February 18, 2022
If you’ve been considering a breast lift, you might wonder how they work and if it’s the right choice for you. This procedure is ideal if your breasts have sagged lower than you prefer. Weight loss, natural aging, pregnancy, and breastfeeding can cause your breasts to droop. Your once-perky breasts may not look or feel how they used to. Maybe your favorite bra gets things where you want them, but you want to wear swimsuits and have everything in the right place with your nipples facing forward. If this sounds familiar, you may be an ideal candidate for a breast lift at our plastic surgery centers in Fayetteville or the Atlanta area.
Who Should Get a Breast Lift?
You may be a candidate for breast lift surgery if you are unhappy with the appearance of your sagging, deflated breasts. Ideal candidates for breast lift surgery:
- Do not smoke
- Are in generally good health
- Have realistic expectations of the results
- Are at or near their ideal weight
Ideally, you should wait until you are done having children before undergoing a breast lift. However, young patients with excessive breast sagging may undergo breast lift surgery before having children if they do not want to wait.
How Does a Breast Lift Work?
A breast lift procedure treats sagging breasts by repositioning the breast skin and tissue. The surgeon relocates the nipples, removes excess skin, and lifts the tissue to reshape and raise the breasts on the chest. A breast lift can restore the appearance of round breasts and realign your nipples, and it can be performed with or without an implant.
If desired, the nipple-areola complex can be elevated into a more aesthetic position to point forward instead of downward. Additionally, your surgeon can reduce the areola's circumference to visually balance its size with your breast tissue.
Your surgeon will determine which breast lift incision technique is right for you based on your specific needs and goals for the procedure.
Common breast lift incision placements include:
- Around the areola
- Around the areola and vertically down the pole of the breast
- Around the areola, vertically down the pole of the breast, and horizontally along the breast crease
Breast lift surgery is performed using general anesthesia to ensure your comfort. When performed under general anesthesia, a breast lift causes minimal discomfort. However, you may experience swelling, bruising, and soreness throughout your recovery. We provide all necessary pain medication that can be taken as needed to combat any discomfort.
Depending on whether you have decided on a lift or a combination lift and augmentation, your surgery can take about three or four hours. You will spend 30 to 60 minutes in our recovery room. Your surgeon will evaluate and clear you when it’s safe to return home to begin the healing process.
After your breast lift procedure, we recommend taking about two weeks away from work and regular activities to allow your breasts to heal. You will want to spend much of this time resting, as healing will require a lot of energy. You should avoid strenuous activity and exercise for at least six weeks.
Your breast lift results will show once all the swelling subsides. The six-week mark is usually when patients are ready to take follow-up photos and reveal their results.
With proper care, your breast lift results are intended to be long-lasting. However, weight fluctuations and future pregnancy may reverse your results. Maintaining a stable, healthy weight after breast lift surgery is also important to maintain your results.
Is a Breast Lift Safe?
Breast lift surgery is generally a safe procedure when performed by one of our board-certified plastic surgeons. However, risks are associated with any surgery. These risks include:
- Bleeding
- Infection
- Poor incision healing
- Fluid accumulation
- Breast asymmetry
- Anesthesia risks
Our surgeons take every precaution to minimize risk, and are happy to discuss any concerns a patient may have.
Will a Lift Make My Breasts Larger?
Unfortunately, breast lift surgery cannot add volume to the breasts. As the breasts are lifted and reshaped, they become more compact and may seem smaller.
Many patients who experience breast sagging in addition to volume deflation or naturally small breasts undergo a combined breast lift and breast augmentation surgery. This combination procedure allows the plastic surgeon to correct breast sagging and insert implants to create perky, full breasts.
What is the Cost?
Your breast lift cost will depend on the amount of correction needed, the type of breast lift you undergo, and whether you combine breast augmentation surgery with your lift. Breast lift surgery cost also depends on surgeon fees, anesthesia fees, and the procedure’s location. A consultation with one of our board-certified plastic surgeons in Fayetteville, Newnan, McDonough, or LaGrange can help determine a more specific financial plan.
Call us today if you are ready for a consultation to discuss your specific breast lift needs. Our staff and team of surgeons at Advanced Aesthetics will work with you to develop a customized plan to ensure you feel comfortable in the process and are satisfied with your results.
