Does a Breast Lift Decrease the Size of the Breast Slightly?

Hi,

Great question and thank you for submitting pictures- makes our job easier! No, in your case, your breast volume will not decrease. In your case I would use the Ultimate Breast Lift which raises your existing breast mound with permanent sutures to minimize eventual breast descent. It also allows me to reconstruct your breast tissue's shape to that similar of an implant. It allows for a firmer/perkier look. An added benefit to this technique is that there is NO VERTICAL SCAR and no implants. Your breasts look natural with minimal scarring. Below is an example of this revolutionary technique. Best wishes, Dr. H

It is hard to promise or predict  final cup size after breast surgery. With breast lifting, even though no breast tissue is removed, the breast shape and position are changed. This change in position and shape may result in a different cup size or a different level of filling  the cup of a bra.  For example, a breast that sits lower on the chest wall may require a larger cup size bra than the same volume breast sitting higher on the chest wall.

Therefore you should not  base your goals or the success of your operation  based on a cup  size which may very depending on who makes a bra.

It is therefore very important to communicate your size goals with your surgeon.  In my practice, the use of photographs of “goal” pictures (and breasts that are too big or too small) is very helpful. I have found that the use of words such as “natural” or “C cup” or "fake looking" means different things to different people and therefore prove unhelpful.
 
By the way, the most common regret after this operation, is “I wish I was bigger”.

I hope this helps.

If done as a skin only mastopexy (lift) than there is no definitive decrease in size or volume. But in a visual appearance you might feel there was a decrease. 

Assume your lift is a skin only resection, the lost skin and tissue under the skin contributes to your breast volume - therfore you will loose a modest amount of volume. In addition, the lift tends to make your cup size a little smaller even if breast tissue is not removed.

However, the most important part of a breast lift is getting a durable result and nice shape!

The only way to achieve this goal is to rearrange yor breast tissue to appear lifted, tighter and not so saggy. There are many different techniques that achieve this goal, but most if not all will remove a little tissue in the process. 

With your photos, my suggestion is for a Lejour Mastopexy. 

Good Luck!

Mastopexy (breast lift) is intendd to "lift" your breast by re-arranging your brest tissue, elevating your nipple/areolar complex, and tightening your breast envelope. Breast lift can be done without removing any of your breast tissue by rearranging your breast parenchyma and removing the excess skin.  Your breast volume will then stay the same.  However, you will most likely be wearing a smaller bra because your lifted breasts will be perkier and tighter.  If your goal is to wear the same bra or to have larger breasts, then you will need implants.  Please discuss your desires and expectations with your plastic surgeon.

There are several different breast lift or mastopexy techniques. Invaribly with most techniques, either a small amount or larger amount of breast tissue (if preferred) is performed to tighten the skin envelope and  lift the nipple-areola complex into a more aesthetically pleasing position. Based on your photographs, you would require a small amount of tissue resection. If you don't resection some tissue, it's often difficult to either tighten the skin envelope your raise the nipple into the desired position. I agree with my colleague in that you would be a great candidate for breast implants at the same time as your mastopexy. 

A Breast Lift (Mastopexy) is intended to lift the breast. It is performed by EITHER making the skin envelope smaller and thereby having the breast tissue "filler" fill the remaining skin envelope better or by lifting the sagging breast tissue and using the sagging portion as an "auto-implant" after which a smaller amount of breast skin is removed making the breast fuller and perkier (Short Scar Technique).

In general, a breast lift will either keep the volume of the breast the same or reduce it slightly depending on how much skin is removed. A slight reduction may be seen in smaller breasted women with very sagging breasts (in whom the amount of sagging skin removed translates into lost volume) while removing the same amount of skin on larger breasted women does not affect the volume significantly.

In your case, your surgeon needs to guide you on the best operation for you based on your goals.

Peter A Aldea, MD

When a true mastopexy is done you do not decrease the size of the breast. There are many different techniques for mastopexy, breast lift. Some people resected breast tissue when doing a mastopexy, some people who sect only skin when doing a mastopexy.

When I do a mastopexy I only respect the epidermis the top half of the skin. I'll use the dermis the bottom half of the skin to create additional support for the breast to improve the shape and also improve the long-term lift. So very little volume is lost in this procedure. We may be talking about 20 to 30 mL of volume being lost at the most. This amount of I am lost will not change the size of the breast.

I always tell my patients that your own tissue is much better than an implant. Your own tissue can be shaped to give the same results that an implant would give. The problem with implants are that they are machines and they may not last a lifetime meaning that you will have to have additional surgery. If you like the size you are in a bra then just do a lift if you want to be larger than the size you on her bra then you must consider an implant at this time. In the future we may be talking about fat injection to the breast.

A mastopexy is designed to remove only skin, elevate the nipple, and make the breast firmer, and higher. Although only skin is removed, the total volume of the breast mound is decreased and volume is affected. I would certainly consider implants in your case to give more superior fill. Good Luck