Breast Lift Surgery in Santa Barbara, CA
A breast lift is a plastic surgery procedure, also referred to as a mastopexy or “boob lift.” The procedure has the goal of rejuvenating the breasts. It is one of popular cosmetic procedures amongst woman that are dealing with age or post-partum.
As the natural aging process takes place for woman, their breasts tissue loses elasticity and their breasts being to sag or droop. Medically, the word for breast sag is called “ptosis”. Once breasts begin to sag, there is no way reverse this nor to stop them for continuing to sag. Weight loss or so called “breast lift exercises” will not reverse sagging. Thus the only way to fix this problem is through breast lift surgery. Additionally, breast lift surgery does not increase breast size, it is an option for women that are content with size but want to improve the their breast shape and tighten the breast skin.
Dr. Tim Neavin is a board-certified plastic surgeon and provides consultation for patients interested in breast lift surgery at his Santa Barbara office. With his extensive experience, Dr. Neavin is widely recognized as one of Santa Barbara’s best surgeons for breast lift surgery and provides his patients with natural-looking results.
Benefits
The procedure’s aim is to eliminate breast droop by lifting the breasts and removing excess skin, or moving the nipple to a higher location on the chest wall. This will give you a more youthful and perkier appearance of the breasts. In some cases, a breast lift combined with a breast augmentation can enhance both the size and the volume of the breasts. When you combine breast augmentation surgery with a breast lift, it is called augmentation mastopexy. It’s a very popular procedure amongst woman who are looking to achieve a youthful appearance.
When discussing sagging breasts, or ptosis, there is a grading system in order to define the level of breast droopiness and it will determine what kind of breast surgery you will need. In total, there are 4 categories of breast ptosis. The purpose of this system is to allow patients to understand what mastopexy approach will be best to proceed with. Dr. Neavin will go into these in detail during your initial consultation.
Depending on your grade of ptosis, this will determine not only the surgical techniques administered but also the effectiveness of breast lift surgery.
- Grade 1 ptosis: The nipple sits at the level of the breast fold.
- Grade 2 ptosis: The nipple sits below the level of the breast fold.
- Grade 3 ptosis: The nipple sits below the level of the breast fold and the nipple is pointing down.
Breast Lift Options
Based on the amount of ptosis, there are different types of breast lift operation and breast lift incisions depending on the amount of lifting that is required.
There are four major breast lift techniques:
Crescent Lift
A crescent breast lift moves the areola upward by removing skin above it, but it’s limited to only a nipple lift and doesn’t provide a comprehensive breast lift. It also doesn’t reduce the size of the areola and can actually make it appear larger over time. As a general rule, any more than 1 cm of this type of lift can distort the shape of the areola by elongating it.
Donut Breast Lift
A periareolar breast lift, commonly known as a “Donut Lift” or “Benelli Breast Lift,” involves removing skin around the areola, particularly from the top, to lift the breast mound and create a smaller, more elevated nipple and areola. It can also provide a breast lift, although this result isn’t always achieved. The incision is closed at the breast envelope. The result is:
- A smaller, more elevated nipple
- A smaller areola
- A mound lift (sometimes)
Lollipop
The lollipop lift is also known as “vertical breast lift.” A vertical mastopexy involves three incisions: periareolar, vertical, and horizontal. It’s typically reserved for severe breast sagging. Tissue reshaping techniques vary among surgeons and each has its pros and cons. The vertical lift has unique disadvantage which is the high tension point at the third incision point.
Anchor
The anchor breast lift is also referred to as the inverted T-lift. This breast lift method also involves three incisions: a circle incision around the areola, a vertical incision to the breast crease, and also a horizontal crease along the breast crease. The incisions are shaped as a upside down “T” hence the name “inverted T-lift.” This method is also used for severe breast ptosis and will involve removing any extra skin as well as excess tissue. It is important to note that this method also requires longer recovery time than the other techniques as it involves reshaping breast tissue.
Combining a Lift with Augmentation
Combining a breast lift a breast augmentation is called an augmentation mastopexy. It is sometimes done in one surgery or two. Staging these two cosmetic surgery procedures have become a more common trend over the last 5 years, they are both done as part of mommy makeover procedures. While the disadvantage of staging is added cost and the need for two surgeries, the advantage is often a superior cosmetic result and overall increased safety with respect to blood supply to the nipple. While one could make the argument that single-stage surgery may give the desired appearance and that a revision of any imperfection is no different than a two-stage surgery, that isn’t entirely true. First, a combined augmentation mastopexy in the first stage requires longer operating room time. However, infection rates correlate positively with operating room time.
