Breast Lift or Mastopexy
Whether it’s from genetics, age, or breastfeeding, having droopy boobs can not only affect the clothes we wear, but our confidence and physical comfort. Breasts that have lost their perkiness can cause us to cover up and wish that they would just hold themselves up without having to fit them into the right bra – which can be a struggle within itself. Hold onto your titties ladies because there is a solution. We had a chat to specialist plastic surgeon Dr Raymond Goh, based in Brisbane, about how a breast lift works.
A breast lift, also called a mastopexy, is a procedure to bring your girls up to where you want them to be without implants or a reduction (although having a breast lift at the same time as a reduction and/or augmentation is quite common too). Dr Goh says, “This procedure is to raise and reshape sagging breasts. As a woman ages, skin loses some elasticity which can cause the breasts to lose their natural shape and firmness. This procedure is designed to elevate the breasts and give them a more youthful appearance. A breast lift may also be completed in conjunction with breast enlargement surgery (augmentation).”
There are other things a breast lift (with or without implants) can achieve as well:
- Lift your breasts back up to a perkier position – helping to address the sagging cause by gravity or ageing;
- Helps to firm up your breasts when they lose their volume due to pregnancy and breastfeeding (we get so excited by our enlarged breasts during pregnancy that we forget to think about what happens to them after they have the life sucked out of them!)
- Bring your nipples/areolas to a more attractive position (sagging breasts often have the nipples pointing downward toward your toes or out to the side).
- Help eliminate any discomfort caused by sagging, drooping breasts. This can include rubbing and chafing (which can lead to infections in more serious cases), and back, neck and shoulder pain from heaviness of large droopy breasts.
The Procedure
Dr Goh says the breast lift procedure takes anywhere between one and a half to three hours and techniques can vary. “While techniques vary, the most common procedure involves an anchor-like incision along the underside of the breast. The incision goes around the area where skin will be removed, thus defining how the nipple will be relocated. When the excess skin has been removed, the nipple and areola are moved into a higher position. The skin and breast tissue surrounding the areola is brought down and together to reshape the breast.
Some patients, especially those with relatively small breasts and minimal sagging, may be candidates for minimal incision techniques that result in less scarring. One such procedure is the “doughnut (or concentric) mastopexy” in which a circular incision is made around the areola and a doughnut-shaped area of skin is removed. In other circumstances, a vertical incision alone may be sufficient.”
If you’d like more information on breast lifts or any other breast procedure, or you’d like to arrange a consultation with Dr Goh phone 07 3488 8118.