Deirdre M. Rhoad, MD

Hello. Thank you for your question. Make sure you discuss your expectations with your ( board certified in plastic surgery) plastic surgeon. There are several different types of breast lifts. Ask your Surgeon to show you before and after photos of patients who have had the same surgery you are planning to have.
Some of the breast lifts only make an incision around the areola. This reduces the number of scars on the breast, but generally flattens the breast. The breast will have a smooth rounded bottom if your Inframammary fold (crease beneath the breast) is rounded to begin with.
A key hole breast lift makes an incision around the areola to relocate the areola to a higher position and a vertical incision to give more projection of the breast out in front of you. If the vertical incision is longer it can be shortened in two ways.
One, is to add an horizontal incision along or just above your crease to remove the extra skin. The horizontal incision will also give you more fullness at the upper portion of the breast. This creates what is known as an anchor incision or a inverted " T ".
The second option is to shorten the length of the vertical incision by gathering it up. This may leave the breast looking bumpy along the incision. It is suppose to flatten out and look better as time passes.
I prefer the anchor incision.

Hello! Your breasts look beautiful! As time goes on, the weight of the breast implant will generally change the final shape of the augmented breast. The nipple will go up, the bottom will become fuller, and the upper pole will become flatter. Wait at least 6 months to a year before doing additional surgery to allow time for swelling to go down and for the breasts to completely heal on the inside. A breast lift may address this issue if it persists. 

Be patient! That's why you are called the patient. 

Best wishes!

Hello, and thank you for your question. I do not see a photo of your breasts so I thought I would just tell you the basics!

A breast Augmentation increases the cup size of your breast. This may be done with Saline filled implants, Silicone gel filled Implants or with Fat Transfer.

A breast Lift  keeps the bra cup size the same but the breast will look tighter out of the bra. This may be done by removing only skin from the breast.

A breast Reduction reduces the cup size of your breast. It will also look tighter out the bra. This is done by removing skin as well as breast tissue.

All of the procedures may need to be repeated as you age or if there are changes in your weight.

Cost will vary with geographic location, facility, and type of anesthesia used.

Thank you, and best wishes for you with the choice you make.


Deirdre Rhoad, MD
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
Austin, Texas

Congratulations on losing 40 lbs!! If you lost the weight rapidly, your skin may not have had enough time to catch up.  I generally recommend waiting 6 months to allow skin to contract.   If you are young, have dark skin, no stretch marks on the arms and are at least 6 months out from the weight loss then I usually recommend liposuction to the arms with a wedge excision hidden In the axilla ( arm pit ). The liposuction lays down strands of collagen which contract and tighten the skin while removing any residual or stubborn fat. The incision (scar) in the armpit hides very well.  I recommend keeping the elbows as close to your side as possible during the following 6 weeks to minimize any widening of the scar and wearing a compression garment to prevent swelling of the arms so they can become as small and tight as they possible can! I do WAL ( Water Assisted Liposuction) as an office procedure with the Body Jet!  The recovery is quicker and with minimal bruising and most importantly.... My patients love the results !!

  Good luck!!
  Deirdre Rhoad, MD
- Board certified by the American Board of Medical Specialties- Plastic Surgery

In my opinion, your breast skin has probably tightened all that it will tighten and having a breast augmentation alone may be all that you want. However, the breast augmentation may also enlarge the areola and accentuate the differences between the breasts. Lowering the fold under your left breast at the time of your augmentation may help the breasts look more  symmetrical. Saline implants are nice in that the incision is small and the plastic surgeon can adjust the volume to get the best match! Remember.... "Massage, massage, massage" times a  1000 the scar tissue around the implants to get the softest and most natural breasts possible. I usually tell my patients if you find yourself massaging your breast implants in the grocery line while waiting to check out that's probably a good sign that you are massaging the scar tissue as much as possible, but .... You probably shouldn't massage them in the grocery line! 
Congratulations and best wishes!