Surgery Details
Most breast lifts are performed under general anesthesia. The exception to this may be crescent breast lift or some periareolar mastopexys where nipple elevation is the only goal. Breast lift surgery may last up to 4 hours in cases where the inverted T method is chosen. Unless an augmentation is performed, a breast lift is surface operation. Meaning, the dissection and tissue resection remain above the chest muscle. There are no major nerves or vessels in pectoral muscle or vicinity of this surgery field. Patient should not receive any loss of nipple sensation.
Ideal Candidates
Droopy breasts alone is not the only factor to be good breast lift candidates. Paramount to the breast lift procedure is ensuring good health and the avoidance of any and all nicotine products. Smoking (and any form of nicotine) will constrict small vessels in the tissues and impair healing. The outcome of proceeding with a mastopexy with nicotine on board can be nothing short of disastrous. For that reason, it is imperative that patients be one hundred percent up front with their surgeon when it comes to this topic. Likewise, specific health issues like diabetes may impair healing, particularly if it is poorly controlled. A list of medications that must be avoided is also a topic of consideration and will be provided before surgery.
Assuming that the above boxes are checked, the ideal candidates for breast lifts are those women who wish to have the same size breasts but just perkier. The addition or subtraction of volume with a breast implant or breast reduction can be combined with the breast lift. Augmentation mastopexy surgery can be performed either together or staged; then the augmentation is performed months later.
During your breast lift consultation, Dr. Neavin will ask questions about a patient’s general health and whether or not smoking or nicotine products are a concern. All nicotine consumption must be avoided for at least four weeks before breast surgery. A medication list will be reviewed as well as any family history of breast cancer.
While a breast lift does not increase one’s risk of developing breast cancer, the idea of obtaining this history is to determine whether or not a screening mammogram to develop a baseline makes sense. After a breast lift, reduction, or augmentation, the internal architecture of the breast will be changed. Thus, a pre-surgery mammogram is sometimes helpful to have for down the road. If indeed there is a family history of breast cancer, the age for a screening mammogram will be determined by Dr. Neavin and your treating medical doctor. Measurements of the breasts will be obtained as well as the degree of sagging. Desires for increasing or reducing the size of the breast and the areola will be assessed. The plan for lifting can be discussed with diagrams or even markings on the breast with an erasable marker to outline the surgery.
The Consultation
During your breast lift consultation, Dr. Neavin will ask questions about a patient’s general health and whether or not smoking or nicotine products are a concern. All nicotine consumption must be avoided for at least four weeks before breast surgery. A medication list will be reviewed as well as any family history of breast cancer.
While a breast lift does not increase one’s risk of developing breast cancer, the idea of obtaining this history is to determine whether or not a screening mammogram to develop a baseline makes sense. After a breast lift, reduction, or augmentation, the internal architecture of the breast will be changed. Thus, a pre-surgery mammogram is sometimes helpful to have for down the road. If indeed there is a family history of breast cancer, the age for a screening mammogram will be determined by Dr. Neavin and your treating medical doctor. Measurements of the breasts will be obtained as well as the degree of sagging. Desires for increasing or reducing the size of the breast and the areola will be assessed. The plan for lifting can be discussed with diagrams or even markings on the breast with an erasable marker to outline the surgery.
Dr. Neavin is a top breast lift surgeon. He is a board-certified plastic surgeon and is also a member of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Schedule your consultation today.
Recovery After Surgery
The healing process from the surgical procedure will be proportionate to the extent of surgery. Some stitches may need to be removed seven or eight days after surgery. It is safe to assume that at least one week would be required before resuming any normal activities. As a good rule, one shouldn’t lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk or perform any vigorous activities for at least two weeks after surgery.
Returning to work will depend on the type of job you have. Desk jobs can be resumed within a week. Returning to exercise such as weight lifting or the treadmill may take up to a month depending on the extent of surgery. These details will be ironed out when you meet with Dr. Neavin.
Final results after your breast lift surgery are not seen for several weeks. Some swelling will occur and and the results might even appear a little funny looking for some time. As the tissues relax, the breasts will form into a more round, beautiful shape. If implants are incorporated, it may take weeks for the implants to settle. It is important to maintain contact with Dr. Neavin during the post-operative period to ensure that incisions are healing, and the tissues are recovering appropriately.
