Cosmetic and Plastic Surgeons

One of the things about a breast lift that scares me the most is the potential scarring. I wanted to know as much about scarring from the procedure as I could. I looked into it and ended up on the website of a Utah plastic surgeon. It says, “This is not to minimize the reality of a scar, but rather to suggest that most patients are very happy to have a nice, perky breast, and that in the end the scars are not as big a concern as they seem to be in the beginning.”

I recently decided that I wanted to have a breast lift performed on me so I went online to find out what I can expect for side effects. In my search I found a Chicago plastic surgeon’s website. It had my answer and says, “Most swelling and discoloration will subside after a few weeks. There may be a temporary loss of sensation in the breast skin but this improves with time.”

The recovery of my body after a breast lift is the most important part in my eyes. I did some looking around online and found out some basic information about breast lift recovery. On a West Palm Beach plastic surgeon’s website it says, “Recovery: Back to work: 1 week or more. Strenuous activities: 1 month. Fading of scars: several months to a year.”

I look up breast lift information now and then looking for specifics each time. I thought I knew everything about the surgery until I found a Chicago plastic surgeon’s website. It says, “Even breasts that are dissimilar in shape can be adjusted to appear younger, healthier and rejuvenated.”

I’m very self-conscious about my breasts so I often look into surgery. This time I looked into a breast lift. I found some interesting information on a Newport Beach plastic surgeon’s website. It says, “Breast-lift or mastopexy firms and tightens the breast. It raises the nipple on the profile of the breast and is often done in conjunction with breast implants.”

When performing breast augmentation surgery by itself, it takes great skill to place an implant correctly and achieve wonderful results. Similarly, it takes great skill to appropriately carry out a breast lift procedure by itself and re-establish a youthful looking breast. However, both of these operations have certain, relatively low levels of unpredictability when they are carried out by themselves. Unpredictability in plastic surgery originates from multiple factors, such as, individual wound healing factors, age, hormones and techniques used. When breast lifts are combined with implant placement the variables that contribute to unpredictability are multiplied several fold. Increased unpredictability sometimes makes it more difficult to achieve good results.

There are many reasons for undergoing a breast lift. Reasons include, having breasts that lack substance or firmness; having breasts that are pendulous, but of satisfactory size; having nipples and areolas that point downwards, especially if they are positioned below the breast crease; or having loss of elasticity, weight loss, pregnancy and breast-feeding affect the shape and firmness of the breasts.

Patients who undergo breast reduction surgery frequently are seeking relief from physical symptoms caused by the excessive weight of large breasts. Breast reduction usually can solve these problems as well as improve the size and shape of your breasts. Following breast reduction, your breasts will be more proportional to the rest of your body, and clothes will fit you better.

A minimal scar breast lift procedure encompasses several newer techniques aimed at reducing scars. A “donut” or circumareolar mastopexy results in a scar only around the areola (the pigmented area around the nipple). The circumareolar-vertical mastopexy or “lollipop” type of incision results in a scar extending around the areola and vertically down to the crease under the breast.

Additional considerations must also be understood in deciding which particular breast lift technique will be used. The circumareolar or “donut” mastopexy is reserved for minimal type lifts and will tend to decrease projection making the breast somewhat rounder and flatter across the front. This may be especially desirable to breast lift patients with overly pointed or projected breasts to start with. The addition of the vertical incision, while mandatory in some cases, will tend to add some projection to the breast. Hence, the initial shape, projection, and amount of sagging of the breast must all be taken into consideration as well as the wishes and expectation of the patient before making a final decision as to which technique is to be used.

In general, breasts that are long and demonstrate significant vertical excess skin will require a horizontal skin resection to tighten the breast. Breasts that are wide and demonstrate significant horizontal skin excess will require vertical skin removal to tighten the breast. When breasts have both vertical and horizontal skin excess, the traditional lollipop incision is used which removes the vertical and horizontal excess. Currently, most surgeons employ 5 different breast lift techniques to treat most of their patients. Breast lifts are successful when used with or without implants. However, the combination of breast implant and breast lift can successfully tighten your skin and perk up the breasts without affecting the overall size of the breasts. In some cases, a slight to moderate increase in breast size can be performed with the use of implants.

A plastic surgeon will examine your breasts and take measurements. The size and shape of your breasts and the placements of nipples and areolas will be carefully evaluated. Medical history will be discussed like medicine conditions, drug allergies, medical treatments received, and previous surgeries. If there was a weight loss, your weight should be stabilized before breast lift surgery.

The breast lift procedure is indicated when the breasts have lost their youthful volume and have become stretched and saggy. At this point, the nipples have dropped as well and in severe cases, the nipples may point straight to the ground. In youth, the perky breast is supported by strong internal ligaments and other connective tissue structures which give it a firm feel. After childbirth, severe weight loss, gravity and hormonal changes cause these ligaments to stretch and weaken the breast tissue which looses its firmness (atrophies) and becomes quite soft. The severity of sagginess will usually dictate which breast lift technique is used in an attempt to rejuvenate the fallen breast.

The breast lift procedure (mastopexy) is performed for patients who have sagging breasts due to pregnancy or aging. The nipples may be lower than desired giving the patient an aged look.

The procedure is similar to the breast reduction; however, the breast tissue and fat are preserved. Incisions will be made around the nipple, extending vertically to the fold of the breast and along the breast fold. This may be combined with a breast augmentation under certain circumstances.

The patient will have a supportive dressing for the first day then will be placed in a sports bra that should be worn for 3 to 4 weeks. The scars will fade tremendously over the following year.

Modern surgical techniques, such as a vertical mastopexy, result in fewer and better scars than older techniques. Many plastic surgeons have switched to the vertical mastopexy technique for most patients for this reason. Recovery is surprisingly rapid, with resumption of reasonable activity in two or three days. The discomfort is very moderate, approximately equal to a subglandular breast augmentation (saline).