The breasts will descend and become lower on the chest because of time, gravity and the changes associated with pregnancy. A breast lift, or “Mastopexy,” is a procedure that will restore the breast to its more youthful and aesthetically pleasing shape and position.

Technique

Our goal in performing a mastopexy, or “breast lift,” is to create a natural looking breast with smooth contours and a more youthful shape. This is accomplished by reshaping the breast gland and removing the excess skin. We strive to achieve this with the minimum of scars.

If greater breast volume is desired, a breast implant can be used at the same time to augment the breast. This is discussed under the “Breast Lift and Augmentation” section.

Recovery After Surgery

Most people experience very little pain after a breast lift. Bruising is usually resolved after 2 weeks. Swelling may persist for approximately 3-4 weeks. Patients usually return to light activities after 5-7 days and full activity is usually resumed after 3-4 weeks.

A support bra must be worn for aproximately 3-4 weeks as the breasts heal into their new shape. Scars tend ot be raised and red in the beginning. The scars fade over the following 3 months. Their appearance continues to fade and improve after 6-12 months.

Results

This is a patient who was unhappy with the appearance of her breasts. However, she was happy with the amount of breast tissue she had and did not desire an augmentation with an implant. During surgery, we molded her breast gland into a more round, lifted and youthful shape by using strategically placed stitches. The excess skin that remained was then removed. The size of her areola (which is the pigmented part of her nipple) was reduced in size as well. The post-operative pictures were taken approximately 3 months after surgery. Notice the smooth and round contours of her breasts. Also notice the improved and lifted position of her breasts. Furthermore, the breasts almost appear larger because of the reshaping of the tissue. No implant was used in this case. The scars will continue to improve and fade.

This is a patient who was unhappy about the low position of her breasts. She was also unhappy about the difference in size and appearance between the two breasts. When we perform a breast lift, we take careful measurements and we make precise markings to ensure the best and most symmetric result. As you can see in the “After” pictures, her breasts are now lifted, the nipple is in a good position, the nipple and areola are reduced in size, the breasts are much more similar in appearance and the overall shape is significantly improved.

The patient below is a woman in her 40’s who complained about the low appearance of her breasts. She requested a breast lift procedure. Of note is that the right breast was larger and lower than the left breast. She was happy with the amount of breast tissue she had and thus did not need an implant. We made an incision around the nipple and another one vertically oriented down the lower half of her breasts. At this point, we molded the breast gland into a higher and more conical shape using sutures. Once this was done, we were able to remove the extra skin. As you can see, the breasts have an improved shape and are in a higher position. There is more fullness of the breast throughout. Lastly, the breasts appear more symmetric. The patient is from another country and submitted these postoperative pictures approximately 2 months after surgery.

These are postoperative pictures after a mastopexy in a different patient. The pictures were taken approximately 4 months after surgery. Note the youthful, round, full and lifted appearance. In addition, notice that the scars around the nipple and on the lower part of the breast heal well.