How is breast lift surgery done?

Breast lift surgery or mastopexy is done in several ways depending on the operation chosen for the degree of sagging (ptosis) of the breast. The mastopexy involves moving the nipple and areola in an upward (cephalad) direction to a location above the crease beneath the breast (inframammary crease), tightening the skin to improve breast projection and elevating it off the chest wall. There are several types of mastopexy procedures and the type recommended depends on the expertise and experience of the surgeon and the amount of ptosis of the breast. It is very rare for the nipple and areola to ever be fully removed, and in the vast majority of cases it remains attached to the underlying breast tissue so that the sensitivity remains intact. Often times, a mastopexy procedure is accompanied by a breast augmentation with placement of an implant to not only improve the shape of the breast, but also to improve its size and projection.

What is Breast Lifting?

A woman's breast will usually age over her lifetime, due primarily to the elasticity of her skin and the weight of the breast tissue with gravity. We use the location of the nipple in relation to the crease beneath the breast to determine the degree of sagging (ptosis) of the breast that has occurred. Women may recall reference to the pencil test, and that some degree of breast sagging has occurred when you can hold up a pencil placed in the crease beneath the breast. A breast lift (mastopexy) is an operation designed to move the nipple and areola back above the level of the crease beneath the breast (inframammary crease) and tighten the skin envelope around the breast to hold it up off the chest wall to improve it's shape and projection. There are several different types of mastopexies, depending on the preference and expertise of the surgeon, and the degree of ptosis of the breast.