For many women, they feel it almost impossible to have those "perfect" breasts for an entire lifetime! With time, gravity, weight changes or childbirth, drooping or deflated breasts may change your body shape and proportion from what it once was. This breast "ptosis," as it's called, can lead to real challenges in many types of clothing. With breast lift surgery, experienced plastic surgeon Dr. John J. Corey can rejuvenate the shape, appearance and position of drooping breasts. To schedule a consultation in Scottsdale, Arizona, please call our staff at 480-767-7700.
- What is a Breast Lift?
- Am I a Candidate?
- How Long To Wait Following Childbirth
- Breast Lift with Implants
- Breast Lift Incision Options
- What To Expect After Mastopexy
- Breast Lift Results – How Long Do They Last?
- Schedule a Consultation with Dr. John Corey
What is a Breast Lift?
A breast lift – also called "mastopexy" – is a surgical procedure rejuvenating breast shape and position. Certainly many women experience sagging, deflated breasts later in life, although the change occurs after pregnancy and weight loss as well. Some women simply have large breasts that droop, and seek out a lift to create improved firmness, shape and position!
Please visit our before-and-after mastopexy gallery to see examples.
If you are unhappy with the drop and deflation of your breasts, this procedure may be the right choice for you. It can greatly enhance and restore a woman's balance and proportion, both in and out of clothing making the benefits a daily occurrence. Not only do the breasts themselves have an improved overall appearance, but your upper body will have an improved shape in all of your favorite outfits – from the front and in profile.
Who are the Ideal Candidates for Breast Lift Surgery?
You are most likely a good candidate if you want to restore your breasts to a perkier shape and position. A breast lift addresses three areas that seem to bother women with droop the most. One, they feel that the upper part of their breast have lost volume and are very empty. Two, they want to get their nipple back up where it used to be and not at the bottom of the breast. And three, they really want to get their breasts up off their tummy.
You may wonder about mastopexy because of one of the following:
- Post- Pregnancy changes
- Aging
- Weight fluctuations
Arrange an in-person consultation with Dr. Corey to find out if you are a candidate. Dr. Corey has been a plastic surgeon in Arizona since 1993. After completing his U.S plastic surgery residency in 1993, he went on to receive additional training in Brazil. Dr. Corey knows how to tailor procedures to the individual, adhering to technical precision as well as an artistic eye for sculpting the female form. After assessing your breast condition and discussing your goals, he can describe your options for achieving your desired outcome.
How Long Do I Need to Wait to Have a Breast Lift After Childbirth?
After having one or more children, you may have noticed drastic changes to the size, fullness and perkiness of your breasts. You may be eager to restore pre-baby breasts, but you will generally have to wait about 3-6 months after childbirth and/or breastfeeding. During the months following a pregnancy, certain hormones in your body are still elevated. This will affect your breasts. During the 3-6 month period, your breasts will decrease in size and change shape as your hormones normalize. It's important to receive a breast lift after these changes are complete. That way, the surgery will be planned based on your new normalized breast shape and you will get the best possible, most stable results from the procedure.
How is Breast Lift with implant Surgery Performed?
A breast lift procedure not only lifts the breasts, it makes the breasts more symmetrical to one another. One thing it cannot do alone is increase the size of the breasts. In fact, a breast lift alone usually decreases the breast by almost a cup size because the lift removes the excess non-supportive tissue of the breast. A mastopexy combined with the placement of breast implants may be suggested for women who want the same size or slightly larger, lifted breasts.
The combined augmentation-breast lift procedure may also be right for you as the breast lift alone does reduce cup size for most women.
Complete muscle coverage: Because the tissue at the bottom of the breast usually does not have great natural support and because tissue and excess skin is removed in the lift, there may not be enough support from the bottom of your breasts and in short period of time, the implants can slide to an unacceptably low position on the chest giving loss of volume at the top, a low set bottom of the breast and the embarrassing nipple peeking out the top of the bra or swimsuit. The way Dr. Corey addresses this is with a hybrid of techniques learned both in the U.S and Brazil. If moderate sized implant is chosen, it can be kept completely under the pectoralis muscle, when then acts like an internal bra to help keep the implant uphill, and then a Brazilian type lifting of the breast tissue on top of that.
