Should You Get a Breast Lift?

Breast lift surgery is a popular procedure that helps a woman rejuvenate her figure and fight off:

• Gravity
• Pregnancy
• Breast Feeding
• Natural Sagging from Age

The breast lift is most popular among women with naturally larger breasts since sagging is more pronounced in them as they get older, however women with smaller bust sizes can also benefit from the surgery.

The degree of droop, (medical term is ptosis), determines the type of lift necessary to restore a youthful breast shape and nipple areola position. Minimal drooping requires minimal incisions with minimal scarring. Historically, a full breast lift involved incisions within the crease underneath the breast, an incision around the areola, and a vertical incision extending from the areola to the incision underneath the breast. This incision is sometimes called an anchor incision or an inverted “T”. This traditional technique has been widely used because it consistently produced the desired shape and position of the breast on the chest wall and nipple areola position. In this technique excess skin is removed, the breast is elevated and frequently the size of the areola is reduced. This approach allows maximal change to the breast.

In the past decade many plastic surgeons are changing to a technique generically referred to as a vertical scar technique. In this technique the incision in the fold beneath the breast is eliminated. Besides eliminating a significant amount of the scarring, the technique  may result in a more pleasing breast shape compared to the more traditional method. Which approach is used depends on a patient’s anatomy and surgeon experience, expertise and comfort.

The scar is in three distinct locations that each have a characteristic pattern of healing. In the peri-areolar area, scarring is partially concealed by the change in color at the transition from breast skin to the pigmented skin of the areola. The vertical incision from the areola to the crease may be hidden in shadow. The inframammary portion of the scar, along the fold created by the breast is often the thickest of the scars, but it may be hidden in the inframammary fold. The scars fade over time but remain visible in most cases.

It is important to realize that this procedure is not permanent and in some cases requires an additional surgery to maintain the breast shape and positioning.  Breast lift surgery is not an ideal procedure for women planning on having additional children since pregnancy and breast feeding could cause additional sagging.