Breast Lift

What is mastopexy?

Breast lift or mastopexy is a plastic surgery for correction of shape of breast which allows to get rid of its descent, establish necessary height of breast and location of nipples and areolas on mammary gland.

Breast lift or reductive mammoplasty is a very good and well developed surgical operation. If we think of it, height of breast and nipples is a very precise indicator of age of the body. Sometimes the breast is of right shape and of reasonable size, however, if it is located below the “necessary place”, this immediately changes an impression. Therefore, breast lift rejuvenates proportions of the body.

Indications to mastopexy. Ptosis and its reasons

The main indication to mastopexy is ptosis which is a descent of mammary glands. Here, on can observe a disturbance of natural structures of support of breast that may happen for the following reasons::

• as a result of sharp weight loss and continuous fluctuations of weight;
• hormonal and age-related changes in the organism of a woman;
• pregnancy and breast feeding;
• abuse of hazardous habits causing loss of elasticity of skin;
• too large size of breast;
• wrongfully selected lingerie.
.

Attractive shape and resilience are returned to the breast with the help of plastic surgery.

Types of mastopexy

Breast lift involves removing specific areas of stretched skin and shaping the breasts by relocating the areola and nipples. It can be performed using the following techniques:

1. Periareolar Mastopexy

Performed through an incision around the areola. This method is suitable for grade 1 ptosis, where there is slight breast deformation.

2. Vertical Lift

Used for grade 2 breast shape irregularities and is performed with incisions around the areola and vertically from the areola to the crease under the breast. This technique is also known as "lollipop" because the incision lines resemble the shape of a lollipop.

3. Anchor (T-shaped) Lift

It is a modification of the vertical mastopexy, where a third horizontal incision is added under the breast in the inframammary fold. This type of lift is recommended for significant grade 3 deformities.

I would like to add about my own practice: most often I am using “Lollipop” technique. It gives good lift of the breast as it moves nipples to any height. Unlike periareolar lift, healing around areola in “Lollipop” is always better as there is less tension of skin around the areola. Therefore, suture is thinner and it does not expand over time as in regular periareolar lift.

Periareolar lift in spite of its perceived simplicity is suitable to very few. For example, in case of large breast with or without an implant, after excision of even small fragment of skin and closure by a circle there is a very big tension of tissues that pulls areola downwards and forms rough and wide scar. Therefore, I do periareolar lift with minimal corrections, not overburdened breast and with high position of nipples.

Lollipop or anchor breast lift allows excision of much more tissues, easy movement of nipples to any height. Here, burden of tension of tissues is sustained by a vertical suture and areola is stitched with no tension. This allows receiving substantially smaller scars. As far as vertical scar is concerned, though it may be strange, probably by coincidence with cleavage lines, it is made most unnoticeable in breast surgery under the condition of quality layer by layer stitching. My experience shows that the most noticeable change is not the vertical or inframammary suture. Actually, this is the one around areola and not so beautiful picture is formedthere in high tensions..

Before and After Photo: Breast Lift and augmentation with a round 240ml implant. Compression garments leave more marks than stitches. 1 month after the surgery

Reduction mammoplasty

Reduction mammoplasty is recommended in case of excessive body weight and large size of breast. This surgery is aimed at reduction of breast and helps to remove excessive burden from spine and feeling of discomfort. Here, both expanded areas of skin are removed as well as fatty tissue and part of mammary glands.

The operation to reduce the gland is similar in its execution to mastopexy, the only difference being that the task of mastopexy is to lift the breast, while reduction mammaplasty involves both reduction and lifting in combination. Therefore, their accesses and incision lines are identical.

Breast Lift with Implants or Lipofilling

If the patient has a lot of skin but very little breast tissue - in this case, the breast needs to be filled. No matter how the breast is lifted, the internal emptiness will spoil the appearance. This results in an empty upper pole (everything above the nipple). In this case, it is recommended to supplement the lift with implants or lipofilling (fat augmentation).

 Photo:  Lolly-pop breast lift with areola upward transfer and simultaneous installation of 300 ml round Eurosilicone implants. 17 days after the operation, traces of compression underwear and swelling are still visible. Over time, the seams will disappear.

