If I Have a Breast Lift Due to Tubular Breast How Will Pregnancy Effect It?

Hi there-

If you truly have tuberous breasts, having a lift around your areola will only partially correct their shape. The value of this partial correction needs to be weighed against the potential that your breasts will change after pregnancy (making another operation necessary), or that doing so might make breast feeding more difficult.

You also need to consider the possibility that your breasts would improve in shape through pregnancy, possibly making surgery unnecessary (depending on the severity of your problem).

There is no right answer here- if you think that it will be a few years before you become pregnant and you want correction asap, and you understand and are willing to accept the above, then pursue correction now. But again, I don't believe you will achieve full correction without an implant.

If you wish to become pregnant sooner, and don't mind waiting to see what the effects of this are on your breasts, then I would say you can minimize the number of operations you have over the course of your life by waiting until your family is complete.

Hello,

If you are bothered by the shape or appearance of your breasts the possibility of future pregnancy should not affect your decision.  Make sure you obtain several consultations with board certified plastic surgeons and look at both their before and after photos as well as their web reviews.  Without photos its impossible to say whether you have tubular breasts or whether a breast lift is your best option.

All the best,

Dr Repta

Timing for a breast lift is really up to you. No one can predict how the breasts will appear after pregnancy. Usually they become a bit more flacid.

If you are unhappy with the appearance of your breasts now, then proceeding now with a corrective procedure may be a reasonable particularly given that you are not planning to have children for at least a few years. Photos would be helpful to determine the extent of your tuberous deformity and to better conjecture on future issues. Pregnancy does affect women's breasts in different ways so your response can't be predicted.

Women affected by tubular breast shape may see a significant improvement with relatively less surgery by opting for breast reshaping via fat transfer.  Although  large size changes are not achievable with a single fat transfer session, correcting breast shape with a combination of release procedures and volume change with fat transfer can very effectively resolve the problem.

With a fat transfer procedure, some of the problems determining a tubular shape can be addressed, particularly if external expansion via the BRAVA system is also used.

A breast lift can interfere with breast feeding and should be carefully considered if pregnancy and breast feeding is very important

Breasts, and for that matter our whole bodies, are not static in shape or size.  They are dynamic and change constantly throughout our lifetime.  Pregnancy will definetly change your breasts because of hormonal changes, size increase and possible breast feeding.  What your breasts will look like after pregnancy is totally unpredictable.

Therefore, if you don't like the shape or size of your breasts currently, I would go ahead and have a procedure to alter them.  Having performed thousands of breast lifts, reductions and implants, I can tell you the percentage of women that need a secondary procedure is very low, it is not zero, but certainly not worth waiting years for if you are currently not happy with your breasts.

I would go for it!!

A tuberous breast has a tight skin envelope and breast fold, and tight skin around the nipple areola and a 'herniation' of the nipple. If this is indeed you then you have a tuberous breast, and 'breast lift' is not the procedure for you, as implants and repair are the norm.  A tuberous breast can change significantly after pregnancy, often for the better, and waiting might be a good option if you've gotten along well so far.
Best of luck, peterejohnsonmd.com

Thank you for the question.

Unfortunately,  it is not possible to predict with complete certainty what will happen to your breasts after pregnancy. Some of the changes that do occur typically are:  the breasts may become smaller ( involutional  hypoplasia),  may “droop” (ptosis),  may develop some asymmetry etc.

Genetic factors may  play a role in these changes;  discussing your mother's breast changes after pregnancy may or may not be helpful.  Maintaining a relatively stable weight ( under the guidance of your OB/GYN) during pregnancy may be helpful in preventing significant changes with the breasts  after pregnancy.

In your case, given your time frame for pregnancy, the decision to undergo breast surgery will be a very personal decision probably based mainly on how much your current situation affects you on a daily basis.

I hope this helps.