Mastopexy Offers Women a Solution

Time takes it's toll on a woman's breasts.  Factors such as breast-feeding, weight loss and even the inevitability of gravity and age leave many women with body contours that can affect their self-esteem.

Mastopexy (breast lift) removes the excess skin caused by stretching and sagging and re-shapes the breast to look younger.  A standard mastopexy takes 1 1/2 hours.  Using local intravenous sedation, it is often performed in conjunction with a breast augmentation to provide fullness and breast projection .

It is very important to have realistic expectations toward your result.  This is one of the many reasons why you must have a great relationship with your surgeon; you must trust him and the advice he gives you. Your surgeon can tell you from experience what you can hope to achieve.

You should wait on having a mastopexy if you're considering having children.  Pregnancy after a mastopexy stretches your skin further, making it thinner. It is very possible you would need another mastopexy.  That said, if you do give birth after a mastopexy, it will not affect your ability to breast feed, as the milk ducts are typically untouched by the operation. 

There are several standard types of mastopexy.  Your surgeon will give you the best option to suit your needs.

Full Mastopexy is performed with an anchor-shaped incision that starts at the base of the areola (the dark circle around your nipple) and extends to the bottom of the breast, meeting the ribcage. The surgeon then cuts out a crescent-shaped piece of skin right above where the breast meets the rib cage. The nipple is not removed but rather transposed to its new position.  This operation corrects severe sagging and may result in long scars. The scars do fade in time, but will not disappear completely.

The Crescent Lift removes a crescent-shaped piece of tissue just above the areola and pulls the nipple to a higher position. This is a minor lift for patients who have slight ptosis. 

The Benelli Lift is not as invasive and places the scars around the areola.  A donut-shaped piece of skin around the areola border is removed and the remaining tissue is attached to the areola.  Sometimes a little more tissue is removed above the areola to create more of a lifting effect.  Some flattening or loss of breast projection occurs with this technique, especially if an implant is not used.

The Benelli-Lollipop is a Benelli lift combined with a straight incision from under the areola to the crease under the breast. This option is chosen for those who need more than a standard Benelli, but do not need a full anchor mastopexy.

The scars will fade a bit during the first year, and fade more as time goes by.  The scars around the areola area fade faster than the scars on the breast skin.  Steri-Strips and/or Silicone sheeting is placed on the scars to quicken the fading and flattening of the scars.

Sutures placed under the skin dissolve over several months.  Sutures placed through the skin dissolve in one to two weeks.  A surgical tape placed over the sutures (or tissue glue) to help protect the wound.  You will experience mild swelling, but relatively little pain. You can return to work in 3 to 7 days, providing you do nothing too physical.

You will probably wear a surgical bra over your gauze bandages.  This will be worn continuously for about three weeks. If you have non-dissolving stitches, they will then be removed.

You may experience a temporary loss of sensitivity in your nipples and breast skin because of swelling.  The numb feeling this creates is normal.  Most sensation returns within 1 to 3 months although in rare cases it could take up to a year or more.

Risks factors

There are risks associated with every type of surgery, such as a possible reaction to the anesthesia.  A mastopexy leaves a scar that will be visible and it is possible that your nipples and breast skin will lose sensitivity. 

Infections can occur, but they are rare.  Staph infections can happen because staph lives on your skin along with other bacteria.  It is very important to wash your skin for several days before your surgery with an anti-bacterial soap.  This will lessen the possibility of introducing bacteria to the incision.

Smokers carry their own risk factors in any type of surgery, such as a slower rate of healing.  A rare occurrence in smokers is tissue necrosis, where tissue can be damaged by poor oxygen and blood flow through the nipple and other tissue that needs to be reattached once the lift is accomplished.  This condition can be avoided by not smoking for several weeks before surgery.  Of course, quitting nicotine permanently is one of the best life choices you can make.

A breast lift is a dream come true for many women who want to return to their youthful body contours. Mastopexy can dramatically change your appearance and the way you look at yourself.  Is mastopexy right for you? Call us at (866) 731-3198 and set an appointment to come in.  We'll help you recapture what you thought was lost.