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Breast Lift with Auto Augmentation?

I am just discovering the 'new' option for enhancing the appearance of sagging breasts. A breast lift combined with an 'auto augmentation' sounds like a fantastic option for women who don't want breast implants. I had never heard of this procedure until a recent consultation with a plastic surgeon who said I had adequate breast volume that could be lifted and repositioned without the use of implants. I haven't found too much literature about this procedure and would appreciate some feedback. What do you think about this procedure? Thanks.

Asked 33 months ago by newtatas in Georgia
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+2

Not for the normal patient

As Dr. Wallace has said, the autoaugmentation concept applies to those patients with extra skin and tissue that can be recruited into augmenting their own breasts without an implant. Usually these are massive weight loss patients. Patients of normal physiques still need an implant for augmentation. Remmeber that an implant will not lift the sagging breast, it just adds volume. A lift is what elevates the nipple and areola and reshapes the breast.
Richard P. Rand, MD, FACS
Seattle Plastic Surgeon
+1

Autoaugmentation Breast Lift

Provided there is adequate tissue to give you the cup size you desire, this procedure works and helps you avoid implants that were tradiationally used to "fill out" the upper poles of the breast.  If you wish to have more a natural appearance over the "implanted look", this will suffice.  There is a risk the tissue moved upwards can lose its blood supply which will then lead to the development of a firm mass that should slowly diminish in size over time... more
Curtis Wong, MD
Redding Plastic Surgeon
+1

Breast lift with auto augmentation

  This is a technique and breast lift surgery where a small portion of the lower part of the breast is brought into the upper portion of the breast to re-create fullness in this area. This is a technically demanding procedure and so is very important to perform your research before embarking on this technique. Be sure that your board-certified plastic surgeon has great deal of experience with this specific procedure. The success of this procedure depends entirely on the... more
B. Pat Pazmino, MD
Miami Plastic Surgeon
+1

Vertical breast lift can create upper breast fullness.

Hi. This is the internal breast lift without breast implants.  The breast tissue is repositioned upward (Lejour or Hall-Findlay techniques).  You are left with a lollipop scar.
George J. Beraka, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon
+1

Tissue is rearranged

A breast lift serves to tighten the envelope of skin around the breast and moves the nipple to a higher position on the breast. Auto-augmentation simply means the breast tissue is sewn together to lend to a perkier breast sometimes even placing a small amount of breast tissue under a sling of chest muscle. Many times a breast lift alone does not yield a lot of upper breast fullness in and of itself. Dr Edwards
Michael C. Edwards, MD
Las Vegas Plastic Surgeon
+1

'Auto' Breast Augmentation

Dear Newtatas, There are several techniques for preserving the breast tissue so that the relative volume of the breast remains the sam with a Breast Lift. This can involve the manipulation of the breast tissue to give more projection of the breast- using the inferior pedicle of tissue which is sometimes discarded and combining with a superior pedicle for the nipple. You can also add micro fat grafting to the breast to add volume and shape the breast. Generally with a lift of the breast... more
Trevor M. Born, MD
Toronto Plastic Surgeon
+1

There are many options in breast lift surgery

The real choice to be made for you is deciding if you are happy with your existing breast volume. If you only want to change the shape and not the volume then your existing breast tissue can be repositioned to give an 'auto augmentation' effect. In patient's who have undergone a gastric bypass or have otherwise lost a good deal of weight then there are procedures that can use some of the lateral and medial breast tissue and fat as well as fat from the axillary are to build up a breast... more
Jeffrey Zwiren, MD
Atlanta Plastic Surgeon
+1

Breast lift improves projection and fullness

A well recognized goal of breast lift is improvement of the breast projection and fullness and correction of the nipple position. Vertical mastopexy has been with us for many years now and provides excellent correction of breast laxity, however it is a stretch to call the improvement seen with mastopexy as "auto augmentation". It is very unlikely that the mastopexy increase your cup size. Also despite mastopexy there still may be a relative scoop or lack of upper fullness in the... more
Peter E. Johnson, MD
Des Plaines Plastic Surgeon
+1

Great Procedure in selected patients

Autoaugmentation when performed with a breast lift takes the excess breast tissue in the lateral chest area and sometimes in the lateral upper abdominal area and uses that as a filler. It works very nicely when there is excess skin and fat in those areas to use. Another way to perform autoaugmnetation is by fat injections. This uses fat that has been liposuctioned and then injecteed into the breasts. This is generally done with primary breast augmentation or with reconstruction. I have... more
John P. Stratis, MD
Harrisburg Plastic Surgeon
+1

Depends on what you mean by auto-augmentation

If your breasts are of adequate size when in a bra of your liking, then a lift might be all you need. Breast tissue can be moved around to varying degrees to place more or less tissue in different quadrants of the breast but the total volume needs to be adequate for you. Another alternative in some patients is to recruit tissue from adjacent areas, such as the upper abdomen just under the crease of the breast. This is a form of reverse abdominoplasty that can add tissue to the breast area.... more
Robin T.W. Yuan, MD
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon
+1

Vertical mastopexy is an option but bottoming out is inevitable; use an implant for upper fullness.

This has commonly been performed in Europe and you can look this up as the vertical mammaplasty/mastopexy performed by Dr. LeJour in Belgium. This is a nice option, but the rearranged breast tissue, the so-called auto-augmentation, has a tendency to settle and fill out the lower half of the breast. The only way to definitively achiev upper pole fullness is to use an implant
Otto Joseph Placik, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon
+1

Breast lift and autoaugmentation

Autoaugmentation has been described mainly for patients withmassive weight loss that have a lot of lateral chest fullness. This tissue laterally is rotated into the breast region to augment the already present tissue.  It is not commonly performed for patients of average weight.
Steven Wallach, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon
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