Breast Lift

A woman’s breasts often change over time, losing their youthful shape and firmness. They may soften and sag (breast ptosis) as a result of pregnancy, nursing, weight gain, and loss, aging, and gravity. A breast lift surgery (mastopexy) removes excess breast skin and tightens breast tissue to raise and firm the breasts to return to youthful shape. A breast lift surgery can be combined with breast augmentation surgery to increase and size of the breasts.

Breast lifts are a highly individualized procedure performed to rejuvenate the breasts by removing excess skin and tightening breast tissue to achieve an uplifted, youthful position and shape. Breast lift surgery (Mastopexy) helps achieve more even breasts and it can reduce the size of the areola (the dark skin surrounding the nipple). A breast lift only lifts the breast and does not change the fullness or roundness in the upper part of the breast. Women who desire a larger breast may want to combine their breast lift with breast augmentation with implants (also known as Mastopexy with Augmentation or Mastopexy with Implants or Augmentation Mastopexy). On the other hand, women who desire smaller breasts may want to consider a breast reduction combined with a breast lift.

Before and After Photos

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Ideal Candidate

The best candidate for a breast lift is a woman with one of the following conditions:

Preparation

To help prepare for a mastopexy (breast lift surgery), Dr. Doumit recommends a baseline mammogram before surgery for women over the age of 40.

Ideally, breastlift patients maintain a stable weight after surgery. Hence any planned weight loss should be done before surgery. If you are a smoker, you will be asked to stop smoking well in advance of surgery. Women planning to have children are advised to postpone their surgery after they are done with childbirth as pregnancy will stretch their breasts again and cause breast sag. You should avoid aspirin and NSAID (Advil, Naproxen…) medications for some time before surgery as they increase bleeding.

Procedure Types

Breast lift surgery is performed as an outpatient procedure under general anesthesia and it lasts less than two hours. Breast lifts can be performed through a variety of incision patterns and techniques. Dr. Doumit will determine the best technique for your breast lift based on the degree of breast sagging (breast ptosis), size and position of your areolas, amount of extra skin, and shape and size of your breast. There are several surgical techniques performed that differ in the incision made and the procedure used to lift and shape the breast.

Periareolar Mastopexy

Periareolar mastopexy, which is also called a Benelli lift or Doughnut lift, is significantly less invasive than the anchor breast lift procedure because the incision is restricted to a circle around the nipple-areola complex. The excess skin around the areola is excised and the adjacent skin is sewn to the nipple-areola complex to produce a breast lift with minimal scarring.

Vertical Mastopexy

Vertical breast lift, also known as vertical mastopexy, is a powerful procedure that can correct a more significant breast drooping. However, it results in a cut around the nipple-areola complex and then vertically down the breast to the inframammary fold. Vertical mastopexy avoids the horizontal cut underneath the breast in the inframammary fold that results from a standard breast lift.

Inverted T Mastopexy

Standard breast lift, also known as inverted T mastopexy, is performed through a keyhole incision. The skin cuts start around the nipple-areola complex, then vertically down to the base of the breast, and then extend in the inframammary crease – creating an anchor or keyhole shape. It is most often used for extensive ptosis (drooping), resulting in the most noticeable scarring.

In all three described techniques, after the administration of anesthesia, a renowned plastic surgeon for breast lift, Dr. Doumit makes the incisions. He then lifts and reshapes the breast tissue into an uplifted, youthful contour. Dr. Doumit reshapes the areola if enlarged and then moves the nipple into a youthful position. Excess skin is then trimmed. The skin is then closed meticulously. All scars will mature with time.

Recovery

Mastopexy, Breast lift surgery, is usually done as an outpatient procedure. You will need someone to accompany and assist you at home for the first day following your surgery. At home, it is important to rest comfortably with your head elevated over a pillow to support the core of the body. Ensure at all times, that you have your medication close at hand, as well as some ice packs to put over your breasts. Following your surgery, your breasts will be bruised and swollen for about two weeks. You’ll need to wear a surgical bra at all times for the first week after your breast lift surgery, followed by a support bra for several weeks after that.

Discomfort after breast lift will last a few days but it will be very well controlled with pain medications. Post-surgical swelling will resolve over a few weeks and incision lines will fade over a few months. Any numbness in the breasts and nipples should lessen and gradually recover within a few months. Most patients can return to work within one to two weeks.

Results

You will be able to see the results of your breast lift immediately after surgery. Your breast shape and contour will continue to improve as swelling subsides and scars fade over time. The results of breast lift are long lasting however the breasts will continue to change over time due to gravity and aging. It is very important to maintain a stable weight to maintain a long-lasting result

Safety

All surgeries carry some risk. Although rare, possible complications of a breast lift include: Bleeding, infection, poor incision healing, loss of sensation in the nipples or breast, breast or nipple asymmetries, and need for revision surgery.

Cost

The cost of Breast lift varies according to the complexity of the surgery that needs to be performed.

Breast Lift: Start at  8,500$
Breast Lift with Auto-augmentation: Start at 10,000$
Breast Lift with Reduction: Start at 10,500$