Body contouring surgery (full body sculpting) in Turkey

Pinch the area. If it is full and springs back when released, the problem is fat under elastic skin and liposuction will contour it. If the skin is thin, wrinkled or stretch-marked and stays where you leave it, the problem is skin, and only excision with a scar changes it. Most people who have lost a lot of weight have both, in different proportions in different places, which is why a body contouring plan is drawn area by area and not sold as one item.

The same logic decides the sequence. Skin excisions are the big operations and are usually planned first, trunk before limbs, with liposuction added where it refines the result rather than replaces it. Doing liposuction first on skin that will later be excised wastes an operation; doing a lift on skin that only needed liposuction adds a permanent scar for nothing.

• Fat under elastic skin

  Liposuction or liposculpture. Several areas can be planned as one shape, with limits on the total volume removed in one session.

• Loose skin with or without fat

  Tummy tuck, body lift, arm lift or thigh lift. Long scars, long recovery, and the only treatment that works. Liposuction may be added, not substituted.

• After major weight loss

  Usually skin everywhere, staged over two or three operations months apart, at a weight held stable for many months and with nutrition checked.

• Volume wanted, not removed

  Fat transfer to buttocks, hips or breasts from the areas being sculpted. Above the muscle only, and it lengthens the operation.

For the individual operations, see liposuction in Turkey, liposculpture, tummy tuck, body lift and arm lift. For contouring planned around a large weight loss, see plastic surgery after weight loss.

1. 1

   Mapping

   Every area is examined standing and pinched: fat, skin or both. Weight history, weight stability and, after bariatric surgery, blood tests for protein, iron and vitamins.
2. 2

   Sequencing

   Which operations, in which order, in how many sessions. Trunk before limbs, skin excisions first, liposuction where it refines. This is where the number of trips is decided.
3. 3

   Anaesthesia and hospital

   General anaesthesia, an accredited hospital with a blood bank and intensive care, clot prevention from before the first incision, and nights in hospital that match the size of the session.
4. 4

   Surgery

   Each session limited in time and in fat removed. Drains after skin excisions, compression over liposuction areas.
5. 5

   Recovery between stages

   Weeks of compression, restricted movement and wound care. The next stage is planned months later, once the first has healed and swelling has settled.
6. 6

   Result

   Contour is judged at several months per stage, scars mature over a year or more, and the final shape after staged contouring is a year or two from the first operation.

• Anyone still losing weight or not stable. Contouring a changing body means contouring it again. Stable for many months first.
• Anyone with a high body mass index. Complication rates climb with weight. Surgeons set limits for a reason, and the honest answer may be lose more first.
• Anyone malnourished after bariatric surgery. Low protein, iron or vitamins mean wounds that do not close. Blood tests first, correction second, surgery third.
• Anyone who smokes and will not stop. Long skin flaps die at their edges in smokers. This is a reason to refuse, not to counsel.
• Anyone who wants it all in one session against advice. The risk is borne by the patient, and the saving is one flight.

• Which operations and how many. Each is priced on its own; a package is a bundle of them, and the bundle should be itemised.
• Sessions and trips. One session is cheaper in hospital nights and flights and more expensive in risk. Two trips cost more and are often the right plan.
• Hospital nights and intensive care. Larger sessions need longer stays and a hospital equipped for them, which costs more than a clinic bed.
• Garments, drains and follow-up. Compression garments for every treated area, drain care and the reviews included before you fly.
• Fat transfer and refinement liposuction. Priced as separate items when added to skin excisions.
• Complication and revision cover. Wound problems and contour revisions are common enough in contouring that the policy should be in writing before you pay.

The clinic listing on this page shows each clinic's current price with a note of what it includes. For paying in instalments, see payment plans. For the operations themselves, tummy tuck, body lift and liposuction in Turkey.