Breast lift, or mastopexy, is a procedure to improve the shape of the breasts. Most commonly, its purpose to reduce ptosis, or droopiness, of the breasts. As an Albuquerque plastic surgeon, I have frequently been asked about breast lift. However, many people find this subject embarrassing to discuss. This is the main reason I would like to share with you some of the more common questions about breast lift.
Common Questions about Breast Lift
- Will having implants help my breasts look perky again? This is the most often asked question about breast lift. The answer is “it depends.” When a woman has relatively little breast tissue and not much stretching of the skin, she can achieve a significant improvement with breast augmentation alone. On the other hand, if she has a moderate amount of breast tissue and, in particular, moderate droopiness, it is very difficult to achieve an acceptable result with just breast implants. Some sort of breast lift is almost always necessary in the latter case. Unfortunately, it often take a personal consultation and evaluation to know which procedure is the the right one for a particular woman.
- Can I get larger implants to “fill up” the loose skin to avoid a breast lift? In theory, the answer may be “yes.” However, there is a problem with this logic. First of all, the size of the implants needed to achieve enough lift may be so unreasonably large that they appear ridiculous. Secondly, implants increase the total weight of the augmented breasts and this causes the breasts to sag faster. It then becomes a vicious cycle of ever-increasing implants size and droopiness.
- Is there other types of breast lift other than the “lollipop” style incision? Certainly. If the overall shapes of the breasts are acceptable with the exception of slightly lower nipple positions, the crescent lift may be the answer with a semicircular incision at the edge of the areola. There are also some more variations of the lift incisions that can be tailored to each person.
There may be many more questions about breast lift on your mind. Please set up a personal consultation with me to discuss your concerns.
