Skin removal surgery after major weight loss is not one operation, so it has no single price. It is a set of lifts and excisions, each billed separately, and the surgeon's fee for one of them ran from about $6,000 to over $11,000 in ASPS's 2023 national averages.
The question has grown with GLP-1 use. ASPS says rapid weight loss on these medicines, such as semaglutide or tirzepatide, can cause laxity that leaves excess, sagging skin. [1] The bill for removing it is separate from the medicine, whose monthly cost is set out in GLP-1 cost without insurance. This page walks through the fees in the order a patient meets them: the surgeon, the rest of the bill, and then whether insurance pays.
How many people are having these operations
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reports that arm lifts rose 21 percent in 2025, to 26,088 procedures, and thigh lifts 20 percent, to 11,866 [1]. Upper body lifts rose 22 percent, to 6,438 [1].
Its member survey asked which body procedures surgeons were consulted about in connection with GLP-1 use in 2025. Tummy tucks came first at 88 percent, then arm lifts at 84 percent, thigh lifts at 80 percent, panniculectomy at 67 percent and body lifts at 62 percent [1].
The surgeon's fee for each operation
ASPS's 2023 fee table is the most recent year with a single average per operation. It lists an upper arm lift at $6,192, a thigh lift at $7,641, a tummy tuck at $8,174 and a lower body lift at $11,397 [2].
For 2024, ASPS moved to projected ranges, which it says better reflect the differing locations and practice settings of its members [3]. A lower body lift runs $10,000 to $16,500 in that table, and a thigh lift $7,000 to $12,000 [3].
| Operation | 2023 average fee | 2024 projected range |
|---|---|---|
| Upper arm lift (brachioplasty) | $6,192 | $6,000 to $10,500 |
| Buttock lift | $7,062 | $7,000 to $11,500 |
| Thigh lift | $7,641 | $7,000 to $12,000 |
| Tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) | $8,174 | $8,000 to $13,500 |
| Lower body lift | $11,397 | $10,000 to $16,500 |
| Panniculectomy | Not published | Not published |
Many people want more than one area done. Added together, the 2023 averages for an arm lift, a thigh lift and a lower body lift come to $25,230 in surgeon fees, by our arithmetic. That total assumes nothing about whether a surgeon would do them together or in stages.
ASPS's 2024 report describes both approaches. It says patients had combined procedures in one setting to save on anesthesia, operating room fees and staff, and that from 2024 more of them asked for a staged approach, paying as they go [4].
What the fee leaves out
Each of these figures is the surgeon's share only. ASPS's cost pages for arm, thigh and body lifts say the average "does not include anesthesia, operating room facilities or other related expenses" [5][11][12].
The same pages list what else can appear on the bill: anesthesia fees, hospital or surgical facility costs, medical tests, post-surgery garments and prescriptions for medication [5][11][12]. Ask for a written quote that names each of those lines.
Panniculectomy: the one without a published average
A panniculectomy removes hanging skin and fat from the lower belly. ASPS says it differs from a tummy tuck in that the abdominal muscles are typically not tightened [6].
Neither ASPS fee table lists it [2][3]. ASPS's panniculectomy cost page gives no figure, saying a surgeon's cost may vary with experience and location, and that in some instances health insurance may cover it [6]. That coverage is the main reason the operation's price is worth separating from a tummy tuck's.
When insurance may cover a panniculectomy
Aetna considers a panniculectomy medically necessary when the panniculus hangs below the pubis, documented in color photographs, and causes chronic intertrigo that recurs or resists appropriate medical therapy over 3 months [7]. Intertrigo is the skin irritation, infection or chafing that forms where skin rubs on skin.
Aetna also requires weight to have been stable for the most recent 3 months, typically within 5 percent of the weight-loss plateau [7]. The same policy calls abdominoplasty, and a panniculectomy that misses the criteria, cosmetic [7].
Medicare works through regional contractors. One of them, WPS, covers the operation when the panniculus hangs below the pubis and either causes intertrigo over 3 months or makes walking or daily activities difficult [8].
After significant weight loss, that policy wants a stable weight for at least 6 months. After bariatric surgery, it wants at least 18 months since the operation [8]. It lists loose skin from weight loss without chronic infection or inflammation as not covered [8].
| Requirement | Aetna (CPB 0211) | Medicare, one contractor (L39051) |
|---|---|---|
| Where the skin hangs | Below the level of the pubis, shown in front and side photos | Below the level of the pubis; photos may be requested |
| The medical problem | Chronic intertrigo that recurs or resists therapy over 3 months | Intertrigo over 3 months, or trouble walking or doing daily activities |
| Weight stability | Stable for the most recent 3 months | Stable for at least 6 months after significant weight loss |
| After bariatric surgery | At least 12 months since the weight plateau | At least 18 months after surgery, stable for the last 6 |
| Tummy tuck | Abdominoplasty is considered cosmetic | Repair of abdominal wall laxity is not covered |
Both policies are written about weight loss in general and about bariatric surgery. Neither mentions GLP-1 medicines by name. Whether your plan applies the same terms is in its own policy, so ask the insurer for it before you book. Coverage for the medicine is a separate decision, covered in is Wegovy covered by insurance.
Arm and thigh lifts are usually cash-pay
Aetna's cosmetic surgery policy lists excision of excess skin of the thigh, arm, hip, buttock and other areas as cosmetic [9]. ASPS's own pages say most health insurance plans do not cover arm lift, thigh lift or body lift surgery [5][11][12]. The same is true of a breast lift, priced in breast lift cost after weight loss.
Tax accounts follow the same line. The IRS says you generally can't count cosmetic surgery as a medical expense unless it corrects a deformity from a congenital abnormality, an injury or a disfiguring disease [10]. How that rule reaches a health account is covered in can you use an HSA for peptides.
Timing, and what it does to the bill
ASPS's 2024 report says lifts are contouring tools, not weight-loss procedures, and that a patient must be within reach of their goal weight to be eligible [4]. The insurer policies above add their own waiting periods for a stable weight.
The same report says surgeons and anesthesiologists generally recommend stopping GLP-1 medication at least two to three weeks before surgery [4]. Your own surgeon sets that plan, so ask how long the pause is and when the prescription restarts.
A pause changes the medicine bill as well. A plan that renews every month will keep billing unless it is paused, so check the terms of your semaglutide plan before the surgery date. The rules for stopping a plan are in how to cancel a peptide subscription, and the face-side costs are in how to fix Ozempic face, and what each fix costs.
The one question to ask the surgeon's office: is this quote the surgeon's fee alone, or the total with anesthesia and the facility? If a panniculectomy is part of the plan, ask too whether the office will send it to your insurer with the photographs the policy requires.