Breast Augmentation: Q&A
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Breast Augmentation Only or Would a Lift Also Be Necessary? (photo)
I am an active 35 yr old with 2 young kids desiring pre-baby breasts. I am very concerned about the recovery time and scars on the breast lift. Can I achieve the desired results of fuller shape and size with an augmentation only or would I also require a lift? Would an augmentation only significantly worsen the sag?
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Booster2
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Augmentation Only or is Lift Needed.
Any answer has to be qualified by saying that the photos don't give a surgeon the complete picture and an examimation in necessary for a more definitive answer. That said, you appear to be someone who has a borderline situation where either solution (implant alone or lift + implant) has some downsides.
My guess is that you had very nice full breasts prior to pregnancy and you really still have an overall nice breast shape but have some deflation and sagging. Your nipple appears to...
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Would I need a lift as well?
I'm often asked by patients seeking breast augmentation whether they need a lift as well. Although there are exceptions, and different plastic surgeons may disagree on occasion, the following are general guidelines. A breast lift is defined by any procedure that re-positions the breast in a higher position. I am not referring to the ”appearance” of a lift that is achieved by the actual breast augmentation itself. If a woman’s...
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Breast implants provide upper pole volume but do not correct lower pole sagging
Breast implants will give you the upper pole volume you want. But they will do nothing to correct the extra sagging tissue of the lower pole of your breasts. Unfortunately, sometimes women have implants alone thinking they will take up the slack and avoid the need for a breast lift, but this is not the case. If you don't mind having some lower pole slack and want to look good in a bra, implants alone will do that.
If you really want pre-baby breasts you may...
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I got my breast augmentation because I wanted to feel better about myself. I am 31 now, I...
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Would a Lift Also Be Necessary?
Based upon these photos and your goals, I would recommend augmentation alone. However, anyone answering this, myself included, might have a different recommendation at the time of an in person consultation.
Were you to feel after surgery that your breast contour is not what you want, a lift could be done at any time.
When you ready for an in person consultation, RealSelf has listings of surgeons in your area. You should consider cross referencing the listings...
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A breast augmentation and lift would provide the best result.
Hello,
Thank you for the question and photos. A breast augmentation adds volume while a breast lift reshapes the existing breast tissue. I think you would obtain the best result and the least chance of subsequent surgery down the road by doing a breast augmentation and breast lift. Performed properly the incision will be very inconspicuous.
All the best,
Dr Remus Repta
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Lift necessary
It really is not possible to give an opinion on whether you require a breast lift in addition to augmentation. I would suggest you be careful about the opinions you receive based on your photos alone. There is no substitute for a careful examination and discussion with a board certified plastic surgeon who has significant experience with aesthetic breast surgery. Obviously, there are different opinions about this topic so I would suggest you obtain several consultations to...
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Breast Implant and Lift
A lift with implant will achieve a look more like a pre-baby breast. Find before and after photos of women with breasts with similar sag to your own, see what surgery they did, and the results. Remember larger breasts sag more than smaller breasts. Your risk for sagging after surgery will be higher as the implant size gets larger.
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Breast Augmentation with or without a Lift
Hello,
This is a very common question on Realself.com., because many women are afraid of potential scarring from a breast lift but know their breasts don't look like the others they've seen who've gotten just breast augmentation. I'd like to address a few misconceptions, some propagated by surgeons:
1. With a sagging breast, a breast augmentation without a lift will just make the breast look like a larger version of what it already looks like. Incorrect! If your...
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Adding breast lift to breast augmentation
The photos that you showed are inconclusive with regard to needing a breast lift. Your nipples position appear adequate unless you are specific about liking your nipples to be higher than currently seen. In that case you will need a lift and trade-off is additional scars. If you are not ready for breast lift scar then my suggestion would be to do breast augmentation alone and consider breast lift later as needed. Keep in mind breast augmentation by itself will not cause the breast to be...
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Breast Augmentation Only or Would a Lift Also Be Necessary?
Either a very large implant or both a lift and smaller implant (like the UHP implants). Best to have in person evaluations from boarded PSs in your city.
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Is lift needed?
Thank you for your question and for the photos. An examination is the only way to give a precise answer, but I will give some opinions based on the photos. Based on the photos, it seems that you would be best treated with a breast lift and augmentation. This would allow the breast to be lifted and reshaped at the time of the augment, and should lead to a nicer result. If an augmentation alone was done, I would fear that the result would have some persistent sag.
The trade off for this...
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Do I need a breast lift along with an augmentation ?
Reviewing your photos it appears that in order to get optimal results you should have a breast lift together with an augmentation. But I think that you would be able to benefit from a lift that involves an incision only around the areola. This allows for the most minimal scarring and bypasss more obvious scars. I believe a breast augmentation alone will leave you with sagging breasts and disappointing results. But the ultimate decision can only be made at the time of actual examination of...
