Table of contents

• Buttocks Implants at a Glance
• What Are Buttocks Implants?
• Who Is a Good Candidate for Buttocks Implants?
• How Are Buttocks Implants Performed?
• Why Visit Korea for Buttocks Implants?
• Key Information for International Patients
• Which Are the Best Clinics in Korea for Buttocks Implants?
• How Much Do Buttocks Implants Cost in Korea?
• Buttocks Implants From Start to Finish
• Alternatives to Buttocks Implants
• How Can I Prepare for Buttocks Implants?
• Aftercare Advice

Considering treatment in Korea? Everything you need to know e.g. — how to avoid scams, visas, interpreters, recovery tips — in our Medical Tourism Master Guide. Plan with confidence in minutes, not weeks!

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Last updated: September 2026

Buttocks Implants at a Glance

• Procedure — Buttocks implants are solid-silicone devices placed in a surgically created pocket, usually through an incision near the intergluteal cleft, to provide lasting buttock volume and projection.
• Cost in Korea — Quoted prices are about ₩10,000,000–₩13,000,000 (approximately US$7,400–$9,600); confirm whether the quote includes implants, anesthesia, facility fees, drains, observation, medicines, and follow-up.
• Recovery restrictions — Avoid direct pressure on the buttocks for at least 2 weeks; some protocols prohibit direct sitting for 3 weeks and restrict it for about 1 month, while strenuous exercise is usually deferred for 6–8 weeks.
• Result timeline — Implants provide persistent structural volume, but swelling and tissue settling continue for months, so contour is more reliably assessed around 3–6 months; revision, removal, or replacement can still be needed.
• Best candidates — Suitable candidates are healthy adults at a stable weight who want projection and may lack sufficient donor fat for grafting, have realistic expectations, and can follow sleep, sitting, walking, and wound-care instructions.
• Key risk — Infection, wound opening, seroma, implant displacement, capsular contracture, pain, visibility, or asymmetry can require revision or implant removal; thin soft-tissue coverage can increase palpability and visible edges.
• Korea travel planning — International patients should plan to stay at least 14 days after surgery, ideally 21, for wound or drain reviews and individualized flight clearance; verify foreign-patient facility registration, surgeon credentials, and the exact implant’s documentation before consenting.

What Are Buttocks Implants?

Buttocks implants are solid silicone devices surgically placed to add lasting volume and projection to the buttocks. They address a flatter contour or limited natural volume, including for people without enough donor fat for fat grafting. This is a surgical procedure performed under general anesthesia.

Who Is a Good Candidate for Buttocks Implants?

• Adults seeking structural projection — Good candidates want a lasting increase in buttock volume or projection, including when they do not have enough donor fat for fat grafting.
• Stable-weight patients — Candidates should be in generally good health, at a stable weight, and able to accept a visible recovery period with pressure and activity restrictions.
• Patients prepared for structured aftercare — Successful recovery requires early walking, prone or side sleeping, restricted sitting, wound reviews, and an adult caregiver after surgery.
• People with realistic contour goals — Implants add volume and projection but do not correct loose skin by themselves or produce the waist-shaping effect of liposuction.

Buttocks implants are unsuitable until active skin, urinary, dental, or systemic infection has resolved; an implant-related infection can require implant removal. Pregnancy, plans for imminent pregnancy, uncontrolled diabetes or hypertension, anemia, serious cardiopulmonary disease, untreated bleeding disorders, and current nicotine use require postponement or individualized medical assessment. Personal clot history, active cancer, obesity, prolonged immobility, estrogen-containing contraception or hormone therapy, and clotting disorders require a specific anesthesia and flight-risk plan. Very thin soft-tissue coverage, marked asymmetry, permanent or unknown previous injections, scarred tissue, prior infection, or prior implant complications can make the operation substantially more complex; thin coverage also increases concerns about implant visibility and palpability.

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How Are Buttocks Implants Performed?

