Butt lift (gluteoplasty) at Yanhee: cost, technique and recovery
Three different operations, often confused
"Butt lift" is used loosely online for three procedures that do different things and carry very different risks. Sorting out which one you want is the whole first consultation:
- Butt lift (gluteoplasty) — removes excess skin and repositions what is left. For loose, hanging skin after major weight loss or with age. Lifts and tightens, and can flatten. This page. 126,000 THB.
- Buttock augmentation with implants — adds projection with a solid silicone implant placed in or under the gluteal muscle. For volume rather than laxity. Priced separately from 152,000 THB.
- Brazilian butt lift (BBL) — adds volume using your own fat, harvested by liposuction from the waist, flanks or thighs and transferred to the buttocks. Despite the name it is not a lift. Yanhee performs it, with the fat placed in the subcutaneous plane only; the section below explains why that detail matters more than any other on this page. Quoted at consultation, since it is priced with the liposuction.
These combine. A lift removes loose skin and an implant restores the projection the lift takes away; liposuction of the waist and flanks sharpens the contour around whichever you have. Combined work is quoted as one plan rather than as separate operations.
What a butt lift does
Gluteoplasty removes an ellipse of excess skin, usually across the upper buttock where the scar can sit inside a swimwear line, and pulls the remaining skin upward and tighter. It is a skin operation. Some fat comes away with the skin, but it is not a fat-reduction procedure and it will not reshape a buttock whose problem is volume rather than sag.
You should be at or near a stable weight first. Skin removed at your current size will be the wrong amount if you lose 15 kg afterwards, and a large weight gain stretches what is left.
About the Brazilian butt lift
If you arrived here looking for a BBL, this is worth reading before you book one anywhere.
Gluteal fat grafting has the highest mortality of any cosmetic operation. Published estimates put the death rate somewhere between roughly 1 in 3,000 and 1 in 4,000. The mechanism is pulmonary fat embolism: fat entering a large gluteal vein and travelling to the lungs. No other aesthetic procedure carries a comparable figure.
In 2018 and 2019 a task force formed by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the Aesthetic Society, ISAPS and two other bodies issued multi-society safety advisories. Their central finding is specific and useful: deaths correlate with fat injected beyond the subcutaneous layer, into or through the gluteal muscle. No post-mortem examination has shown a death where the fat was placed exclusively in the subcutaneous plane above the muscle.
That gives you one question that matters more than any other, and you should ask it of any surgeon in any country: will the fat be injected into the subcutaneous plane only, never intramuscularly? A surgeon who performs this operation safely will answer immediately and specifically. Anything vague is your answer.
At Yanhee, the answer is subcutaneous only. Fat is placed in the subcutaneous layer above the gluteal muscle and never into or through the muscle itself, which is precisely the technique the multi-society advisories identify as the one no recorded death has been attributed to. The fat is harvested by liposuction, usually from the waist, flanks or thighs, so the procedure is planned and quoted as combined liposuction and fat transfer rather than as an injection on its own. That is worth understanding as a benefit rather than an upsell: narrowing the waist is a large part of what makes the buttocks look fuller.
Ask any surgeon you consult, here or elsewhere, to tell you their injection plane before you discuss anything else. If they will not, that is information.
Sources: the multi-society urgent warning on BBL risks and the joint safety statement on gluteal fat grafting, American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
Who it suits, and who should wait
Good candidates have a real amount of loose, hanging skin on the buttocks and the back of the upper thighs, usually after major weight loss or with age, are non-smokers in general good health, and hold expectations set on improvement rather than on a particular shape. It can also improve the appearance of dimpling, though it does not treat cellulite as such.
Wait if your weight is still moving, and expect to be asked to be stable for several months first. Wait if you are still smoking: this is a long incision under tension across an area you sit on, and wound healing problems here are slow and unpleasant. And reconsider the operation entirely if your real complaint is that your buttocks are flat rather than loose, because a lift will make that worse rather than better.
