Breast uplift cost: with and without implants, and what you are paying for
The short answer
A breast uplift at Waterfront starts at £8,800. With implants, or with your own fat instead of implants, it costs £11,800.
Each price covers your surgeon, a consultant anaesthetist, the hospital, and a year of aftercare that includes treating complications caused directly by the operation. The consultation is separate, at £200.
How much does a breast uplift cost?
Every price includes
- Your surgeon and a consultant anaesthetist
- The hospital, medicines and dressings
- Your support bra
- A year of aftercare, including treating complications caused directly by the operation
The consultation is £200, and a second one before you decide is free.
With a larger reduction the price is a little more.
If your breast has not dropped and you only want more volume, you may not need an uplift at all. Breast augmentation with implants is £6,800. There is more on how to tell in Breast uplift, implants or both: how to tell which you need.
What if I already have implants?
If you want your implants out and the breast lifted, implant removal with an uplift is £10,000. Removal en bloc (the implant and the scar capsule around it taken out together) with an uplift is £13,500.
If you want new implants and an uplift in the same operation, the price is essentially the same as an uplift with implants, £11,800. It can be more if other work is needed, such as removing the scar capsule around the old implants (capsulectomy), and your surgeon tells you at the consultation.
What changes the price?
- A skin-only uplift lifts and reshapes the breast you have. If your surgeon also removes some breast tissue to make you a little smaller, the price is typically £9,150, and a little more for larger reductions. If you want to be much smaller, the right operation may be a breast reduction (£10,000) rather than an uplift.
- Adding implants takes the price to £11,800. Using fat transfer instead costs the same. Your surgeon assesses whether fat can give you enough volume.
- If your breasts are heavy or very low, your surgeon may advise doing the uplift first and adding implants later, once the breast has settled. That is two operations, priced separately. If you choose to have both done in one operation and later need a further uplift, you pay the difference between what you paid and what the two separate operations would have cost.
- Waterfront does day surgery only, and uplifts are done as day surgery. If a large combination or a higher BMI means you should stay overnight, the operation is done at our partner hospital, which has its own finance, and your surgeon tells you at the consultation what that means for the price.
Short 3D animations of both operations. They load only when you press play.
Breast uplift animation
Breast uplift with implants animation
How much is a breast uplift with a tummy tuck?
Done together, sometimes called a mummy makeover, a breast uplift with a full tummy tuck is about £17,000. With implants or fat transfer it is about £19,000.
Rough guides for the operations done together, not quotes.
These are rough guides to help you plan, not quotes. Together the operations cost less than having them separately because you have one hospital admission, one anaesthetic and one recovery. An uplift with a full tummy tuck, for example, is roughly £3,000 less. That is not a reason to have more than one operation: only have what you and your surgeon agree is right for you.
Whether combining suits you depends on your health and the size of the operation, and your surgeon decides that with you at the consultation. A full tummy tuck needs an overnight stay at our partner hospital. For a full or mini tummy tuck, we ideally want your BMI to be under 30. Your written quote gives the exact total.
You can get a rough guide for any one or two procedures from our price estimator, which takes about a minute.
What is included in the price?
Your price includes:
- your pre-operative assessment and basic blood tests
- the surgery, your anaesthetic (all anaesthetists at Waterfront are consultants) and your stay at Waterfront
- the implants, if you are having an uplift with implants
- medicines to take home, and dressings
- the support bra, fitted before you go home
- nurse check-ups and wound care
- follow-up with your surgeon for the first 12 months: the final review at about six months, and earlier whenever you need it
- treatment of complications caused directly by your surgery, in that first year
The consultant who sees you at your first appointment is the one who plans your operation, carries it out and reviews you afterwards.
What is not included?
- Your first consultation, which is £200. A second consultation before you decide is free.
- Special tests or scans, such as a mammogram, ultrasound or MRI.
- Any additional procedures.
- Treatment unrelated to your surgery, or care at another hospital.
- Revision surgery for cosmetic reasons when your result is within the normal range.
- Your travel and your time off work. Most people take one to two weeks off and avoid strenuous exercise for six weeks.
Five per cent of people or fewer need a further operation after an uplift, most often a small revision of a scar or of the shape. The figure is often higher after an uplift with implants done in one operation, because that is more complex surgery. If it is to treat a complication caused by the surgery, it falls within the year of aftercare. If your result is within the normal range and you want a change, it is charged.
How do I pay, and can I spread the cost?
- The consultation is paid when you book it.
- After it, you get a written quote by secure email. It lists exactly what your price covers and is valid for 90 days.
- Surgery is paid in full two weeks before your operation, by credit or debit card or bank transfer. We cannot take cash.
- Finance is available through Omni Capital Retail Finance: interest-free plans over 6 or 10 months, with a deposit of 10 to 50 per cent of the treatment cost, subject to status. You can cancel within 14 days of approval, and repay early at no extra cost. The team can go through it with you.
- Waterfront is a self-pay hospital and does not treat patients through medical insurance.
- If you cancel more than 14 days before surgery, there is no charge. Between 8 and 14 days before, we may keep 20 per cent of the fee, and within 7 days, or if you do not attend, up to 50 per cent.
Our advice is to decide on the operation first, then the money.
Why do breast uplift prices differ between providers?
