Mastopexy or Breast Lift

BREAST LIFT

Also Known As: Mastopexy

Mastopexy Definition

Mastopexy, more commonly known as breast lift or uplift, is a surgical operation designed to remove loose skin, reposition nipples, restore breast firmness, reduce areola size and correct breast position. Breast lift can also be performed with implant insertion if the patient requires or desires additional breast size.

The goal of a breast lift procedure is to firm the breast and correct the position of chest wall. It involves re-arranging the soft tissues and shifting nipple position by tightening the breasts’ skin covering.

Benefits of Breast lift

A breast lift may be beneficial to women who have lost breast tissues due to breastfeeding, pregnancy, aging or weight loss.

A breast lift may benefit women by reversing the effects of breast sagging, correcting imbalance of breast shape and size, regaining the volume before pregnancy and nursing, reversing the effects of drooping breasts and saggy skin.

A breast lift may benefit women who will undergo breast augmentation, but are unable to proceed with the procedure due to ptosis.

A breast lift may also benefit women who have excessively large breasts that causes back problems. A breast lift can be used to reduce breast size.

The Breast lift Procedure

There are several techniques used in breast lift procedures, which is largely determined by the degree of sagging.

Generally, the breast lift procedure is performed by removing the excess skin around the areola and bottom of the breast. The skin of the breasts is shifted to achieve tightening of skin envelope, inserting of extra volume (implants), and smoothening of skin. When this happens, the areola and nipples are elevated into a more youthful-looking position.

Breast lifting techniques fall into two large categories – concentric breast lift and anchor-shaped breast lift. A breast lift may take one to five hours depending on the technique used.

Concentric breast lift, also known as doughnut Mastopexy, is performed on women with smaller and less sagging breasts. Some procedures require only local anesthesia combined with sedatives, rather than the commonly used general anesthetic.

The concentric breast lift is done by drawing doughnut-shaped circles around the areola and then cut. The drawn area is removed and both the areola and nipples are shifted upwards. The outer skin is then sutured around the areola.

An anchor-shaped breast lift performed on women with severely sagging breasts. An anchor-shaped incision will be made above the areola and nipple. The upper part of the anchor will be removed as well as excess breast tissues. Then, the areola and nipple are shifted up to the lower part of the anchor. The incision will then be sutured around the areola.

Recovery After Breast Lift Procedure

Immediately after breast lift surgery, a surgical bra or an elastic bandage will be used over the gauze dressing.

Since the breast will be swollen and bruised, the patient will experience mild to moderate discomfort for a few days. Most pain associated with post-breast lift procedure can be relieved with medical prescriptions.

After a week or so, the stitches and gauze will be removed and the elastic bandage will be replace by a soft supporting bra.

Numbness of breast skin and nipples is expected to occur due to the swelling after surgery. However, this swollen feeling and numbness will subside as the healing progress.

The Results

After the surgery and healing process, the breasts will have more volume and look fuller.

Although scarring is possible, a breast lift procedure usually yields minimal scars and will only produce faint lines along the incision spots.

When the breasts have completely healed, the patients may notice slight shape or size differences between the breasts. This is occurrence is natural since most surgeons follow the asymmetry of the natural breast.

Although the breasts will become fuller and more youthful, a breast lift procedure will not provide permanent results. Factors such as pregnancy, gravitational effects, aging process and weight changes will eventually affect the breasts over time.

Surgical facility And Cost

Breast lift procedures are performed in office-based surgical centers as an outpatient basis. However, if large amounts of breast tissues are removed, the surgeon may recommend an overnight stay in the recovery center, which will be closely monitored by medical experts.

The cost of a breast lift procedure depends on three important fees – surgeon (will depend on expertise and geographic location), anesthesia ($1,000 to $1,300) and facility fee ($500 to $1,500). The average cost of breast lift surgery varies from $3,500 to $6,000.

Side Effects, Risks, Complications and Contradictions

Just like any surgical procedures, a breast lift also involves risks such as scarring, infection, bleeding and breastfeeding abnormalities.

Cosmetic Surgery