Textured silicone implants: Should a woman desire a larger implant and need a lift, at times Dr. Corey may suggest the use of a textured silicone implant. The “fuzzy” covering tends to grip or “Velcro” into the tissue a bit more than the smooth implants and thereby fighting the tendency to slip too low.
Supportive matrix (Strattice / SERI): In the combined augmentation-mastopexy with a larger implant size, some women benefit from added support to hold the breast implants. Without this, again, the implant could fall too low and your upper breasts would once again look deflated. To address this issue in larger implants, Dr. Corey uses the state-of-the-art Strattice or SERI matrix support in the lower breast. This matrix provides the reinforcing framework some women need for implant support.
Breast Lift Incision Options
The breast lift procedure itself is fairly straightforward. Dr. Corey creates strategic incisions to lift and re-shape breast tissue. These incisions are designed to be well-concealed once they heal, reducing the visibility, as much as possible, of resulting scars. Three incision types are listed below.
- The Donut incision:An incision is made 360° around the areolas. The resulting scars are placed at the edge of the darker skin of your areola, trying to conceal them in this color transition as much as possible. The Donut Mastopexy technique is used for mild cases of ptosis (droop). The nipple is elevated and a small amount of tissue may be lifted from the bottom. This is a compromise procedure, for women that have too much droop for just augmentation, but not enough droop for a full breast lift. Please see before-and-after images.
- The Lollipop incision:This incision is also called the keyhole incision because it is made around the perimeter of your areola, and extends vertically down to the crease beneath your breast.It's main drawback is that it does not remove tissue from the bottom inside and outside edge.
- The Anchor incision:Just like the Lollipop incision, the anchor incision encircles the areola and extends vertically to the breast crease, but it also reaches horizontally across the breast crease. It does the most to remove larger amounts of droopy tissue at the bottom of the breast. This is an area where Dr. Corey see’s many other surgeons make the error of leaving too much tissue behind, when in fact, this is the least supportive part of the breast.
After examining the degree of breast ptosis and the shape of your breasts, Dr. Corey can recommend the incision to be used in your breast lift.
What to Expect after your Breast Lift
Like any surgical procedure, mastopexy has a recovery phase. You will need to take time to rest and recover after surgery. Here are several tips:
- Drink water to stay hydrated
- Rest as needed
- Plan to be up and walking around after surgery to promote blood circulation
- Take at least 5-7 days off from work
- Take additional time off from work, or request lighter duties, if your job involves heavy lifting or physical exertion
- Take time off from vigorous exercise for several weeks – Dr. Corey's staff will provide detailed instructions regarding your normal physical activities
Immediately after your procedure, your chest will be wrapped with bandages. There may also be drainage tubes to drain excess fluid. Someone will need to drive you home and stay with you for at least 24-48 hours.
Your gauze and bandages will be removed after a few days, at which point you can shower and then wear a compression bra to promote the right shape and position of your breasts as they heal. For several weeks after surgery, it's normal for the breasts to look swollen and uneven. They may feel very firm and even sit a bit too high at first. All of these things will improve as your breasts heal and you will be in a scar care protocol following surgery as well.
How Long Do Results from a Breast Lift Last?
There is no predetermined amount of time your results will last. Your breasts will be improved for the indefinite future, but the shape may change slightly if you experience significant weight fluctuations. The effects of aging also cannot be stopped. But our patients continue to enjoy their breast lift results for the long-term. Most women do not experience a return to the same type of sagging they had before as the excess skin and breast tissue is permanently removed.
Schedule a Consultation with Dr. John Corey
If you live in Phoenix, Scottsdale or the surrounding areas in Arizona and want to find out if you are a good candidate for a breast lift, please call the practice of board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. John J. Corey at 480-767-7700. We look forward to arranging your in-person consultation at our state-of-the-art practice.