If you want to change your breasts, you should know that you don’t have to choose from a couple of one-size-fits-all cosmetic surgeries. In fact, the number of surgical options available to you might even seem dizzying. You can increase the size of your breasts through breast augmentation, reduce their size with a reduction or change things up with an implant revision or exchange.
One breast surgery that’s often combined with other procedures is the breast lift, aka mastopexy. While a breast lift might be recommended as a secondary surgery, performed alongside an augmentation or reduction, it’s also a procedure that can stand on its own. For some women, a breast lift without a reduction or augmentation might be the right choice.
Interested in making your breasts look younger? Learn more about mastopexy to see if it’s an option for you and to find out if it’s a surgery you might consider all on its own.
What Does a Breast Lift Do?
There are many different types of breast surgery available to modern women because each technique has a specific purpose or goal.
The goal of a breast lift is to elevate the breasts, restoring them to a more youthful or perky position.
As you get older, your skin tends to lose elasticity. It doesn’t bounce back as it once did and it might become droopy and saggy. You’re likely to see some sagging and drooping all over your body. For example, most people eventually notice sagging skin on the face, near the eyebrows or chin.
The skin in the chest area can also lose its elasticity, making the breasts themselves sag and droop like when you lose weight. In some cases, the aging process is to blame for the loss of elasticity. In others, hormonal or weight-related changes to the breasts can play a role.
For example, pregnancy and breastfeeding both change the shape and size of the breasts. As the breasts get bigger during pregnancy or while breastfeeding, the skin stretches. Depending on how elastic it is, it might not ‘snap back’ once the breasts have returned to their original size.
Losing and gaining weight over the years can also stretch out the skin of the breasts, making them look saggy and deflated.
During a breast lift, a surgeon trims away excess skin around the breasts before repositioning them on the chest, elevating the nipples and areolas as needed.
Why Have a Breast Lift on its Own?
There are a few reasons to have a breast lift performed on its own, without augmentation or reduction.
The primary reason to have a solo breast lift is if you’re happy with the size of your breasts, but not their shape or appearance. The surgery itself won’t change your breast size, but it can improve the shape, position, and youthfulness of your breasts, making you feel more confident.
You might also want to have a breast lift without implants if you’ve had a breast augmentation in the past and you’re still happy with your breast size. A breast lift will allow your surgeon to remove the sagging skin, restoring the shape of your breasts without affecting your implants. If you’re happy with your implants, there’s no need to replace them.
If you had breast augmentation years ago, there’s a chance that the skin near your breasts will lose some elasticity and start to sag as you get older. Like other plastic surgeries, a breast lift will correct current aesthetic concerns, but it won’t stop time from marching on.
How to Know if a Breast Lift is Right for You
How can you tell if you’re a good candidate for a standalone breast lift? There are a few questions you can ask yourself to find out.
Question one: are you happy about the way your breasts look without a bra? If you find that you have to wear push-up bras or super supportive bras to lift up your breasts, surgery might help you out.
Another question to ask yourself is if you’re happy with the size and shape of your nipples. A breast lift won’t just reposition your breasts. It can also address the shape and size of the nipples. If your nipples point down or are larger than you would like, surgery might help to correct the problem.
Finally, there’s a simple test you can do to see if a breast lift would help you. Take off your bra and place a pencil beneath one of your breasts.
If the breasts are perky and elevated, the pencil will fall right away when you let go. If your breasts have started to droop, however, they will be able to hold the pencil in place after you’ve let it go.
Dr. Paul Vitenas is a board-certified plastic surgeon in Houston, Texas who specializes in breast procedures. If you’re wondering if a breast lift is a good pick for you or you’d like more info on breast surgeries in general, call 281-484-0088 to schedule a consultation with Dr. Vitenas.