The procedure
Usually under general anaesthesia, occasionally under local anaesthesia with sedation. The surgeon marks and removes an ellipse of skin, typically across the upper buttock inside the bikini or swimwear line, draws the remaining skin up, and closes in layers with sutures supported by surgical tape or tissue glue. Small drains are usually left in for a few days to clear fluid that would otherwise collect under the skin. The exact incision pattern depends on where your excess skin sits, and you should see it drawn on you before surgery.
Often combined with other procedures
A butt lift is commonly staged alongside other body-contouring surgery after major weight loss: a tummy tuck, a thigh lift, an arm lift, a breast lift, or liposuction to contour the flanks. There is a limit to how much can safely be done in one anaesthetic, and your surgeon sets it — combining too much in one stage raises the risks of all of it.
What a butt lift costs at Yanhee
Prices cover the surgeon, the anaesthesia, the stated stay, pre-operative tests and post-operative care. Flights and accommodation beyond the stay are not included.
Procedure | Hospital Stay | Price (THB) |
Buttocks Lift | 2 nights | 126,000 |
The implant rows are listed because they are the alternative for anyone whose complaint is volume rather than loose skin; they are priced in full on the buttocks augmentation page, which also covers removal and revision of silicone injected elsewhere. Fat transfer is quoted after assessment because it is priced together with the liposuction that harvests the fat, and how many areas are liposuctioned varies. A lift combined with an implant, or with liposuction and fat transfer, is quoted as one plan. Prices are subject to change and are confirmed after consultation — see plastic surgery prices for the current list.
Preparing for surgery
Pre-operative blood tests and assessment. Stop aspirin, anti-inflammatory drugs and herbal supplements on your surgeon's timetable, usually one to two weeks beforehand. Stop smoking well before surgery and stay off it while healing. Arrive at a stable weight rather than mid-diet, and arrange for someone to be with you for the first day or two after discharge.
Recovery, sitting and the flight home
You stay about two nights. Expect swelling, bruising and soreness for a few weeks, with drains removed after a few days. Most people are back to desk work at around two weeks provided they can avoid long periods of sitting, and strenuous activity waits four to six weeks. Swelling largely settles by six weeks and the final shape appears at around a year. The scar keeps flattening and fading for up to two years.
You cannot sit on it, and you have a flight booked
For about a week you are asked not to sit directly on your buttocks, because pressure on a fresh suture line across the area you sit on is what causes wounds to separate. Lying on your side or front, and standing, are what you will be doing instead.
Now consider a long-haul flight. It means sitting on the operated area for ten hours or more, largely immobile, in a seat you cannot adjust, with the additional clot risk that any body-contouring surgery plus immobility carries. Booking a return leg for a few days after surgery is a common and avoidable mistake.
Plan the trip around the operation rather than the other way round: allow well beyond the sitting restriction, ask your surgeon to clear you for your specific flight length rather than assuming feeling well means it is safe, and if you must fly, ask about an aisle seat, moving regularly, and how to position yourself. Get medical attention rather than boarding if you have calf pain or swelling on one side, chest pain or breathlessness.
Risks to understand
Wound separation along the incision is the one that matters most here, because the scar sits where you sit and where the skin is under tension. Beyond that: bleeding and haematoma, infection, seroma or persistent fluid collection, skin or fat necrosis, poor or widened scarring, numbness or altered sensation which is common and can be permanent in patches, asymmetry, recurrent looseness, persistent pain, blood clots and deep vein thrombosis, and anaesthetic risk. Revision surgery is sometimes needed. Report severe or persistent pain, chest pain, breathlessness, an unusual heartbeat or heavy bleeding immediately.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a butt lift cost at Yanhee?
The butt lift (gluteoplasty) package is 126,000 THB including a two-night hospital stay, covering the surgeon, the anaesthesia, pre-operative tests and post-operative care. If your complaint is volume rather than loose skin, buttock implants are 152,000 THB for a round implant, 193,000 THB for anatomical or oval and 228,000 THB for Motiva, each with a two-night stay. A lift combined with an implant is quoted as one plan.
Butt lift, implants or BBL — what is the difference?
