Breast Lift Surgery with Dr. Yates
What is a breast lift?
A breast lift is a procedure that can be done alone or in conjunction with a breast enlargement or reduction. It is performed to shape the breast and elevate droopy or low hanging nipples. It gives breasts a more perky and youthful appearance. In addition to the cosmetic benefit, patients report improvement in posture, neck and back pain, and enjoy wearing clothes without a bra if they desire. Many patients undergoing breast lift have had children and are unhappy with the appearance of their cleavage in a bra or bathing suit. Dr. Yates always strives to deliver spectacular results and minimal scarring.
What are the benefits of a breast lift?
- Improves breast shape
- Improves nipple position
- Improves cleavage
- Can improve body posture
Having breasts that hang low on the chest wall, look deflated, and droopy can affect you on multiple levels. Some patients mention how they felt the need to always wear a bra, even if they were at home, just because they couldn’t stand the sagginess on their chest. When confronted with severe sagginess, the breasts can look empty and lack any upper pole fullness. Getting perky breasts again can give you a confidence boost and can make you feel more youthful.
After the breast lift procedure, patients talk about how they started doing things they avoided before. One of these things is changing their clothing style. Going to the pool and the beach is not a problem anymore as you can wear any type of swimsuit you like.
Am I a good candidate for a breast lift?
If you are suffering due to saggy breasts, enlarged nipple-areola complex, excessive skin at the level of the breasts, the chances are that you might be a good candidate for the procedure. However, your eligibility for the intervention needs to be assessed by the plastic surgeon during the initial consultation. To be able to maximize the results achieved with the procedure, it’s important for the patients to have a stable, normal weight, not to smoke or take anti-inflammatory medication regularly.
Realistic expectations from the surgery are also important when considering the procedure. You are a good candidate for the mastopexy (breast lift) if you understand that there are certain limitations to the intervention – the plastic surgeon can’t completely redefine the shape of the breasts, and they won’t become larger or much smaller.
What to expect from a breast lift surgery?
The mastopexy procedure is performed with the aim of improving the aspect of saggy breasts and their position on the chest wall. With the natural aging process, after significant weight loss or after pregnancy and breastfeeding, breasts can start sagging and descend on the chest wall. Breast lift is performed to correct breast ptosis (breast sagginess). When the breasts are sagging, it often means that they lose upper pole volume. In other words, most of the mammary gland tissue is positioned under the level of the inframammary fold. The skin on the breasts lacks elasticity, and this can cause physical as well as emotional distress.
The breast lift surgery only deals with the excess skin on the breasts, as well as their position on the chest wall. The volume of the breasts is not affected by this procedure. This is the reason why you should discuss this issue with the plastic surgeon if you are not happy with the size of the breasts. If overly large breasts caused the breast sagginess, the plastic surgeon might advise you to get a breast reduction with the lift. If your breasts are on the small side, getting breast implants with the lift is also a possibility.
When the breast lift is performed as a standalone intervention, the volume of the breasts won’t vary too much before and after the intervention. If there is a considerable amount of saggy skin, the breasts might look slightly smaller after the breast lift.
How is the breast lift intervention performed?
Here are the main steps of breast lift surgery:
- General anesthesia
Breast lift surgery is a complex procedure performed with the patient under general anesthesia.
- Incisions
Once the patient is under the anesthetic effects, the plastic surgeon starts by making the incisions. Different types of incisions can be used for breast lift surgery. The position, number, and length of the incision are dependent on the type of breast ptosis. When the patient has severe breast ptosis, more incisions are needed to correct the condition and reposition the breasts.
Generally speaking, the incisions can be on the edge of the areola (periareolar incision). An inverted T incision or an Anchor incision are also popular choices when it comes to breast lift surgery. Dr. Yates will discuss the placement of the incisions during the initial consultation, so you’ll know exactly what to expect after the surgery.
- Repositioning the mammary gland
Repositioning the mammary gland tissue is the next step of the procedure. Dr. Yates will elevate the mammary gland to the correct position on the chest wall so you can enjoy perky, youthful-looking breasts after the intervention.
- Eliminating excess skin
After the breasts are elevated, the excess skin is removed for a firmer aspect. Good skin tension is essential to get a youthful aspect of the breasts.
- Suturing the incisions
The last step of the intervention is suturing the incisions. After this, the patient is moved to the recovery room.
Breast lift – with or without implants?
A very popular concern for patients interested in undergoing breast augmentation intervention is whether they should get implants or not. Before anything else, you should know that we can’t correct saggy breasts just by inserting implants, especially if the breast sagginess is severe. It’s important to understand that breast lift and breast augmentation are two different procedures with different aims. However, they can be performed in association, so the patient gets perkier breasts and breasts with a larger volume.
Choose breast implants if you want bigger breasts. Otherwise, a breast lift is enough to make your breasts perky and firm.
What should I do to prepare for my breast lift?
- Optimize your nutrition
- Stabilize your weight
- Stop breastfeeding six months in advance, get a mammogram
- Other blood tests might be required
Getting ready for breast lift surgery is about preparing your body, but also your mind and your home for the recovery period. Keep in mind that plastic surgery entails a certain recovery period, so don’t expect to resume all your daily activities the moment you are back from the clinic where the surgery was performed. It would be better to ensure you have enough food, drinks, and entertainment in the house to last you for at least the first-week post-op. Lifting heavy objects is to be avoided, so make sure you do all the shopping and carrying in advance, or ask a friend or family member to help you with this.
