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Body Lift After Weight Loss: Which Surgery First, and What to Combine
EEstetica Istanbul Medical TeamJuly 30, 20267 min read
If you have lost a large amount of weight — through bariatric surgery, medication or sheer discipline — the loose skin it leaves behind is rarely confined to one area. The arms, abdomen, thighs, back and buttocks all carry it, and no single operation treats them all. This guide answers the question we hear most from post-weight-loss patients: which body lift should you do first, what can safely be combined in one operation, and what must be staged? In Turkey the individual procedures run from €3,400 for an arm lift to €5,000 for a full lower body lift, all-inclusive — but the sequencing matters as much as the price, and getting it wrong costs more than money.
First: are you ready for any body lift at all?
Before comparing procedures, check the gates that apply to every one of them. Your weight should be stable for at least six to twelve months — operate while you are still losing and the skin loosens again around the scars you just paid for. If you had bariatric surgery, most partner surgeons want you at least twelve months out and nutritionally solid: protein, iron and vitamin B12 levels matter for wound healing, and after a bypass they are often low. You also need to be a non-smoker, or willing to stop well before surgery, because every operation on this list moves large flaps of skin whose blood supply smoking throttles. If you do not clear these gates yet, the honest answer is to wait — a delayed body lift heals well; a rushed one gets wound problems.
The five operations — and what each one actually fixes
A tummy tuck (from €3,700) removes the hanging apron of skin on the front of the abdomen and repairs separated muscles; it is the workhorse of post-weight-loss surgery. A lower body lift (from €5,000) goes further: one circumferential incision around the waistline lifts the abdomen, flanks, outer thighs and buttocks together — effectively a tummy tuck plus a 360° lift. A thigh lift (from €3,600) treats the loose inner-thigh skin that a lower body lift does not reach. An arm lift (from €3,400) removes the 'bat wing' skin between armpit and elbow. And a back lift (from €3,800) removes the rolls of loose skin on the upper back along the bra line. Each targets a different zone; none substitutes for another.