The main technical choice is the implant-pocket plane, not a consumer-facing implant “type.” The surgeon selects the approach according to gluteal anatomy, soft-tissue coverage, the desired projection, prior surgery, and whether fat grafting is being added.

• Intramuscular placement — The pocket is created within the gluteus maximus muscle, leaving muscle coverage above and below the solid silicone implant. This approach requires muscle splitting and is technically demanding.
• Submuscular placement — The implant sits beneath the gluteus maximus. It can provide substantial tissue coverage but must be planned around the patient's anatomy.
• Subfascial placement — The implant is positioned above muscle and beneath its fascia. This more superficial plane can make implant edges more visible or palpable in patients with limited tissue coverage.
• Hybrid augmentation — Selective limited fat grafting can soften implant transitions or refine localized contour. It adds donor-site liposuction and fat-grafting risks and should be justified by anatomy, not marketing.
• Implant surface and pocket discussion — A 2025 meta-analysis of 32 studies and 2,682 patients found higher pooled seroma, wound-dehiscence, capsular-contracture, and removal patterns with subfascial placement than with intramuscular or submuscular placement; textured implants also had higher pooled complication patterns than smooth implants. These pooled findings guide discussion but cannot determine the best plane or predict an individual outcome.

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Why Visit Korea for Buttocks Implants?

Korea has a formal system for institutions registered to serve foreign patients, which is useful for verifying a provider before travel. That registration is not proof that a surgeon has extensive primary gluteal-implant experience. Current evidence does not establish that Korea has superior outcomes for this specialized procedure.

• Foreign-patient institution verification — Use the Medical Korea registered-institution system to check whether a proposed facility is authorized to treat international patients.
• Documented-device planning — Request the exact solid silicone implant manufacturer, model, size, surface, and lot number before consenting, then obtain the device card and operative report before departure. The facility must verify the current Korean authorization status of the exact product; this cannot be assumed from a brand name.
• Evidence limitation — The Korea-linked literature located includes an 18-case Seoul-affiliated series involving secondary augmentation and a complication report. It does not provide national primary-case volume, registry-based complication rates, or comparative outcomes.
• Surgeon and facility questions — Independently verify plastic-surgery credentials, ask who performs the critical operative steps, confirm whether overnight observation is planned, and establish transfer arrangements for an emergency. A registered facility and documented implant do not substitute for procedure-specific surgical experience.

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Key Information for International Patients

• Minimum stay — Plan to remain in Korea for at least 14 days after surgery; 21 days is preferable when feasible. This allows early wound or drain reviews, mobility assessment, and a surgeon-led decision on long-haul travel.
• Flight timing — There is no evidence-based, gluteal-implant-specific date that automatically clears a long flight. Recent surgery and travel lasting 4 hours or longer both increase venous-thromboembolism risk, as outlined in the CDC medical-tourism guidance. Clearance depends on wound status, drains, mobility, pain medicines, personal clot risk, and flight duration.
• Sitting and itinerary impact — Expect no direct buttock pressure for at least 2 weeks. Some protocols prohibit direct sitting for 3 weeks and restrict sitting for about 1 month. Do not plan long city tours, extended car transfers, or seated sightseeing during the early recovery period.
• Accommodation and support — Book nearby accommodation that permits side or stomach sleeping. Arrange door-to-door transport and an adult companion for the first night and ideally several early days, when managing medicines, luggage, sitting, and wound care is difficult.
• Return-home follow-up — Before departure, secure English discharge instructions, an operative report, implant documentation, medicines list, and direct emergency contact. Arrange a clinician at home who can assess wounds if needed, while keeping the operating surgeon involved remotely.

Travel note: Do not self-start aspirin, anticoagulants, or compression stockings for the flight. Follow the operating surgeon's specific plan for walking, calf exercises, hydration, compression, and any prescribed clot-prevention medicine.

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Which Are the Best Clinics in Korea for Buttocks Implants?

Listed below are some of the best clinics in Korea for buttocks implants.