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Necessary? No. Best? Maybe, depending on your aversion to cost and permanent scars.
Others have described ways to determine if your nipple position is at or above the inframammary crease (no lift "necessary") or below, despite their facing forward (and even slightly upwards). If your nipples are indeed below the position of your inframammary creases, then breast lifting (plus implants) will be most plastic surgeons' best recommendation for your optimum results. especially if you only want modest size increase. But then there are the scars, and the increased costs...
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Breast Augmentation with/without lift
Thank you for the photos. Your desire is to achieve fuller shape and size. If that is the only goal you have then an augmentation will do that. Remember, your breasts will have fuller shape and size, but will be saggy. If you are an active person, perhaps, you would do better with a short scar breast lift (fuller shape, same size). Another option is fat graft breast augmentation which will leave no scars, gives you fuller shape and size, with the additional benefit of reshaping your mid...
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Do I need breast lift? (photos)
Yes, you will get fuller shape and size with implants alone, the issue is skin envelope, and how much "looseness" you will accept. The larger the implant you agree to and the larger your surgeon is willing to use, the tighter your skin envelope will be, and the more lift you will get from the implant alone. This, of course, puts you at risk for all problems associated with larger implants, such as further skin stretching and thinning over time, nipple numbness, rippling, etc...
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Breast Augmentation with or without lift
Your nipples seem to be at the level of your inramammary crease on the right and a little lower on the left. If your goal is only to have fuller breasts in a bra then augmentation alone will work. Otherwise you will need some sort of lift.
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Do I Need A Lift Or Would A Breast Augmentation Be Sufficient?
You can determine the answer to this question by standing in front of a mirror and putting a piece of paper under your breast, pushing it up to the point where your breast meets your chest wall. If the nipple is at or below this line, then you need a breast lift. If the nipple is above this line, then a breast augmentation with a dual plane release would be sufficient if you are willing to accept large breast implants.
Your right breast is higher than your left and...
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Honolulu Plastic Surgeon
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Would not put scars on breasts initially
I routinely augment breasts like yours through the trans-axillary approach with no scars on the chest. It does depend on how "tight" your infra-mammary fold is, as lowering the fold will give you a very nice result. If the fold is too tight and produces a pronounced "double bubble" and you cannot lower the fold, you will still get improvement without a lift by replacing lost volume with an implant. In this case, your nipples will be just a bit low for perfection. As suggested earlier...
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Pre baby breasts
It is difficult to answer your question without knowing how your breasts looked "pre baby". Your goal would determine the best plan / recommendation for you. If you chose an implant alone to give you more fullness, you would have the least scar, but possibly continued sagging or drooping...(after two kids, possibly should be changed to probable). If your goal is to be fuller and perkier, then you would need a lift as well. You could do this in two stages to see if you...
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Breast Augmentation or Breast Augmentation and Lift
Based upon your photographs (and current position of the nipple/areolar complexes), I would expect that you could achieve a fuller shape and increased breast size with a "dual plane" augmentation alone, and avoid the scarring that would result from a lift. A lift could always be performed at a later date, when you would be in a better position to judge if the potential change would be worth the scarring.
I would recommend consulting with board-certified plastic surgeons...
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Breast Lift not needed
You will not need a breast lift if you choose 650cc implants. The reason to do a lift is mainly to reposition the nipples to a higher location. A lift is also done to take up the extra skin in the lower pole of the breast. This would be needed in someone who does not want implants or who is choosing very small implants. In your case, you will have slightly more laxity in the lower breast than someone who has never had children but with larger than average implants,...
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Breast Augmentation with or without Lift
Based on your photos, an implant alone will give you the fuller and larger breasts that you desire. But the question is, what are your goals regarding the shape of your breasts? Implants come in all shapes and sizes. Depending on the projection of the implant, you can obtain more fullness at the upper breasts if you want, or more fullness at the bottom breasts. A lift will change the relative position of your areola and nipple in relation to your breast mound and infra-mammary fold. It can...
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To lift or not to lift
Your nipples look to be well above your breast crease so they don't need to be lifted anywhere. The distance between the nipple and the crease looks a bit long and might benefit from being shortened but my recommendation would be to get an extended dual plane augmentation and see how you like the results. You can always add more scars later. Hope this helps! Good luck!
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Breast Augmentation Only or Breast Lift As Well?
Thank you for the question and good quality pictures.
Although direct examination would allow for more precise advice, I think that it is very likely that you will do better with breast lifting along with breast augmentation surgery. I would probably recommend a “vertical mastopexy" operation for you. I say this because, on your side view picture, there appears to be a significant amount of relatively low sitting skin/breast tissue. Unfortunately, without breast lifting you...
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