Breast Lift Surgery
"A breast lift can be performed at any age, but waiting until breast development has stopped is recommended."
“I want to go to the beach but I’m embarrassed by my sagging breasts.”
When breasts hang down, they can sometimes hang down quite a bit, and understandably can cause embarrassment on the beach or while swimming.
Breasts may sag due to aging, gravity, pregnancy, breastfeeding, or weight fluctuations. According to a scientific study that studied the effects of breastfeeding on aging, breastfeeding per se did not affect sagging.
Sagging or drooping of breasts is a natural, inevitable process that happens to all women at some point, except those with very small breasts. The most notable sagging happens with the process called breast involution, but breasts can start drooping a little at any age. They have ligaments and connective tissue and no muscles. When gravity pulls the breasts down, those ligaments and the skin can stretch, and so the breast then droops. This depends on the elasticity of your skin and of your ligaments. Large breasts will sag easier since the gravity is pulling them down more. When breasts bounce during active sports, such as tennis or horse riding, those ligaments can also be stretched or even torn. A good sports bra can minimize that effect and is recommendable.
Breast involution takes place after weaning or soon after pregnancy when milk-producing tissue inside the breast shrinks, and the skin and the ligaments inside the breasts do not retract accordingly, the breast can look “empty” and saggy. Women tend to be bothered by sagging because they feel it makes them less attractive.
Firstly the woman notices the change in the nipple position. In youth, the nipples point directly forward. With aging, the breast tissue sags, and the nipples begin to point downward. The second thing a woman notices is a loss of volume in the upper part of the breasts resulting in a significant loss of cleavage. Often the woman will resort to underwire bras or other special bras to lift the breast to reclaim the cleavage that she once had. By regaining proper nipple positioning and cleavage, a woman looks more youthful and feels more youthful.
The Procedure
The procedure is performed under general anesthesia. During the consultation, you can talk to Dr. Goyal about your desired breast shape as well as other things about your breasts that you would like to see improved. The size and shape of your breasts, the quality of your skin, and the placement of the nipples and areolas will be carefully evaluated.
In sagging breasts, there is an excess of stretched skin relative to the amount of breast tissue. Breast lift surgery removes the excess skin without disturbing the breast gland. The nipple areola is shifted upwards to an ideal position without detaching it from the breast. Breast tissue inside can be reshaped with some internal absorbable stitches. If necessary, enlarged areolas are reduced by excising skin at the margins. 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.
Recovery
Following a breast lift surgery procedure, you should expect some discomfort, including swelling, bruising, and possible itching. The pain should diminish quickly, just a few days after surgery. After your breast lift surgery, your breasts may be swollen and tender with bruises around the incision sites. The pain should clear up within a couple of days, and the swelling should go down within one to two weeks. Bruising around incisions will disappear in seven to ten days. Breasts also feel numb and tender. The shape may look a little odd initially. You will wear a support bra for a few weeks until the swelling and discoloration of your breasts diminish. Exercise and other strenuous activities can be resumed after one month.
You will see the improvement immediately but final results appear after 3-6 months after swelling goes down and tissues relax. The scars from the surgery will fade over time. It is important to realize, however, that the incision lines will be permanently visible, more so in some individuals than others. Fortunately, the scars are in such locations that can be easily concealed by clothing, even low-cut necklines. Most patients find that the benefits of a breast lift outweigh the negative appearance of scars and are pleased with their final breast lift results.
Breast lift surgery will make your breasts firmer and more uplifted. The position of your areolas and nipples will be enhanced, and the size of your areolas will be aesthetically pleasing. The final results of your breast lift will appear over the next few months as breast shape and position continue to settle. Following surgery sometimes the breasts may not be perfectly symmetrical or the nipple height may vary slightly. Minor touch up procedure can be executed later. Your mastopexy results will be long-lasting. Over time, your breasts can continue to change due to aging and gravity. But, you’ll be able to retain your new look longer unless you gain or lose a significant amount of weight or become pregnant. If, after a period of years, you become dissatisfied with the appearance of your breasts, you may choose to undergo another breast lift procedure to restore their more youthful contour.
With breast lift surgery, Dr. Goyal is able to reverse the effects of aging or other factors on the breasts, giving breast lift patients perkier or more voluminous breasts. Dr. Goyal also offers combination breast lift and augmentation for patients who need more breast volume than their natural tissues provide.
Breast Lift With Augmentation
In addition to stretched skin, drooping breasts may have lost additional volume due to tissue loss. In such cases, a mastopexy with augmentation may produce better results than a breast lift alone. Breast implants inserted during a mastopexy procedure can fill missing volume and create fuller breasts. The breast lift and augmentation procedure is also a component of the increasingly popular Mommy Makeover. During your procedure, breast tissue will be lifted and reshaped, and the areola (pigmented area around the nipple) will be improved for an overall aesthetically pleasing appearance. Implants will also be inserted to create volume. We will provide you with a supportive compression garment that you will wear for several weeks. The garment will aid in comfort, minimize swelling, and promote healing. Most women are ready to resume light daily activities in about a week, though more vigorous activity should wait a few more weeks or until your doctor gives you the okay. All the time spent planning for your procedure has now paid off with the perkier, more youthful-looking breasts you’ve wanted for so long.
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