Breast lift – Mastopexy
Breast Lift (Mastopexy) is done to lift your breasts if they are sagging for various reasons. Typically breast lift is done by a plastic surgeon but it is advisable to look for an experienced cosmetic gynaecologist in your city to get the job done. It is important that you don’t have post operative complications. In breast lift procedure, extra skin is removed; breasts are shaped and lifted/raised from their position. You may opt for breast lift if your nipples are looking down and/or if your breasts are sagging. You must note that, breast lift is different from breast augmentation. Breast augmentation changes the size of the breasts. Read more about breast augmentation by clicking on the following article:
Why do women go for breast lift surgery?
Breasts can be firm in the young age but with certain events in life, breasts sag and loosen. Breast lift can boost self confidence of women that can create a positive impact in their minds about their physical appearance in public and private.
Reasons why breasts change:
- Age – As a woman ages, the elasticity of the skin goes down. It loses the ability to retract and come back to normal.
- Pregnancy – During pregnancy and after delivery, the breasts of a woman grow in size as they secrete milk for the baby. As the breasts get full and heavy, they tend to sag.
- Changes in body weight – As a woman loses weight (for any reason), the skin loses elasticity and the breasts tend to sag.
- Gravity – It is true that gravity acts on every part of the body, including breasts. Gravity pulls them down with time.
When should a woman go for breast lift surgery?
- When you feel that your breasts are sagging (compared to their previous position a few years ago).
- When the nipples fall below the breast creases. (Lower margin of the breasts).
- When the nipples and the areolae (the light brown/dark brown/black area around the nipples) are pointing downwards.
- When the areolae has grown/stretched out of proportion compared to the breast size.
- When one breast sags lower than the other.
When should you NOT go for a breast life surgery?
- If you are planning to get pregnant. Typically, unlike breast augmentation, the tissues inside the breast that are connected to the nipple are not tampered. However, the amount of milk secreted by the breasts can reduce after breast lift surgery.
- If you get pregnant after breast lift surgery, the breasts can get heavier with secretion of milk and after few months, they can sag again rendering the previous surgery useless.
- If you are having larger breasts, they can (mostly will) sag again after a few years. If you have small or medium sized breasts, breast lift surgery results can stay for longer period.
Preparations to be done before breast lift surgery
- You must see an experienced and knowledgeable cosmetic gynaecologist near you or in your city. This is very important as the outcome of the surgery solely depends on the specialist performing the operation.
- Talk to your doctor about your requirement. He/she may ask you to go for a mammogram with a gap of couple of months to see how your breast tissues are changing.
- Explain to your doctor about your requirement; whether you are looking for just the lift or changing the size of your areolae etc. This will make sure that you are not disappointed after the surgery.
- Stop smoking – Smoking extends the healing time of injuries. (Incisions and stitches in this case).
- Maintain healthy or optimal weight for your height. Breasts of heavy women may sag much sooner after the surgery.
- Check with your insurance company, if breast lift surgery is covered. As this is a cosmetic procedure, some may not cover.
What to expect and care to be taken after breast life surgery
After the surgery, small tubes may be placed in the areas of incision to drain out any blood or other fluids. Typically, breasts will be covered with guaze and surgical support bra. You need to make sure that you don’t put any kind of pressure on them at least until a couple of weeks.
- Sleep on your sides or on your back.
- Avoid sexual activities until your doctor tells you that you can go ahead.
- Expect redness, swelling/bruising in the areas of incision after surgery. This can last for few weeks to months. Numbness can last for few weeks, don’t panic.
- Avoid shower and bath for few days. Ask your doctor if you can do so.
- After a few days, the drainage tubes will be removed and the bandages will be changed by your doctor.
- If the stitches are soluble, they will dissolve on their own. Or your cosmetic gynaecologist will let you know when to see him/her next for removal of the stitches.
- You should be on pain killers at least for a few days as advised by your doctor.
- Continue wearing support bra for few days all the time. After four or five days, you can switch to your normal bra.
- It is normal to feel that your breasts have become smaller. This is because of the lift and shaping that makes your breasts more round.
- Stay away from the sun while your stitches are still healing.
- Apply creams suggested by your doctor to promote healing. Once the incision areas are completely healed, you will be prescribed with creams that lighten the scars formed from the surgery. These scars will last for a long time but they get lighten over time.
- Breast lift surgery will give you as lot of self confidence. However, note that this is not permanent. As you age, the breasts tend to sag again as the skin loses it’s elasticity.
