What is a Breast Lift?
A breast lift, or mastopexy, is surgery that raises the breasts by removing excess skin and tightening the surrounding tissue to reshape and support the new breast contour.
A woman’s breasts often change over time, losing their youthful shape and firmness. These changes and loss of skin elasticity can result from:
- pregnancy,
- breastfeeding,
- weight fluctuations,
- aging,
- gravity,
- heredity.
Sometimes the areola becomes enlarged over time, and a breast lift will reduce this as well.
What a breast lift won’t do
Breast lift surgery does not significantly change the size of your breasts, or round out the upper part of your breast. For fuller breasts, a breast lift may be combined with breast augmentation. If smaller breasts are part of the goal, a breast lift can be combined with breast reduction.
Candidates for a Breast Lift
Good candidates for a breast lift are:
- physically healthy and maintain a stable and appropriate weight for your height
- a non- smoker
- bothered by the feeling that your breasts have fallen, lost shape and volume.
Or if you have:
- breasts with a flatter, elongated shape,
- nipples that fall below the breast crease,
- nipples and areolas that point downward,
- stretched skin and enlarged areolas,
- one breast lower than the other.
The Procedure
A breast lift can be achieved through a variety of incision patterns and techniques. The right technique for you will be based on:
- breast size and shape,
- the size and position of your areolas,
- the degree of breast sagging, and
- skin quality and elasticity, as well as the amount of extra skin.
The procedure is done under general anaesthesia. There are three common incision patterns:
- around the areola,
- around the areola and vertically down from the areola to the breast crease,
- around the areola, vertically down from the breast crease and horizontally along the breast crease.
The breast is then re-shaped:
- The underlying breast tissue is lifted and reshaped to improve breast contour and firmness.
- The nipple and areola are repositioned to a natural, more youthful height.
- If necessary, enlarged areolas are reduced by excising skin at the perimeter.
- Excess breast skin is removed to compensate for a loss of elasticity.
Recovery and results
Patients can generally return to light activity after 10 to 14 days, and full recovery time for this procedure is usually around a month. You must wear a supportive bra everyday for the full recovery period to ensure proper healing.
The results of your breast lift surgery will be immediately visible. The final results will appear over the next few months as breast shape and position continue to settle. Incision lines are permanent, but will continue to fade over the first few months.