Breast Lift San Antonio

Breast lift, also known as mastopexy, is an operation that serves to reposition the nipple areola complex and reshape the breast.

Breast Lift Procedural Steps

The goal of a breast lift, or mastopexy, is twofold: we want to mechanically reposition the nipple/areola higher up (toward your neck) and we ideally would create a projecting, pleasing-shaped breast. To do this I excise excess skin, I move the nipple areola up, and I try to shape the breast to create projection (this is harder than you think!). During this process I can make the areola smaller and generally lessen any asymmetry between the breasts.

How do I know if I need a lift?

The key relationship is the relative position of the nipple to the inframammary fold. If the nipple is above the fold, it does not need a lift. If it is well below the fold, then it may benefit from a lift.

Consider the line drawing above. In the left side, the nipple is higher then the fold. This breast does not really need a mastopexy. Sometimes a woman presents to me and tells me she feels “saggy” but looks like the left breast. Often this is due to volume loss after breast feeding, and the result is a deflated upper pole. So the correction for volume loss is volume replacement-an implant. Usually these women weren’t thinking that they wanted an implant, so they usually select a more conservative implant. See my page on breast augmentation for more detail.

On the other hand, the breast on the right has a nipple BELOW the fold. I see this in one of two settings: 1) a woman presents for an implant and I have to tell her that she also needs a lift, and 2) a woman doesn’t want to be bigger, she just hates to have the breast skin touching the abdominal skin. The second group wants to be able to not wear a bra once in awhile and not hang so much.

What about the scar?

There is a scar around the areola, vertically down the lower pole of the breast, and in the fold. See my breast lift photos for some examples of this.

Can I make the areola smaller?

Yes. I will make areolas that are too big smaller and more appropriate for the breast.

Can I do a lift at the same time as an implant?

Yes. Although some plastic surgeons do them in separate operations (this is called staging the operations) I usually do them together. We will talk more about the pros and cons of this in your consultation.

Can you make the breasts smaller?

A breast reduction and a breast lift are related. The biggest difference is in how much tissue is removed. But yes, the breasts can be made smaller.

Can you make the breasts more even?

Yes. Almost all women have some degree of asymmetry. This can be volume asymmetry (one breast is bigger) or nipple/areola asymmetry (one breast is lower). Often these happen at the same time. So while perfect is hard to achieve, and if breasts start out different it is hard to end up the exact same, usually I can make uneven breasts a whole lot closer in size and shape.

What is the recovery?

The breasts are definitely sore after surgery, but one nice thing about breast surgery is that they are not needed for physiologic function e.g. they are not needed in the same way that you needs lungs, gut etc. So usually women can get back to doing things pretty soon. We will talk more about restrictions in the office.

Breast Lift Maintenance

To keep your new look, let’s examine what causes droop in the first place. I think the most important thing is pregnancy and/or massive weight loss. So usually people are seeing me for this after they are done with kids, and weight loss patients are unlikely to get very heavy again. Both of these conditions stretch out the skin, or in the case of the breast, the envelope, while diminishing (ultimately) the fill. So breast lift may improve the status of the breasts notably after pregnancy or massive weight loss.

The second most important causative agent, I believe, is the expansion/contraction that occurs with a woman’s monthly cycle. Again, most women who see me for breast lift don’t have TOO many cycles left, and so this seems to usually not be too much of a factor.

The last thing, in my opinion, is the combination of gravity, time, and genetic luck. These things we cannot change. So it is possible that a breast lift may not last indefinitely in some folks. Fortunately this seems to not be too big of an issue. Of course, the larger the breasts the less likely they are to combat gravity effectively over time.

In the immediate postop period we like lots of bra support while things are settling. We do this for at least three months. And we like lots of good support during exercise. With these simple steps you should get many years of improvement from your mastopexy!

Breast Lift Surgery Cost

Unfortunately, there are costs associated with cosmetic surgery, and with San Antonio breast lift in particular. Some women need more work than others, and therefore the cost may vary from one person to another. Let me be clear-my first goal is to provide quality care and meet your expectations. Fees are an unfortunate byproduct of the process. We treat every patient as an individual. While we might be able to give you an idea of costs over the phone, we really need to see you to give you an exact cost. And when we quote fees we will quote you the entire costs-facility, anesthesia, surgeon, and any other ancillary fees. Usually the only extra costs are prescriptions and maybe, in the case of breast lift, some cheap bras. See my post entitled Plastic Surgery Cost explained for more information.

Conclusion

Breast lift is a procedure that can have a dramatic change for a woman’s breasts. Feel free to browse my breast lift photo gallery to see some results.

Contact us and call the office at 210-495-4100 during business hours for more information. My staff is very helpful and can answer lots of questions. You are welcome to come visit them at no cost and they can show you everything you ever wanted to know about breast lift!

|| Back to Top ||