According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the number of patients opting to have breast lifts has risen 600 percent in the last 16 years. This new shift in plastic surgery aims to restore what you previously lost in lieu of acquiring what you have never had. 

While a breast lift procedure does not increase or reduce the size of the breasts, the shape of the breasts or the overall tissue compound, shifting the breast back to its original placement does give the illusion of fullness and a more perky and curvy silhouette.

What Is The Difference Between A Breast Lift And A Breast Augmentation?

When a surgeon augments breasts, he or she is enlarging the tissue in some capacity. A mastopexy, or breast lift, tightens up the loose and sagging skin without changing the size of the breast. Many surgical procedures include both a breast lift and augmentation as part of the treatment. 

Your desired results will determine if a breast lift is acceptable as a standalone procedure. If you still have some fullness and a rounded shape, but the envelope of your skin that encases the breast has lost elasticity, you may only need to have a breast lift procedure.

If the ligaments of the breast have been stretched in a way that your nipples face downwards and the filling has shrunk to give a pancake shape to the breasts, you may need both a lift and an augmentation.

What Happens During A Breast Lift Procedure?

During a mastopexy procedure, your plastic surgeon will cut away excess and loose skin, redistribute the tissue and filling and restore the original perky projection of your breasts. 

Depending on your desired results and the technologies utilized by your plastic surgeon, you can expect any combination of synthetic mesh, absorbing polymer, barbed threads or your own skin to create a built-in laser bra support on the bottom. Fat is typically suctioned from other parts of the body to add any additional fullness on the top of the breasts.

To raise the nipple, your surgeon will create a semicircular incision along the top part of the areola on the breast to pull it upward while simultaneously remodeling and restructuring the tissue through a secondary incision that runs down towards the bottom of the breast. Many women would prefer to not have noticeable scars of this nature, but with a lift procedure these scars are unavoidable.

What Kind Of Breast Lift Leaves Less Scarring?

Among the three traditional types of breast lifts: periareolar, vertical or anchor, the periareolar lift offers minimal scarring around the areola and does not impact the shape of the breast; it is only repositioning the nipple area. The vertical lift offers the biggest lifted look in comparison to the amount of overall scarring. If you have an excessive amount of skin or sagging, you will need to have an anchor lift performed. An anchor lift will produce the heaviest visible scarring, but the trade-off is well worth it.

What To Expect After A Breast Lift

A breast lift is traditionally performed in an hour or two under general or local anesthesia with intravenous sedation. It is also considered an outpatient procedure, so you should be able to go home shortly after surgery to continue your recovery in the comfort and convenience of your own home.

Your breasts will either be placed in bandage or a surgical bra. Your surgeon will prescribe you pain medication due to the likelihood of experiencing some pain, swelling and soreness following the procedure.

You should be able to walk around freely in your home, but you will need to take caution when it comes to reaching up or down for items around your house. Your doctor will encourage you to sleep on your back for several weeks after your procedure.

If you are prone to sleeping on your side or stomach, you may want to invest in some extra pillows to place around your body; this will prevent you from accidentally rolling over as you sleep.

Your doctor or surgeon will ask you to refrain from going to work for about a week after your procedure. You should also be able to resume most normal day-to-day activities after about a week. Your doctor will give you specific instructions pertinent to working out after your procedure, but you should plan to skip the gym for about three to six weeks post surgery. 

You may experience some residual soreness or swelling from time to time for the first few months after the procedure. Most patients are permitted to start wearing bras with wires in them within six to eight months after the operation.

The most important decision you can make when it comes to undergoing a breast lift is to find a licensed and professional plastic surgeon with extensive experience in performing breast lifts and augmentations.

The team of leading plastic surgeons at the Plastic Surgery Institute of Miami have many years of combined extensive experience in performing successful breast lifts for their patients.