worn for six to eight weeks. The scar is red for the first months and matures over twelve to eighteen months; it sits where the waistband of underwear runs.
The recovery planner turns these milestones into dates around your flight.
Risks and Honest Limits
The specific risks are delayed healing along parts of a long scar, particularly at the midline where tension is highest; fluid collection after the drains come out; a scar that widens or sits higher than planned if the buttock settles; partial loss of the buried flap, which is uncommon with careful technique; asymmetry; and numbness of the upper buttock that usually recovers. With implants, the risks of infection, shifting and the implant becoming palpable are added, which is why I reserve implants for patients who want more projection than their own tissue can give. Blood clots are a risk in all body surgery and are managed with early walking, compression and, where indicated, anticoagulant injections.
The limits: a buttock lift lifts and reshapes; it does not produce a large buttock unless volume is added, and even with auto-augmentation the projection is moderate rather than dramatic. It does not treat cellulite. The scar is long and permanent; it hides under most underwear and swimwear and is the price of the operation. If you gain weight afterward, the buttock changes with the rest of you.
Cost of a Buttock Lift in Turkey
A buttock lift in Istanbul costs considerably less than the same operation in the United Kingdom, Germany or the wider EU, and the difference comes from local operating costs rather than the technique. The figure depends on whether the lift is isolated or part of a lower body lift, on whether auto-augmentation, fat transfer or implants are used, and on the operating and hospital time involved. I quote in writing after seeing photographs, and the quotation covers hospital, anesthesia and follow-up in Istanbul.
Send your photographs for an assessment: from behind and from each side, standing straight, plus your current weight, how much you have lost and how long it has been stable. That is enough for me to tell you whether you need a BBL, a buttock lift, a lift with auto-augmentation, or a lower body lift, and what can be combined with it. Message on WhatsApp: +90 544 772 0772.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a buttock lift and a BBL?
A BBL adds volume with fat and leaves the skin alone. A buttock lift removes loose skin and repositions the buttock. After weight loss most patients need the lift, with volume rebuilt by auto-augmentation, fat, or an implant.
What is auto-augmentation?
Using the patient’s own tissue from the area being removed, shaped and buried under the lifted skin, to restore fullness without implants or fat transfer. It is how I do most buttock lifts.
Can I have implants with a buttock lift?
Yes, in the same session, when you want more projection than your own tissue can provide. Fat transfer can also be added when enough fat is available.
Where is the scar?
Across the top of the buttocks, along the line where the lower back meets them, hidden by underwear and swimwear. In a lower body lift the same scar continues around the front.
Can I sit after a buttock lift?
Yes. Use a cushion for long periods of sitting in the first weeks, including the flight, and sleep on your front or side if you can. There is no sitting ban.
How long do I stay in Turkey?
Six to seven days: one night in hospital for an isolated lift, two for combined cases, drains out by day four, a final check before you fly.
About the Surgeon
Dr Mustafa Aydınol is a plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgeon practising in Istanbul, a member of ISAPS and of the Turkish Society of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. The practice holds Health Tourism Authorization from the Turkish Ministry of Health. Consultations are conducted in Turkish, English, German and Italian.
