Wow June

This question may have prompted the greatest number and most long winded answers in realself.com history.  Many of the answers are valid and complete, so I will not reiterate.  Just a word of advice, simultaneous breast lift and augmentation is one of the most difficult procedures in plastic surgery.  So, if there is even a remote possibility that you would be happy with the volume of breast tissue that you already have (minus 5-10% for tightening of the skin, 15% seems a little high), do the lift without the aug.  Even though it would require a second surgery, you can always do the aug later AND if your board certified plastic surgeon is any kind of altruistic physician they will sharply discount the subsequent surgery.  Good luck!

If you like your breast size then don't change it. There are many different types of breast lifts today;

1-skin only circumareolar breast lifts - a bad technique that flattens out the breast. The scars are not acceptable and the position of the nipples is rarely symmetrical. Most importantly, the durability is about 1 year,if you are lucky!

2-An anchor scar skin only lift - not much better than the above. The breasts have a nice shape, but the scars are awful and the sag returns within a year. The better newer techniques change the shape of the breast tissue under the skin and as the tissues moves to it's new position, the skin reshapes around the tissue without much effort - even if you think you have lots of extra skin.

3- The Vertical scar mastopexy (lollipop scar) this comes in many flavors - the two most common are the Hall-findlay and the Lejour. The Lejour is harder to learn and perform by the physician but gives a more natural, perky shape (look at the photos on my website). The Hall-findlay is more common today because of the ease of use, but the scars do not heal as nicely and the breast is not as perky. These techniques require a small a mount of volume reduction, so if you decide to have this type of lift, you must accept the slight loss in volume or get an implant as well.

4- the Goes Circumareolar breast lift is a great technique with a minimal scar around the areola for patients who have less that 5 cm of sag. That is the amount of movement of the nipple from its old position to the desired new position. This technique moves and shapes the breast tissue under the skin. It is a great technique, although not as perky as the Lejour technique. This technique does not have to remove any tissue at all if desired.

5- My Tear Drop Augmentation Mastopexy technque is a fabulous way to lift and augment a breast that is sagging and needs a small to large amount of volume improvement. I have been performing this technique for 11 years with almost no complications and it is designed to eliminate the hollow appearance along the top of the chest wall that so many of the other techniques have. The key is to only use the implant that gives you the size that you need. If you hear a doctor telling you that you need to go bigger than you want to fill out a sagging breast - then run.

6- My newest lift The IBM technique (inframammary breast medialization) is designed for patients wanting to move there nipples, areal and breast tissue toward the center of their chest. This is especially designed for those with a wide space between their breasts. Fron a 3 cm incision under the breasts, I can place the implants under the muscle and move the breasts toward the middle. The procedure is new, so durability is to be determined, but the patients that have had it are ecstatic. Good Luck.

4 of 4 found this helpful

Helpful?

Contact the doctor

June-

Good question.  With a breast lift, also called a mastopexy, patients lose a small amount of volume during the procedure.  This will make your breasts a bit smaller as they are lifted.  Many patients want to increase fullness along with getting their breasts lifted.  A breast implant with a mastopexy helps give a better shape and size.  In my practice, I find that the happiest patients are those that have had implants with their lift.  This does not usually lead to greater complications, but implants do have their risks. 

Make sure that your surgeon goes over all the risks as well as the benefits of a breast lift with and without implants.  Have them show you pictures of cases they have done.  Hopefully you both want to achieve the same aesthetic result.

Hope this helps.

A good breast lift moves up your breasts and your nipples INTERNALLY and a little bit of skin is removed. At most, you should lose no more than 5% of your breast size with a lift.  And the breasts look bigger anyway because they are higher on your chest.  So this is not a good reason to get implants.

If you have "empty" or "deflated" breasts, on the other hand, then a combination lift-augmentation can be a good choice. Many women fall into this category after having children.

1 of 1 found this helpful

Helpful?

Contact the doctor

Breast lifts alone require removal of some excess skin and then the breast is molded to improve the shape. Very little to no breast tissue is removed. If you want more volume, then implants can be inserted as well. This really depends upon what you want.

Helpful?

Contact the doctor

 If you're sagging or asymmetrical, and are looking for perkiness, you'll need a lift--or, if you also want more volume, a lift and implants. A breast lift raises droopy breasts from one to several inches and excess skin is removed. If you just want to go bigger, the only way to do that is with implants. The great thing about these techniques is that they can now be down with minimal scarring and performed as an outpatient procedure without the need for general anesthesia.
 

Helpful?

Contact the doctor