Lower Body Lift

A lower body lift is a body-contouring procedure designed to reshape and remove excess skin and fat from the abdomen, waist, flanks, lower back, buttocks, and outer thighs. It involves a circumferential incision around the body—typically positioned to be hidden in a bikini line for women and below the underwear seam for men—and can create a dramatic improvement in lower-body contour.

In many ways, a lower body lift is an extension of a tummy tuck that continues around the torso, allowing the surgeon to lift and re-suspend tissues of the thighs, back, and buttocks. While a traditional “all-in-one” circumferential body lift (tummy tuck plus back/buttock lift in a single operation) was more common in the past, it is less frequently performed today because patient safety is our top priority.

A complete circumferential lift in one procedure can also create competing demands during closure and recovery. The tummy tuck portion typically requires the patient to remain flexed at the hips during closure and early healing, which can limit how much tissue can be safely removed and lifted from the back and buttocks at the same time. For many patients—especially those who have experienced significant weight loss—a staged approach is often the safest and most effective option. This typically means performing the abdominoplasty (or panniculectomy) portion first, then completing the back and buttock lift in a second procedure about 4–6 months later, after full recovery from the initial surgery.