Sagging Breasts Age 19. Lift? Teardrop Implants? (photo)

Hi Victoria,

     Congratulations on the weight lost.  You clearly would benefit from undergoing a breast lift with implants. Although you are currently a DD, I would still recommend using an implant.  The use of an implant would serve to give you a better shape and more upper pole fullness.  It will not be used to increase your breast volume.  There are some surgeons that prefer to perform this surgery in two stages, I disagree.  I believe this surgery can be performed quite safely and effectively in one stage.  The difference in opinion stems from the type of lift these surgeons perform.  There are some techniques that make it unsafe to combine these procedures and some techniques allow for the combined performance.

     In your case, I find no advantage in using a tear drop implants.  There are certain cases where their use is appropriate, but not with you.  As to the type of lift you should undergo, it should be performed with very little skin tension. These lifts relay on the blood supply coming from above.  In this way, the bottom part of the breast tissue can be used to support the lift.  Although many of these lifts can be performed without the horizontal incision, your breasts may require some horizontal component given your size and shape.

Good luck,

Ary Krau MD FACS

First of all don’t feel like you are alone. There are many young women that have larger breasts that have fallen especially after weight loss.

Number one the breast lift is going to be the most important part of your breast surgery, that is what is going to improve the shape of your breast. The implant whether it is teardrop or round will only be used to fill the breast and give you more upper pole fullness.

In a patient that already has breast tissue such as you the teardrop implant is going to make less of a difference than in a patient that is very thin with no breast tissue. Your natural breast tissue is going to give you a soft natural appearance to your breast.

The photos you have posted are helpful for understanding what you are looking for, but they do not tell the whole story. You definitely should consider pursuing a breast lift, but as far as what is possible with your anatomy and what implant to do, this would really require an in person consultation. See a board certified surgeon and perhaps one that has 3D imaging technology to demonstrate your "after" look both with and without a lift. Good luck. 

I appreciate your question.  From your photos, you appear to be an excellent candidate for a breast lift to reshape the breasts and reduce the size of the areola.  You have adequate breast tissue, that implants would not be needed unless you wanted to increase breast size.I perform a liposuction breast lift/reduction known as Breast LipoLift®. This specialized technique spares more nerves and blood supply as well as removes tissue from the areas you don't want such as near the armpit and the lower portion hanging near your stomach. Once I use this to shape the breast, I then remove the excess skin to tighten the breast and create a more proportional silhouette with better cleavage. This procedure is also more accurate than traditional breast lifts or reductions since I use 3D measurements to uncover size asymmetries. During the procedure I remove exactly whatever is more from the larger side to get as close to symmetry as possible. Since I perform this less invasively the recovery time is faster and drains are not necessary. Over 90% of my patients are out to dinner the next evening taking only Advil and Tylenol if even needed. The size would depend on the proportion with your body versus going for a cup size.  It has been proven to have less complications than traditional breast reduction (please see my Breast LipoLift® page web page) and should not affect nipple sensation, mammograms, cancer risk or breast-feeding. The best way to assess and give true advice would be an in-person exam.  Please see a board-certified plastic surgeon that specializes in breast plastic surgery.  Best of luck!    Dr. Schwartz Board Certified Plastic Surgeon#RealSelf100Surgeon #RealSelfCORESurgeon#RealSelfTopContributor

Thank you for your question!  Congratulations on your weight loss!  By look at your photos, it appears that you may have sufficient breast tissue to perform a breast lift only.  The surgeon would most likely keep all of your current breast tissue and use it as a way to perform an "auto-augmentation" that is, rather than using an implant, he or she could use your existing tissue to lift your breasts and provide for more perky appearing breasts.  The best way to know if you would benefit from the use of implants would be to specifically ask the surgeon you interview with.  On exam, he or she will have a better understanding rather than just looking at your photos.  I have had great results only performing a breast lift with breasts shaped just like yours.  If you still want more upper breast pole fullness, then implants would assist with that appearance. I hope this helps!!

I would only do a lift and reduction. You can get implants later if desired but I would not do at the same time for sure. You may be very happy without implants.  A perky C cup may be just what you want. Good Luck!