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COSMETIC SURGERY
PROCEDURES
COSMETIC SURGERY PROCEDURES
BREAST LIFT
PHOTOS · DETAILS · PROCEDURE · RECOVERY · FAQs
PROCEDURE ILLUSTRATION
A breast lift is performed to reshape breasts that may have lost skin elasticity, shape, and firmness over time. This can be the result of pregnancy, weight loss, nursing, or the force of gravity. Also known as mastopexy, a breast lift is often best for women with small, sagging breasts who are looking to lift them back into their original place. Through the procedure, the breasts are raised and made firmer by removing excess skin and lifting the surrounding tissue. If the areola has become enlarged over time, a breast lift can reduce this as well.
If the breasts have also lost volume as the result of pregnancy, breastfeeding or age, the lift procedure is sometimes combined with breast implant surgery.
Reasons for a Breast Lift
Some of the most common reasons women request a breast lift are:
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Breasts have begun to sag, due to age, pregnancy or nursing |
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Clothes do not fit properly, bras become uncomfortable |
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Desire for more cleavage, or more attractive breasts |
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Improved self esteem and confidence |
Your surgeon will make several incisions: One around the areola; another from the bottom of the areola down to the crease beneath the breast, and a third horizontally beneath the breast.
The breast lift procedure involves removing excess skin in order to raise the nipple and tighten the breast tissue. Your surgeon will make an incision in one of several places, depending on the extent of the lifting and tightening that will be performed.
After the incisions are made, your surgeon will lift and reshape the breast tissue to enhance the breast contour and firmness. The nipple and areola will also be repositioned to a natural, more youthful height. If the areolas are enlarged, a reduction will be achieved by excising skin at the perimeter. Sagging or droopiness will be remedied by removing excess skin.
You will see the results of your breast lift immediately. However, you should expect some soreness and swelling. The swelling should subside in about 2-4 weeks. The shape of your breast will continue to refine over a period of 1 -3 months. While most of the incision lines will have been concealed in the natural breast contours, some may remain visible on the breast surface. These will continue to fade and flatten for up to one year.
The results of your breast lift surgery are immediately visible. Over time, post-surgical swelling will resolve and incision lines will fade.
Can exercise tighten the skin without Breast lift (Mastopexy)?
Unfortunately no. Exercise is good for the mind and body in general, and toning the muscles can help fill out any loose skin in the vicinity. Excercise can increase muscle bulk, and that in turn can make skin look a little tighter, but exercise cannot actually tighten the breast skin. To date, only surgery can accomplish that.
Does Breast lift (Mastopexy) take care of stretch marks?
Stretch marks are scars. They are produced by distension of the skin. Some of those stretch marks will be removed with the extra skin, especially at the lower part of the breast. Those located on the upper breast will remain. The stretch marks that remain may be tightened and smoothed out somewhat.
Will Breast lift (Mastopexy) tighten up loose skin?
In a way, yes, as much of the loose skin is actually removed, and that which remains is made a little tighter.
What are the techniques of Breast lift (Mastopexy)?
All methods so far invented rely on actual skin removal.Perhaps the most important characteristic of an attractively-shaped breast is the balance between the volume of the breast, and the surface area of the skin holding that volume. If these two are in the correct proportion, then usually an attractive shape results. When there is a mismatch, that is there is too much skin for the breast volume, then the breast is too "relaxed" or "droopy" or "saggy" with a downward descent below the normal level. Correction of this problem then requires either increasing the volume, as with an implant, or decreasing the skin area, called a mastopexy, or sometimes both these methods are needed. The use of an implant is discussed in detail elsewhere. Removal of skin must always result in a scar someplace on the breast.
Can the nipple sense of touch be lost from a mastopexy?
Yes, that is a possibility, because virtually every mastopexy involves cutting around the nipple. Nerves grow back slowly, so usually we allow two years for the sense of touch to return to normal, and if not by then, it probably will not.
Where are the scars after Breast lift (Mastopexy)?
Removal of skin must always result in a scar someplace on the breast. Almost always, the descent of tissues has included the nipple-areola which becomes too low for an attractive look, and so the minimum scar is usually one which goes all the way around the nipple-areola ("The Circle" or the "Binelli"). For mild degrees of descent, that scar around the nipple-areola is all that is necessary. If more skin than that has to be removed, then there will have to also be a vertical scar downward from the nipple-areola so the scar will be a circle with a line downward ("The Lollipop"). If the breast relaxation is even more severe than that, then there will also be a horizontal scar from side-to-side under the breast so the scar will be a circle with a line down and then a curved line under the breast ("The Anchor"). Only at consultation can the extent of the scar needed be estimated. It is known, however, that attempts to correct a severe degree of breast relaxation using only the scar around the nipple-areola generally result in severe problems, and often lead to complications.
Can the problems come back after Breast lift (Mastopexy)?
Yes, the skin stretches with the passage of time, and so as the years go by there will be more skin, and the breast will gradually stretch out again. Nevertheless, a better contour after surgery is in one sense permanent, in that no matter what the person's age, the benefits remain.
Is Breast lift (Mastopexy) surgery painful?
Usually not extremely so, as there are no deeper tissues involved. All the patients are given strong narcotic pills to take at home, and limit their activities accordingly.