A butt lift removes excess skin and repositions what remains: it lifts and tightens, and can leave the buttocks flatter. Buttock augmentation adds projection with a solid silicone implant. A Brazilian butt lift adds volume using your own fat, harvested by liposuction and transferred to the buttocks, and despite the name it is not a lift. Yanhee performs all three, and they are frequently combined and quoted as one plan.
Is a Brazilian butt lift safe, and how does Yanhee do it?
Gluteal fat grafting has the highest mortality of any cosmetic operation, with published estimates between roughly 1 in 3,000 and 1 in 4,000, caused by fat entering a gluteal vein and travelling to the lungs. Multi-society safety advisories issued in 2018 and 2019 found that deaths correlate with fat injected beyond the subcutaneous layer into or through the gluteal muscle, and that no post-mortem has shown a death where fat was placed exclusively in the subcutaneous plane. At Yanhee the fat is placed in the subcutaneous plane only, above the gluteal muscle and never into or through it, and it is harvested by liposuction from the waist, flanks or thighs, so the operation is planned as combined liposuction and fat transfer. Ask any surgeon you consult, in any country, to state their injection plane before you discuss anything else.
Am I a good candidate?
Good candidates have significant loose, hanging skin on the buttocks and back of the upper thighs, usually after major weight loss or with age, are at a stable weight, are non-smokers in good general health, and have realistic expectations. It is not designed to remove large fat deposits, and it is the wrong operation if your complaint is flatness rather than laxity, since a lift will make that worse.
When can I fly home after a butt lift?
Later than you will want to. You are asked not to sit directly on your buttocks for about a week, because pressure on a fresh suture line is what causes wounds to separate, and a long-haul flight means sitting on the operated area for ten hours or more while largely immobile, which also adds clot risk. Plan the trip around the operation, and ask your surgeon to clear you for your specific flight length rather than assuming that feeling well means it is safe to fly.
What is recovery like?
You stay about two nights, with drains removed after a few days. Expect swelling, bruising and soreness for a few weeks. Most people manage desk work at around two weeks if they can avoid prolonged sitting, and strenuous activity waits four to six weeks. Swelling largely settles by six weeks, the final shape appears at about a year, and the scar keeps fading for up to two years.
Where will the scar be, and will it last?
Usually across the upper buttock, positioned to sit inside a swimwear or underwear line, and you should see it drawn on you before surgery. It is permanent. It sits in an area under tension and one you sit on, so it more often widens than scars elsewhere, and it keeps flattening and fading for up to two years. Tell your surgeon early if you have formed keloids or thickened scars before.
Available doctors
These plastic surgeons at Yanhee perform butt lift surgery. Your surgeon is confirmed at consultation.
- General Medicine, Songkhlanakarin University (1993)
- Holds the Board of Plastic Surgery of Thailand and the Board of General Surgery of Thailand
- Advanced training, Boston, Massachusetts (2005); Asian Congress of Plastic Surgery (2004)
- Reviewer of the Yanhee facial rejuvenation page; his stated interests include liposuction and body contouring
- Speaks Thai and English
- Doctor of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University (1985)
- Plastic surgery, Siriraj Hospital (1996); general surgery, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital (1991)
- Holds the Board of Plastic & Cosmetic Surgery of Thailand
- Reviewer of the Yanhee arm lift and facelift pages, the other major skin-excision operations after weight loss
- Speaks Thai and English
- Doctor of Medicine, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital (1984); plastic surgery, Siriraj Hospital (1993)
- Craniofacial and cosmetic surgery, UCLA Medical Center (1994); maxillofacial surgery, Kantonsspital Basel, Switzerland (1998)
- Hand and microsurgery, Kleinert Hand Center, USA (1994) and Singapore General Hospital (1996)
- Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons of Thailand; Society of Plastic Surgeons of Thailand; Society of Reconstructive Microsurgery
- Speaks Thai and English
- Doctor of Medicine, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital (1984); plastic surgery training, Chulalongkorn Hospital (1998)
- Reconstructive microsurgery and maxillofacial surgery workshop, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan (2006)
- Published on sensory changes after sagittal split mandibular setback osteotomy (1998)
- International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons; Fellow of the International College of Surgeons; Royal College of Surgeons of Thailand
- Speaks Thai and English