Breast Lift: Q&A

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Breast Lift After Breast Augmentation?

I was advised to have a Breast Lift with my augmentation. I am not sure I want to have it done due to scarring, recovery, and increased cost. If I just do the augmentation and don't like the results, can I have a lift at a later point?

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15 Doctor Answers | Asked by kgb_04 in Anderson, Indiana

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Breast augmentation, then lift

If the patient has significant drooping, the patient will not achieve a good and natural shape with an implant alone, just a large saggy breast with south pointing nipples. That being said, it is the safest route to have an augmentation and later a breast lift. Then, circulation issues are minimized. It is dangerous to perform a tight breast lift with a large breast augmentation, especially a Benelli-type lift (aggressive around the nipple lift), even more so in patients who smoke or have... more

The lift can be done later

Just realize that if the nipple and areola are low or are pointing down, the implant WON"T improve this. If anything, it will look worse. You are certainly entitled to stage this but you will surely want the lift to get the best shape possible. The scars improve with time but the shape doesn't if you don't get the lift. I have a photo of a patient who went to a doctor who told her all she needed was an implant. She needed a lift but didn't get one. I have shown this photo for years... more

Breast Lift with Implants

Having already had one anesthesia you might as well go ahead and have the breast lift at the same time saving yourself a second anesthia. If your doctor is recomending a lift it probably because you have excess skin , you do not want to end up with what is known as "snoopy boobs". If scarring is your fear there are many medical grade scarring creams that can used such as BioCorneum

Breast lift with implants?

If you are seen by a few well experienced, board-certified plastic surgeons who recommend breast lifting along with the augmentation, then it would behoove you to do the procedures together. Otherwise, you are bound to be dissatisfied with the results and require further surgery to reach your goals. Further searching will obviously lead to further costs etc. As in any other area of medicine is important to make the correct diagnosis and tailor a treatment plan (surgical... more

Staging Your Breast Lift After Augmentation

It is quite reasonable to first have a breast augmentation and evaluate your satisfaction with the results, before proceeding with breast lift. Of course, this is less efficient and more costly with more recovery time, but may be worth it to you since you have concerns about the scars. You need to be convinced the lift will be worth it to you.

If you need a lift, you need a lift

Just placing an implant will not eliminate the fact that you need a breast lift. If you need a lift, and you just have an implant placed, you will end up unhappy with your shape. Yes, this is true even if you have the implant placed above the muscle. Doing a lift with implants has about the same recovery as having just implants. A long weekend should suffice as recovery before return to a desk job, for instance. There will be some additional cost for doing an... more

Carmen Kavali, MD

11 reviews

Atlanta Plastic Surgeon

When to have a breast lift with implants

Some patients who are interested in having a breast augmentation may receive the suggestion of pairing the surgery with a breast lift. This is because you may have access to issue or sagging breast in that will not be completely filled by the implant. Rather than just having implant in this case the skin can be retraced around the new implant and create a much more attractive rest mound with a small breast lift. However, if you have reservations it is not necessary to perform... more

Lift and augmentation

Yes, you can have a lift after breast implants. While I try to do them in a single session it certainly is easier to stage them.

Steven Wallach, MD

12 reviews

Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Simple answer - yes. Better answer - other approaches may be better.

Kbg_04: It is certainly reasonable to have a breast augmentation without a lift for some patients, but most who need a lift at the same time as their augmentation are better off doing them together. (Sometimes the lift is best done before the augmentation.) The augmentation operation your surgeon does may be done differently depending on whether you have lift or not. These decisions are best made in conjunction with your surgeon. He or she has the advantage of examining you and... more

Excellent Idea!

Whenever possibe (given many variables however), I encourage a staged approach. The procedure in my opinion is safer, less complications, and results are more predictable. Plus, if you are happy with the results, you save an added operation. Sometimes however, there is no way that a patient will be happy with just one procedure. sek

Sure but it is better to do at the same time if needed.

There is all ways the opportunity to revisit the original results of the augmentation mamoplasty but if you really need a lift it is better to do it at the same time. Occasionally I find that a patient with boarder line drooping of the breast can be handled by doing a peri areolar incision (around the nipple areolar complex) and putting a gel filled breast implant under the breast and not the muscle. This will often give a very nice natural looking enlarged breast and if need be a breast... more

Yes but you may not ever get as nice an outcome as if you had followed your surgeon's recommendation

Hi there- Breast augmentation with mastopexy certainly can be staged into two operations, particularly if you and your surgeon are not sure the breast lift will be necessary to achieve your goals. This is a much different situation, however from one in which your surgeon is recommending that you have a breast lift with your augmentation in order to achieve the goal you have described to them... In my experience, achieving the optimal breast shape is absolutely critical, and much more important t more

Yes, but...

There are certain strategies a surgeon might have with your situation. One might be to use an appropriate implant for size and dimension that you normally would have used with a lift. Then you will see if your lift is really beneficial and to what degree. A different strategy is to try to push the limits of an implant to try and avoid a lift, perhaps by a larger volume, greater width, more projection, or different position. This might help avoid a lift but if it doesn't then a lift might... more

Robin T.W. Yuan, MD

4 reviews

Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon

You can always do it later

As long as you are making an informed decision, you can wait to decide on the lift. The only thing that cannot be done is to reverse scars, so if you are really worried, then just have the augmentation. Yes, it will be more expensive and require additional surgery to do it, but at least you will know what you look like without the lift. a lot of this depends on how much sagging you have now and where the nipple points now. If it points to the ground, it is unlikely you will be happy with... more

You can but may be unhappy

Only in certain circumstances will I follow that approach. My rationale is that I want you to be happy with you surgical results and if your breast tissue is still loose and saggy and your nipple is too low on you breast, you most likely won't like it. I know other surgeons have other opinions and actually have patients do it in a staged fashion. The answer to your question is that yes you can have a lift after augmentation but I would recommend that you have your implants placed under the... more