Breast Lift for a More Youthful Look

A breast lift is an operation where we reposition the breast mount and elevate the nipple into a more youthful position. To give the breast a more youthful shape and a more aesthetically pleasing appearance. That usually means an incision on the breast and tightening up the skin of the breast so that the breast is lifted higher onto the chest wall. A lot of women after they have had children or they've breast fed or just with age, the breast descends and it droops a little bit and isn't as perky as it used to be. In order to lift the breast up and give it a more youthful position, we sometimes do a breast lift or a mastopexy. A lot of women come to the office and they want their breasts to look more youthful, more perky. Sometimes, that means a breast implant, but very often it does not need to have a breast implant and you can do a breast lift alone. Very often we have to combine these two operations and put in a breast implant and do a breast lift at the same time in what would be called an "augmentation mastopexy." The operation for a breast lift is done as an outpatient procedure. It takes about two hours and the recovery period is about two weeks. Although, usually you have to take about one week off from work and we limit your activity, so no exercise for about four weeks. But, most people are feeling fine and back to their normal activities after about two weeks. The consultation is about an hour. You come into the office and we talk about the risks and benefits of the surgery. We talk about type of scars. There are different types of scars that you can use in a breast lift. I prefer the minimally invasive approach where there's only one vertical scar, kind of like a lollipop. Alternatively, sometimes we only put the scar around the nipple and then in some women we have to extend that scar so that it goes underneath the fold of the breast itself.