Lift with the use of implants makes it possible to cardinally reconstruct the shape an increase breast by several sizes and to reduce length of sutures. Installation of implants allows giving the breasts a youthful firmness and beautiful shape. This method is recommended after sharp slimming or termination of breast feeding when large mammary glands are deformed too much and own tissue is not enough to restore the original shape. Implants of small volumes are sufficient to be used during the lift.

The selection of implants for a breast lift is significantly different from regular breast augmentation, as even with a small implant, a larger breast is achieved than with regular mammaplasty. Therefore, with mastopexy, it is sufficient to use implants of small volumes for the effect of lifted breasts.

Read more about breast augmentation with implants

How Breast Lift Surgery Works

• Preparation for Surgery. Like with other types of surgery, the patient undergoes a full examination and provides necessary tests (list of tests).
• Choosing the Technique. The success of the surgical intervention depends on the preparatory stage with the modeling of the future shape of the breasts and the selection of the technique to achieve the set goals. For this purpose, the breast area is marked with precise calculation of all distances, marking of incision sites, and points that determine the new position of the areola and nipples. The scheme obtained in this way will guide the plastic surgeon in performing the operation.
• Anesthesia. Mastopexy is performed under general anesthesia. We use the safest type of anesthesia - intravenous with Propofol (more about anesthesia).
• Procedure. The surgeon makes the necessary incisions, removes excess tissue, and shapes new forms according to the preoperative markings. At the end of the process, stitches are carefully applied.
• Duration of Surgery. The process typically takes about two hours.

Contraindications to Mastopexy

Breast lift and reduction are contraindicated in the following cases:

• within one year after breast feeding;
• oncological diseases, mastopathy and tumors;
• infections and exacerbation of chronic diseases;
• problems of blood coagulation;
• patients with diabetes mellitus;
• problems with heart, vascular and endocrinous systems.

Rehabilitation period

• After the surgery, the patient stays in the hospital for 1-2 days. While recovering from anesthesia, eating and drinking are not allowed, and bed rest is recommended.
• Possible pain and swelling disappear within a week. If necessary, patients are prescribed pain relievers and antibiotic therapy.
• During the rehabilitation period, lifting weights, visiting saunas, and going to the gym are prohibited.
• During the first three weeks, it is mandatory to wear special compression underwear.
• Sutures after breast lift surgery. Breast lift without incisions in the skin and other tissues is not possible, and any incision involves sutures. To make the sutures as neat and inconspicuous as possible over time, I use modern suture adhesive technology. For marketing purposes, this technique is called "seamless", although it's a play on words - in reality, there are sutures, but they are inside and do not come to the surface, and the superficial layer is glued with special adhesive. Fine absorbable threads are used for stitching. This option does not require suture removal and leaves minimal traces after the surgery.

Is it possible to replace breast lift with installation of large-size implants?

Yes, it is possible to install large-size implants, however, only with a SMALL degree of ptosis and good tissue condition. Such a solution will help to avoid vertical scars, which many girls are very afraid of and are categorically determined. Yet this option also has disadvantages: a large implant under the influence of gravity force can provoke breast prolapse in the future.

I personally prefer to do a breast lift (anchor or vertical "lollipop") in this situation, however, I respect the patient's opinion at the same time. If the patient is badly disposed to scars, then one can get along with installation of implants, however, one has to be prepared that the breast will eventually begin to get ptosed.

If a decision is still taken to put the implant without a lift, then it is important to observe the following points:

1. I do not recommend placing implants larger than 450 ml. An optimal solution in this situation is to install B-lite implants which are 30% lighter than their alternatives
2. It is necessary to strictly monitor one's weight to exclude its sharp changes
3. With any physical activity - be sure to wear good supportive underwear

These measures will help to minimize breast droop, however, will not be able to completely stop the process - one cannot deceive physics.

During a consultation, we discuss with patients in detail all advantages and disadvantages of options of breast plastic surgery and choose the best option based on the patient's aesthetic preferences and her initial parameters.

Breast lift Cost Warsaw, Poland

*price includes implants