What is Breast Lifting?

Breast lifting or Mastopexy is a lifting and reshaping of the breasts to reposition the breast higher on the chest, place the nipple/areolar at its proper level, which is at or slightly above the level of the fold under the breast and usually entails reducing the volume of the envelope of skin of the breasts but keeping all of the breast tissue. When the same volume of breast tissue is repositioned inside a smaller envelope of skin, it plumps out the tissues and and gives the breasts a fuller appearance. Many patients who request a lift and a breast augmentation are very pleased with the improved shape and apparent volume of the lifted breast and no longer wish to proceed with the augmentation. Small lifts can be done with an incision around the areolar and only a small extension of the incision down the breast, but the more lifting required, the more the incisions will need to be the standard anchor incision. The surgery is usually done under general anesthesia, although small lifts on small breasts can be done with local anesthesia and some conscious sedation and the patient can go home the same day. Drains are not required. All sutures can be hidden under the skin and will dissolve in 3 weeks, so no sutures need to be removed. Patients can begin showering that evening or the next day. Healing time is approximately 1 week. As there is always some degree of relaxation of the tissues after a lift, the initial appearance of the breasts may appear slightly pushed up, but this will settle over 1 -3 months and the breast will take their final form. Possible complications including bleeding, infection, tissue loss, loss of sensation are all very rare. Breast feeding is typically not affected after a breast lift.  The result tends to be long lasting.