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Breast Lift + Implant Later Vs Lift and Implant Together?

asked 1 year ago by Researching looking for answers in long island
Latest answer by Tom J. Pousti, MD
Question viewed 345 times
Tags: weight loss, breast size, comparison, thin skin, weight gain

After weight gain/loss I now have 1 breast about a C? and one D/DD? both sagging. No children yet. Had 2 consultations, both reputable drs, first said under no circumstances to do lift & implant together because my skin is too thin and would scar and sag. He recommends 2 surgerys 1 year apart, 2nd said yes implant/lift could be done. I'd like to end with both breasts lifted around D/DD max. I've scheduled another consultation but can't get in for a month and am looking for some direction.

20 answers to Breast Lift + Implant Later Vs Lift and Implant Together?

Breast Lift and Breast Augmentation

Hello Researching, I speak about this frequently. Experienced surgeons who specialize in breast surgery perform a simultatneous combination of breast lifts and augmentation regularly, and do it safely and accurately. Regarding your personal situation from what you say, you have large, asymmetric breasts. I feel that an isolated breast lift without reduction of breast tissue will always lead to recurrent sagging of your breast regardless of whether you utilize... more

Gerald Minniti, MD, FACS
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon

drminniti.com

Breast Augmentation/Lifting One or Two Stage?

Thanks for the question. This is not a question agreed-upon by all plastic surgeons. There are good plastic surgeons who will insist on doing the procedures separately and there are good plastic surgeons who can produce excellent outcomes in a single stage. The combination breast augmentation / mastopexy surgery differs from breast augmentation surgery alone in that it carries increased risk compared to either breast augmentation or mastopexy surgery performed separately.... more

Tom J. Pousti, MD
San Diego Plastic Surgeon

Breast lift with augmentation - 1 or 2 stages?

There is much controversy regarding breast lift with augmentation. Some plastic surgeons never perform the 2 together, citiing too high of complications and revision rates. It is true that breast augmentation and breast lift alone have much lower complication and reoperation rates than the combined procedure. In a difficult case of thin skin and asymmetry, it is not unreasonable to stage the 2 procedures. However, another way of looking at the problem is that if you... more

Kent V. Hasen, MD
Naples Plastic Surgeon

Breast implant and mastopexy

Surgeons will have differing opinions as to whether or not a breast augmentation should be performed at the time of mastopexy. Although there may be more chance of complications when these procedures are performed together, in many patients it can be done without inordinate extra risk. Issues such as significant size discrepancy and very thin and attenuated tissues such as with significant weight loss can create more problems. A beast lift with small reduction on the larger size would... more

David A. Bottger, MD
Philadelphia Plastic Surgeon

Would you be happy with a C cup?

You are caught in the controversy between those who are adamant about never combing these procedures and those who KNOW it can be done together (although risks for less than perfect results are higher). Since you've not had children yet and I assume would like someday to be able to have them, my suggesting is to simply have a Rubin Mastopexy where you will be made more even, perkier and theoretically should still have the ability to breast feed if and when that becomes an issue... more

Curtis Wong, MD
Redding Plastic Surgeon

Breast lift with implants

Breast lift (mastopexy) surgery is often performed at the same time as placement of implants (augmentation) in appropriately selected patients. Since you have not had any children yet you may want to consider the possible benefits and risks of doing these procedures (together or separately) before childbearing as your breasts will change with pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Olivia Hutchinson, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

Breast lift with augmentation - 1 operation or 2?

My general approach to relatively large asymmetric breasts with ptosis (drooping) is to perform a differential inferior breast reduction through a vertical approach and place submuscular implants to create superior fill and cleavage. By placing the implants in a submuscular plane you are establishing a situation where they will not descend appreciably over time unlike a prosthesis placed subglandularly. The inferior pole reduction treats the asymmetry and also removes breast tissue from... more

William F. DeLuca Jr, MD
Albany Plastic Surgeon

www.delucaplasticsurgery.com

Breast lift and augment together

It sounds like you have asymetry and want to go quite large. i would suggest two operations when a large implant is involved. i would do the mastopexy first and equalize the breasts. then i would do the augmentation 6 months later, when i could also touch up the mastopexy. i think this is the safest way to proceed. i believe the secondary operation rate for all comers for an augment-mastopexy is about 40%

Jonathan Saunders, MD
Newark Plastic Surgeon

Breast lift with implants

A breast lift and augmentation are usually performed as one surgery. However, if a women has severe droop (ptosis), staging (performing the lift in one surgery and then placing implants at a second procedure months later) is often used. However, my preference is to use just one procedure unless a patient has a significant amount of breast tissue.

