Breast Lift View Photos

Introduction

Mastopexy, or breast lift, is a procedure designed to improve the appearance of sagging breasts. The goal of surgery is to obtain a more youthful appearance, improved projection, and reduced ptosis. The trade-off for aesthetic improvement achieved with breast lift surgery is additional scars on the breast. Breast lift surgery can be combined with breast augmentation using implants. This combination results in a fuller breast shape, especially in the upper pole of the breast.

How does the breast shape change with age?

Many women notice two changes in their breast shape after pregnancy and with age.

The first is a loss of upper pole fullness of the breast. This is a result of gravity's effect on the breast tissue, and the changes in breast tissue after the pregnancy and breast-feeding.


Changes in the breast with age

The second change is the development of breast and nipple ptosis. The nipple and surrounding areola descends down the chest relative to the fold (marked with orange line) beneath the breast. When the nipple is at the level of the breast fold, the nipple is described as 'ptotic'. When there is a substantial amount of breast tissue visible below the fold level, the breast is described as ptotic. A breast with ptosis essentially has a droopy and deflated appearance.

What can a breast lift achieve?

Breast lift surgery tightens the breast skin envelope and redistributes breast volume in a more aesthetically pleasing way. The nipple and areola are lifted into a youthful position. Breast lift surgery does result in scars on the breast, and this is the trade-off for a lifted breast shape. For additional breast volume, a breast lift can be combined with a breast augmentation using a silicone or saline breast implant.


Before
Before

After
After


How is a breast lift surgery done?

The ideal nipple location for the breast is marked on the breast. An estimation of excess skin and breast tissue is made, and these marks are also added to the breast. Based on this analysis, a breast lift technique is chosen.


Three types of mastopexy techniques

There are three techniques for managing excess breast skin. Each results in a progressive amount of scar length. A basic rule of thumb is the greater the amount of excess breast skin, the longer the mastopexy scar will be.

The excess skin is removed, and the nipple and areola are moved and centralized onto the breast. The result of mastopexy is a breast that is lifted, with a tighter skin envelope. A mastopexy can also be combined with a breast augmentation procedure. The augmentation procedure provides more breast volume, especially in the upper breast pole.