Over time, gravity causes breasts to sag and droop.  Pregnancy and the associated fluctuations in breast size and weight changes compound the problem.

A breast lift can reshape a breast that has a long or sagging appearance to one that is shorter in length and rounder and therefore more aesthetically attractive.  A woman must have enough breast tissue before the breast lift so that I can rearrange it into an attractive breast.  If I were to perform a breast lift in a woman who does not have adequate breast volume, she is not likely to be happy with the result.  However, women who do not have adequate breast volume to have a breast lift alone may undergo breast augmentation concomitant with a breast lift in order to achieve a larger and shapely breast.

In my practice, I perform breast lifts using incisions that result in a “lollipop” shaped scars.  With good care and a bit of luck, these incisions heal well and the scars are difficult to see from a distance.  Nevertheless, a woman who undergoes a cosmetic breast lift must be prepared for scars that are visible.  This is one example of a “trade-off” in plastic surgery and of course, there are many others.  This is one, however, that I feel is more than worthwhile in appropriate candidates.

I know that nipple sensation and the ability to breast feed are both important and so I take great care to maintain the connections between the nipple and underlying tissues so that both will not be affected significantly by the surgery.  Both are, however, risks associated with this surgery and patients must be prepared for the possibility of one or both, even those both are exceedingly rare.