Steven Goldman, MD
Cleveland Plastic Surgeon

Breast Lift with Implants

When done by a surgeon who takes the extra time to sit you up during the procedure and adjust the lift after placing the implants, the re-do rate is minimal and the results excellent. You require even more planning because of your asymmetry. Pick a surgeon with significant experience in both these aspects.

Robert T. Buchanan, MD
Highlands Plastic Surgeon

Breast lift with implant should be done together.

Hi. I don't think this is very controversial among experienced surgeons. This is about the correction of breast asymmetry, and not just about combining breast lift with breast augmentation. But in any circumstance, these two procedures are best done together. We do them together very frequently, with a very low complication rate (no higher than when done separately). It seems that you need a vertical breast lift (Lejour or Hall-Findlay technique with a lollipop... more

George J. Beraka, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Breast lift and augmentation can be done together

Hi, As the other doctors said, this is always a dilemma. Most patients want to have one surgery and this is what I perform most often. However, the quality of your skin is critical; if it is very poor quality with little elasticity then you might separate the two operations. The thing that concerns me the most is that you want to be a D/DD. It is very difficult to get long lasting mastopexy results with a large size breast. With your current breast size I... more

Tracy Pfeifer, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

drpfeifer.com

Breast lift plus implants in one or two stages?

Your question touches on one of the great debates in plastic surgery, which usually means there is no simple answer. The combination of a breast lift with implants has a lot of components that have to come together just right and it is impossible to predict exactly how things will look after everything has healed and settled. That is one reason why many plastic surgeons recommend doing it in two stages. The other side of the argument is that often everything does end up as it should after... more

Richard Baxter, MD
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

Lift and implants

I very commonly perform lifts with implants at the same time. It is very common. I am not sure why your surgeon wants to delay them. Good luck.

Steven Wallach, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Breast lift and augmentation together or separate procedures?

You have significant asymmetry based on your description. I agee with both surgeons whom you saw. A breast lift combined with an augmentation in widely asymmetrical breasts is a dificult operation. With a lift you are repositioning the breast tissue to a higher position on the chest wall and tightening the skin envelope and with an augmentation you are placing an implant which expands the breast and the skin envelope. Most patients want one surgery, but often end up disappointed with the... more

George Marosan, MD
Bellevue Plastic Surgeon

www.bellevueplasticsurgeons.com

Breast Lift with implants-1 operation or 2?

This is always a dilemma for a surgeon-to stage or not to stage. By staging you are commiting to 2 surgeries. By performing the lift and augmentation together, you may be very happy with one procedure. Some assymmetry will likely result, and this can be addressed with a second procedure, but only if you are dissatisfied. The difficulty with performing a lift first is that you are committing to bilateral implants at the second stage. By performing the uplift and... more

Beverly Friedlander, MD
Short Hills Plastic Surgeon

Breast lift, implants, or both

Questions frequently come up about breast lift with or after breast augmentation. As your breast is already a DD-cup on one side, you might also consider breast lift first, and maybe breast implants later on if you still feel that you need the volume. The fear of thin skin and sagging? This is why we perform a lift in the first place. If the breast is very asymmetric as yours are the scar is unavoidable as the full cup difference with loose skin will not be made up by implants alone. If you... more

Peter E. Johnson, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Lift and implant has very high complication and revision rate

The combined procedure has very high complication rate( up to 40%-60%). Most patients want to have single stage surgery and most surgeons would rather two stage . I would recommend two stage based on your breast size.

Kamran Khoobehi, MD
New Orleans Plastic Surgeon

Different opinions

A mastopexy with a lift can be a difficult operation. Some will only do the lift first then add implants later. I often do both at the same time; however, you might be a difficult problem as you have 2 different size breasts. No matter how great a lift any of us do, you breasts will continue to sag as you age, especially if they are large and you add pregnancies to the mix. Do not expect that this will be your last procedure.

William B. Rosenblatt, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

Breast Lift and Implants: together or separate?

Here is my take on this problem: First everyone is different in their make-up, skin and tissue and so forth. Despite this there are a few considerations to make. Most patients opt for implants and a lift together for this basic reason: they dont want two surgeries. Most patients actually come in because of volume loss and need a lift to get the right result. This being said, this is one of the more challenging operations plastic surgeons perform because there are multiple variables acting on... more