1. StarBe Plastic Surgery

For buttock enhancement, StarBe Plastic Surgery’s documented relevant option is fat grafting: your own fat is harvested from one area and transferred to the buttocks to add volume and refine contour. The supplied information does not confirm that the clinic offers buttock implants, so you should distinguish between fat-transfer enhancement and an implant-based procedure when discussing your goals.

• URL: StarBe Plastic Surgery Website
• Location: Busanjin-gu, Busan
• Relevant body-contouring option:
  • Fat grafting is listed for adding volume to areas including the buttocks.
  • Liposuction is also listed for removing localized fat deposits and refining body contours, which may be relevant when donor fat is being considered.
• Other services listed: The clinic also lists breast surgery, facial surgery, scar-management treatments, and non-surgical injectables.

2. TJ Plastic Surgery (TJ성형외과)

You may consider TJ Plastic Surgery for a buttock-implant consultation because its body-contouring offerings specifically include hip-up plastic surgery, described as enhancing buttock shape and lift with implants or fat grafting. This gives you a documented choice between implant-based volume and fat-transfer contouring, depending on the approach discussed for your desired shape and projection.

• URL: TJ Plastic Surgery (TJ성형외과) Website
• Location: Gangnam-gu, Seoul
• Buttock enhancement:
  • Hip-up plastic surgery is listed as using implants or fat grafting to create a rounder, more lifted buttock appearance.
  • The context does not specify implant type, placement, incision approach, recovery protocol, or eligibility criteria.
• Related contouring services:
  • Liposuction is offered for areas including the abdomen, thighs, and arms to refine body contours.
  • Fat grafting and the Harvestjet harvesting and reinjection technique are listed among the clinic’s services.
• Planning information: Before-and-after photos are available for viewing to help you review results across procedures.

3. The Line Plastic Surgery

The Line Plastic Surgery may be relevant to your buttock-enhancement planning if you are exploring body contouring with fat transfer rather than confirmed buttock implants. Its listed services include signature liposuction and body fat grafting, which transfers purified fat from one area of your body to another; however, the supplied information does not specifically confirm buttock fat grafting or buttock implant surgery.

• URL: The Line Plastic Surgery Website
• Location: Gangnam-gu, Seoul
• Relevant body-contouring services:
  • TheLINE Signature Liposuction combines techniques for fat removal and body sculpting.
  • Body fat grafting transfers purified fat from one body area to another for volume enhancement.
  • Abdomen and thigh liposuction are specifically listed, along with arm, calf, and mini liposuction.
• What is not confirmed:
  • The source does not identify buttock implants, implant options, or a dedicated buttock-lift procedure.
  • You would need to clarify whether the clinic offers buttock-specific fat grafting and whether your goals can be addressed with its available techniques.

How Much Do Buttocks Implants Cost in Korea?

Buttocks implant surgery is quoted at ₩10,000,000–₩13,000,000 (approximately US$7,400–$9,600). Individual quotes vary because the operative plan and postoperative requirements differ.

Procedure Price	Korean Won (₩)	USD ($)
Low Price	₩10,000,000	$7,400
High Price	₩13,000,000	$9,600

Exchange rate as of 2026-09-06: 1 KRW = 0.000741 USD.

What Affects the Price?

• Implant pocket plane — Intramuscular, submuscular, and subfascial placement require different dissection planes. Intramuscular placement involves muscle splitting, while deeper or anatomy-tailored pockets can require more technically demanding dissection and operating time.
• Hybrid implant plus fat grafting — Adding limited fat grafting to soften implant transitions or improve thin soft-tissue coverage adds liposuction, fat processing, graft placement, consumables, and operative time beyond implant placement alone.
• Asymmetry, prior procedures, or scarred tissue — Marked asymmetry, prior implants, injections, infection, or heavily scarred tissue can require more extensive assessment and dissection, individualized pocket planning, or corrective work to place the implants safely.
• Drain and observation plan — Implant surgery may use drains, and the plan may include outpatient recovery or overnight observation. Drain management and monitored facility time require additional clinical resources and follow-up.