Also, it might be a good idea to sit down with your family, children, significant other, or even with your friends and tell them a bit about what is going to happen during the recovery period, just to make sure you have their support and understanding.
In case you are a smoker, the recommendation is to quit smoking or significantly reduce the number of cigarettes you have every day to avoid unwanted complications that could occur due to a lack of proper oxygenation of the tissues.
How much does a breast lift cost?
On average, $4,500 plus anesthesia and facility costs (approximately $3,500), however, each patient is different, and costs may vary based on complexity. Keep in mind that if you choose to enlarge the size of the breasts during the breast lift, there is also the additional cost of the implants.
What is the recovery process for a breast lift?
The recovery period after a breast lift surgery depends on the type of procedure you had. For example, if you had a mastopexy with implants, the chances are you’ll have a slightly longer recovery period compared to someone who had just a breast lift with a periareolar incision.
You should expect to be six weeks in a medical-grade bra and take six weeks before returning to the gym. Most patients don’t need more than a week or two away from work.
To avoid risks and complications, follow Dr. Yates's recommendations for post-operative care.
When is a good time to get a breast lift?
Three of the most common causes of breast sagginess are pregnancy/ breastfeeding, significant weight fluctuations, and the natural aging process. If you want to get a breast lift after pregnancy and breastfeeding, you should wait at least six to eight months after you stop breastfeeding before scheduling your intervention. Allow your breasts to get back to normal or as close as possible to this before undergoing surgery.
Breast lift surgery is one of the most sought-after procedures after massive weight loss. However, in this case, you should wait at least eight to twelve months after you reach your ideal weight before getting the procedure. A stable weight is essential to sustaining the results of the intervention for as long as possible. If the breast sagginess was caused by aging, you could undergo the intervention at any time you can take two weeks off from work for the recovery.
What other procedures can be combined with a breast lift?
Breast Lift FAQs
What Is A Breast Lift? What Results Can I Expect?
The breast lift procedure, also known as mastopexy, is a surgical procedure that aims to elevate saggy breasts and also eliminate excess skin from the level of the breasts. If your breasts have been affected by weight loss, one or multiple pregnancies, or just aging, and most of the breast volume is positioned under the level of the inframammary fold, and then you might be a good candidate for the breast lift procedure. After the breast lift intervention, the results to be expected refer to the breast position on the chest wall and the nipple/ areola complex position on the breasts. During the surgery, the surgeon will not only lift the glandular tissue higher to give the breasts a perkier appearance but the nipples are also repositioned to a correct position on the breasts.
What Is Breast Lift Surgery?
Breast lift surgery is the only effective solution to correct saggy breasts. There are different levels of breast sagginess or breast ptosis. When the sagginess is minor, there are other options to correct it. But for moderate and severe breast ptosis, breast lift surgery is the only procedure that can deliver good, long-lasting results. Breast lift surgery is performed with the use of general anesthesia and entails incisions in different areas of the breasts. The surgical approach will be discussed during the consultation with the plastic surgeon. The placement of the incisions is important as this is where your post-op scars will be. The incisions can have different positions and shapes on the breasts. You might have a crescent lift, donut lift, lollipop lift, anchor lift, or horizontal lift.
How Long Does Surgery Take for a Breast Lift with Augmentation?
The breast lift with implants is a complex surgical procedure that can take up to three hours or more, depending on the particularities of each case. The intervention is performed with the patient under general anesthesia so the patient doesn’t experience any pain or discomfort during the procedure. The operative time will be longer if the breast lift with implants is performed together with other procedures such as liposuction or a tummy tuck.
What Is a Mommy Makeover Surgery?
Mommy Makeover is the name of a batch of procedures performed together. The intervention aims to help women regain their pre-pregnancy body after childbirth. Usually, a breast lift or a breast lift with implants is a part of the Mommy Makeover package, with a tummy tuck and liposuction. The Mommy Makeover procedure is a highly customizable intervention, you can discuss your needs and expectations with the plastic surgeon to get the best possible results and address all or many of the problem areas.
How Do You Fix Saggy Breasts After Weight Loss?
For some people, weight loss might be a journey that could take months or years. It might involve bariatric surgery or physical exercises and diets. And the results on the scale might be gratifying but shadowed by the look in the mirror. Saggy skin folds are often a result of weight loss, especially when a considerable amount of weight is lost in a short period of time. Saggy breasts are also a common side effect of weight loss. To fix saggy breasts after weight loss, you need plastic surgery. The procedure is called breast lift or mastopexy and can be performed as a standalone procedure or with breast implants if you want to enhance the shape and size of the breasts. Physical exercises, creams, and pills are not efficient when it comes to saggy breasts as the excess skin can only be eliminated with the help of surgery and the glandular tissue often needs to be repositioned higher on the chest wall.
Can I Have Liposuction of My Breasts?
Liposuction is the plastic surgery procedure performed to eliminate stubborn fat deposits from different areas of the body. When liposuction is performed, a cannula is inserted through small incisions, and back and forth movements are made to dislodge the fat. The fat is then suctioned into a medical vacuum device. Liposuction on the breasts can be performed on patients who want to get smaller breasts, but also for patients with a considerable amount of fat on the breasts who’d like to achieve a slight lifting effect. How does it work? Liposuction makes the breasts smaller and less heavy, and this can allow the breast tissues to retract – hence, the lifting effect. However, lipo is only efficient in patients with good skin tonus and no saggy skin. More than this, only minor breast ptosis can be corrected with the use of lipo. Severe breast sagginess can only be fixed with breast lift surgery.
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