Quotes are put together differently, so compare what they contain rather than the headline figure. Ask any provider:
- Does the price include the surgeon, the anaesthetist, the hospital and the implants?
- Is the surgeon who sees you at consultation the one who operates and reviews you afterwards?
- Is the surgeon on the GMC Specialist Register for plastic surgery?
- How many follow-up appointments are included, with whom, and for how long?
- If there is a complication, is its treatment included, and for how long?
- Is the support bra included?
- How long is the quote valid, and what are the cancellation terms?
Both clinics may call their surgeons qualified, and both are allowed to operate. The surgeon in Quote A may have trained or worked in plastic surgery abroad, sometimes for many years, but unless the GMC has recognised that training they cannot join the Specialist Register. Only the surgeon in Quote B has specialist training the GMC recognises. Ask each clinic to fill in this table for the surgeon who would operate on you.
If you are considering surgery abroad, ask the same questions, and also who will see you if a problem appears after you fly home, how soon you are allowed to fly, and where any further surgery would happen. If you have had breast surgery elsewhere and are unhappy with it, we do not assess it until six to nine months after the operation, because swelling and scars take that long to settle.
Our guide to cosmetic surgery red flags covers what else to check before you book anywhere.
Can I have a breast uplift on the NHS?
An uplift for appearance alone is not available on the NHS in Scotland. Under the Scottish Government’s National Referral Protocol (CMO(2025)17, 30 September 2025), NHS Scotland does not routinely offer surgery done mainly to lift the breast, and it does not support a simple cosmetic uplift or surgery to reverse normal ageing changes. An uplift can be considered only for a congenital difference of more than one cup size between the breasts, a congenital condition such as tuberous breasts, or skin irritation under the breasts that does not settle with treatment (intractable intertrigo), with a BMI between 20 and 27. Referral is through your GP, who can tell you whether you meet the criteria, and the decision is made by a vetting panel set up by your NHS board.
Who should not book yet?
It is better to wait if you are planning more children soon, if your weight is still changing (including on weight-loss injections), if you finished breastfeeding less than six months ago, or if you had breast surgery elsewhere in the last six to nine months. We don’t operate on smokers for an uplift in any form: you need to have stopped at least 4 weeks before surgery, including vaping and nicotine patches or gum, because nicotine raises the risk of losing part of the nipple.
A BMI above 30 does not on its own rule out breast surgery, and being on HRT is not a reason to wait.
Mr Omar Quaba has written about why a good surgeon sometimes says no, and what a no should sound like.
How do I get an exact price?
Book a consultation with the consultant who would operate. They examine and measure you and tell you which operation fits, and the written quote follows by secure email. You can see live availability and book online, or call the team on 0131 376 3785, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
Surgery is usually one to three months after the consultation, depending on the procedure, your surgeon and availability. You can see live consultation dates when you book online.
Questions patients ask
How much does a breast uplift cost in Edinburgh? At Waterfront a breast uplift starts at £8,800. If your surgeon also removes some tissue to make you a little smaller, it is typically £9,150, and a little more for larger reductions. The price covers your surgeon, a consultant anaesthetist, the hospital, the support bra and a year of aftercare, including treatment of complications caused directly by the operation. The consultation is £200 and is paid separately.
How much is a breast uplift with implants? A breast uplift with implants costs £11,800, including the implants. If you would rather not have implants, an uplift with fat transfer also costs £11,800.
Can I spread the cost of a breast uplift? Finance is available through Omni Capital Retail Finance: interest-free plans over 6 or 10 months, with a deposit of 10 to 50 per cent of the treatment cost, subject to status. You can cancel within 14 days of approval, and repay early at no extra cost. Otherwise, surgery is paid in full two weeks before your operation by card or bank transfer. The team can go through the options with you after your consultation.
Is the consultation fee included in the price? No. The first consultation is £200, paid when you book, with the consultant who would operate. If you want to come back before deciding, the second consultation is free. After the consultation you get a written quote by secure email that lists exactly what your price covers. It is valid for 90 days.
What if I need more surgery afterwards? Five per cent of people or fewer need a further operation after an uplift, most often a small revision of a scar or of the shape. It is often higher after an uplift with implants in one operation, which is more complex surgery. Treatment of complications caused directly by your surgery is included for the first year. Revision for cosmetic reasons, when the result is within the normal range, is not included. Your surgeon will explain which applies if it comes up.
Can I use private medical insurance for a breast uplift? No. Waterfront is a self-pay hospital and does not treat patients through medical insurance. An uplift for appearance alone is also not available on the NHS in Scotland. Under the Scottish Government’s National Referral Protocol (September 2025), it is considered only for narrow medical reasons, such as a congenital difference of more than one cup size. Referral is through your GP, and the decision is made by your NHS board.
Does it cost less to have an uplift and a tummy tuck together? Yes. Done together, a breast uplift with a full tummy tuck is about £17,000, and about £19,000 with implants or fat transfer. With a mini tummy tuck the guides are about £13,500 and £16,500. These are rough guides, not quotes. Whether combining suits you depends on your health and the size of the operation, and your surgeon decides that with you at the consultation. A full tummy tuck needs an overnight stay at our partner hospital. For a full or mini tummy tuck, we ideally want your BMI to be under 30.
Ready to talk it through?
Book a consultation online, call the team, or send us a question first.