Cost tip: Request an itemized quote that states what is included, particularly the implant/device, anesthesia, operating-facility use, drains, observation, medications, and scheduled wound or drain follow-up.

The US$7,400–$9,600 conversion is approximate, based on the 2026-09-06 exchange rate, and should be checked again when budgeting.

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Buttocks Implants From Start to Finish

1. Remote screening and virtual consultation — Send unedited front, back, side, and three-quarter photographs where requested. Disclose height and weight, nicotine exposure, previous injections or operations, prescriptions and supplements, allergies, medical conditions, anesthesia problems, pregnancy possibility, and personal or family clot history. Remote images cannot replace a physical examination.
2. Travel and recovery planning — Confirm the planned length of stay, accommodation, caregiver, transport, sitting restrictions, and the policy for postoperative problems after returning home before booking non-refundable flights.
3. In-person examination and consent — The surgeon assesses buttock shape, tissue thickness, skin quality, asymmetry, scars, and prior injected materials. Confirm implant dimensions, pocket plane, incision location, whether liposuction or fat grafting is proposed, expected scar, anesthesia plan, overnight observation, and revision policy.
4. Preoperative assessment — Vital signs, medication review, and pregnancy testing when relevant are typical. Blood tests and specialist clearance are selected according to health history and the anesthetic plan rather than a generic checklist.
5. Anesthesia and implant placement — Surgery is generally performed under general anesthesia. Through an incision commonly concealed in or near the intergluteal cleft, the surgeon creates the planned pocket, places the solid silicone implants, controls bleeding, and closes the incision. Drains may be used.
6. Recovery and discharge — The team monitors pain, nausea, bleeding, mobility, and recovery from anesthesia. Leave with a responsible adult after outpatient surgery, or remain for the planned observation period. Begin short, frequent walks as directed while avoiding direct pressure on the buttocks.
7. Early Korean follow-up — Attend wound and drain reviews before leaving the country. The surgeon checks healing, swelling, symmetry, sitting tolerance, medication needs, and fitness for travel.
8. Overseas follow-up — Send requested photographs and attend video follow-up after returning home. Seek prompt local in-person care for wound opening, fever, rapidly worsening swelling, drainage, chest symptoms, or calf pain, and notify the operating surgeon immediately.

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Alternatives to Buttocks Implants

The choice is between structural volume from an implant, volume from a patient's own fat, and less invasive options that offer more limited or temporary change. No non-surgical option reliably reproduces the projection of a well-planned implant operation, while implants require a more demanding recovery and can require future revision or removal.

Brazilian Butt Lift

Brazilian butt lift surgery uses autologous fat to augment the buttocks and can improve donor-site contour through liposuction.

• Best suited to — Patients with adequate donor fat who want combined waist, flank, or back contouring and buttock volume.
• Key tradeoff — Fat retention varies, and BBL has a distinct potentially fatal fat-embolism risk. Ask whether grafting will remain subcutaneous and whether real-time ultrasound guidance will be used.

Targeted Fat Grafting

Hip-dip fat grafting or broader body fat grafting can correct selected depressions, hip dips, or modest asymmetry.

• Best suited to — Patients needing localized contour refinement rather than the structural projection of implants.
• Key tradeoff — It requires donor fat and can need staged treatment because fat survival is variable.

Buttocks or Waist Liposuction

Buttocks liposuction removes localized fat and can change the waist-to-buttock proportion.

• Best suited to — Patients with sufficient buttock volume whose main concern is surrounding fullness.
• Key tradeoff — Liposuction does not add buttock volume or correct significant flatness.

Body Fillers

Body fillers can offer limited contour adjustment without surgery.

• Best suited to — Patients considering small, temporary contour changes who understand maintenance needs.
• Key tradeoff — Evidence for buttock augmentation is weaker, and some materials are difficult or impossible to remove. Avoid unregulated liquid-silicone injections: the FDA has warned that injectable silicone for gluteal augmentation can cause severe injury or death.

Buttock Thread Lift

A butt thread lift uses suspension threads for a modest lifting effect in selected laxity.

