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Commonly referred to as a breast lift, mastopexy surgery raises and firms the breasts by removing excess skin and tightening the surrounding tissue to reshape and support the new breast contour.

Enhancing your appearance with a breast lift

A woman's breasts often change over time, losing their youthful shape and firmness. These changes and loss of skin elasticity can result from:

  • Pregnancy
  • Breastfeeding
  • Weight fluctuations
  • Aging
  • Gravity
  • Heredity

Sometimes the areola becomes enlarged over time, and a breast lift will reduce this as well. A breast lift can rejuvenate your figure with a breast profile that is youthful and uplifted.
 

What breast lifts don't do

Breast lift surgery does not significantly change the size of your breasts or round out the upper part of your breast. If you want your breasts to look fuller, consider breast lift and augmentation surgery. If you want smaller breasts, consider combining breast lift and reduction surgery.

A breast lift is a good option for you if:

  • You are physically healthy and maintain a stable weight
  • You do not smoke
  • You have realistic expectations
  • You are bothered by the feeling that your breasts sag, have lost shape and volume
  • Your breasts have a flatter, elongated shape or are pendulous
  • When unsupported, your nipples fall below the breast crease
  • Your nipples and areolas point downward
  • You have stretched skin and enlarged areolas
  • One breast is lower than the other

What happens during breast lift surgery?

Step 1 - Anesthesia

Medications are administered for your comfort during breast lift surgery. The choices include intravenous sedation and general anesthesia. Your doctor will recommend the best choice for you.

Step 2 - The incision

There are three common incision patterns:

Around the areola
   

Around the areola and vertically down from the areola to the breast crease
   

Around the areola, vertically down from the breast crease and horizontally along the breast crease

Step 3 - Reshaping your breasts

After your doctor makes the incisions:

  • The underlying breast tissue is lifted and reshaped to improve breast contour and firmness.
  • The nipple and areola are repositioned to a natural, more youthful height.
  • If necessary, enlarged areolas are reduced by excising skin at the perimeter.
  • Excess breast skin is removed to compensate for a loss of elasticity.

Step 4 - Closing the incisions

After your breasts are reshaped and excess skin is removed, the remaining skin is tightened as the incisions are closed.

Some incision lines resulting from breast lifts are concealed in the natural breast contours; however, others are visible on the breast surface. Incision lines are permanent, but in most cases will fade and significantly improve over time.

Sutures are layered deep within the breast tissue to create and support the newly shaped breasts. Sutures, skin adhesives and/or surgical tape may be used to close the skin.

Step 5 - See the results

The results of your breast lift surgery are immediately visible. Over time, post-surgical swelling will resolve and incision lines will fade.

Satisfaction with your new image should continue to grow as you recover and realize the fulfillment of your goal for breasts which have been restored to a more youthful and uplifted position.

Information and illustrations courtesy of American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
http://www.plasticsurgery.org