• Best suited to — Patients seeking limited lift rather than meaningful volume increase.
• Key tradeoff — Results are temporary and do not replace implant or fat-graft volume.

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How Can I Prepare for Buttocks Implants?

• Disclose all health information — Give the surgeon and anesthesiologist a complete list of prescriptions, over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, herbal products, hormones, allergies, prior operations, prior injections, and anesthesia problems. Report personal or family clot history and any active infection.
• Manage medicines safely — Do not independently stop anticoagulants, antiplatelet medicines, diabetes medicines, blood-pressure medicines, psychiatric medicines, or hormone therapy. The surgeon and prescribing clinician must give individualized instructions on medicines and supplements that affect bleeding, anesthesia, or clot risk.
• Stop nicotine on schedule — Stop cigarettes, vaping, heated tobacco, nicotine pouches, and nicotine replacement only on the surgeon's stated timetable. Do not restart nicotine during healing because nicotine impairs wound healing.
• Follow fasting instructions — Follow the anesthesiologist's exact rules for food, clear liquids, and medicines before general anesthesia; do not rely on an internet fasting schedule.
• Protect the treatment area — Do not arrive with sunburn, folliculitis, rash, open lesions, or an untreated infection involving the buttocks. Postpone elective surgery until these problems are assessed and resolved.
• Avoid alcohol and recreational drugs — Follow the clinic's alcohol restriction and avoid non-prescribed recreational drugs, particularly around anesthesia and while using opioids or sedatives.
• Set up recovery logistics — Book accommodation that supports prone or side sleeping, arrange door-to-door transfers, and prepare for no driving while taking opioid pain medicine or until cleared. Pack loose clothing and avoid managing heavy luggage.
• Keep flights flexible — Do not book a fixed long-haul departure that conflicts with the planned 14- to 21-day stay or early follow-up appointments.

Travel note: Bring enough routine prescription medicine for the full Korea stay plus extra time for a delayed flight, in original labeled containers.

Confirm every medication change, fasting requirement, nicotine stop date, testing need, and travel plan with the treating surgeon and anesthesiologist; their individualized instructions take precedence over general guidance.

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Aftercare Advice

Protect the implant pockets and incision during early healing: pressure, premature exercise, nicotine exposure, and missed wound reviews can turn a manageable recovery into a serious complication.

• Pressure and sleep — Avoid direct pressure on the buttocks for at least the first 2 weeks. Sleep on the stomach or side when instructed. Some implant-specific protocols require no direct sitting for 3 weeks and restricted sitting for about 1 month; follow the operating surgeon's written plan.
• Walking and exercise — Take short, frequent walks from the early postoperative period as directed to support mobility and clot prevention. Avoid heavy lifting, deep squats, running, cycling, gluteal training, and strenuous exercise for roughly 6 to 8 weeks or until the surgeon clears them.
• Incision and drain care — Take prescribed medicines exactly as directed and follow the clinic's instructions for dressings and drains. Do not bathe, swim, or submerge the incision until cleared. Use compression only when prescribed, particularly if liposuction was combined.
• Expected recovery — Bruising, swelling, tightness, discomfort, and altered sensation can occur during the first weeks. Swelling and tissue settling continue for months; assess contour more reliably at about 3 to 6 months, not during early recovery.
• Urgent warning signs — Seek urgent local assessment and notify the operating surgeon for fever, chills, spreading redness or warmth, pus or foul drainage, wound opening, rapidly worsening or one-sided swelling, escalating pain, sudden asymmetry, implant visibility or exposure, new weakness, or worsening numbness. Chest pain, shortness of breath, coughing blood, fainting, rapid heartbeat, or calf pain and swelling require emergency care because they can indicate a blood clot.
• Follow-up and scars — Attend all scheduled wound reviews before travel and send postoperative photographs only through the clinic's approved method. Start silicone scar products, scar massage, or sun protection only after the wound has fully closed and the surgeon approves.

Follow the treating doctor's instructions over this general guidance and contact the clinic promptly when healing appears abnormal.