Can a breast lift with fat transfer affect the ability to breastfeed?

Generally speaking, a breast lift addresses sagging and drooping of the nipple and areola by removing excess skin and repositioning the breast mound. Unlike a breast reduction that removes breast tissue and may affect the ability to breastfeed, in a breast lift the mammary glands are typically left untouched. As fat grafting to the breasts generally is performed to address volume loss, in say the upper poles of your breasts, it is unlikely that the ability to breastfeed be compromised.
I recommend a virtual or in person consultation with a breast lift specialist.
Respectfully, Brandon Richland, MD

Hello @lauren_frankland, thank you for your question. Yes, you can breastfeed after a breast lift. This should not be an issue unless the patient has a type of alteration at the level of the nipple-areola duct and its connections to the lactosphorus ducts. Best Regards! Alan Gonzalez MD. American Society of Plastic Surgery Member (ASPS), International Federation for Adipose Therapeutics and Science” Member (IFATS), Colombian Society of Plastic Surgery member (SCCP).

Correctly performed fat grafting of the breast should not affect ability to breast feed. This should be discussedin person with a board certified plastic surgeon familiar with this procedure. Good luck.

Breast lift and fat transfer should not significantly change your ability to breast feed. If you have breast fed before and know your body has the ability to do so, you should be fine. If you have never breast fed, it is important to know that difficulty with breast feeding is common at baseline, with or without a history of prior breast surgery.

Anything is possible but it is very unlikely that fat grafting to the breast would change your ability to breast feed. Having said that the question is confusing as fat grafting to the breast only adds volume, it does not lift the breast. A traditional breast lift with scars around the areola can definitely affect your ability to breast feed.

Hello,
Thank you for the question.
Fat transfer to the breasts also known as breast lipofilling can help increase breast volume and projection, and can be performed together with other breast procedures. It should not affect your breast feeding potential. This is usually done through tiny incisions with minimal scarring. It also allows improvement of contour in the areas where the liposuction is performed in order to harvest the fat for transfer.
In general, about 50-70% of transferred fat will survive after the surgery and the fat that does survive will act like normal fat. Often, more than one fat transfer session is required to achieve desired results.
I suggest that you seek an in person consultation with a Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon specializing in Breast surgeries to further discuss your options, specific techniques, concerns and expectations. Make sure you specifically look at before and after pictures of real patients who have had this surgery performed by your surgeon and evaluate their results.
I hope this helps.
Best, Dr. Karanetz
Dr. Irena KaranetzBreast Fellowship TrainedBoard Certified Plastic Surgeon

Dear PennyLane27,
any breast surgery can cause issues with breastfeeding. However, the rate of breastfeeding issues is very low. If you are considering surgery, I would suggest you consult a board-certified plastic surgeon. Only after a thorough examination, you will get more information and recommendations.
Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

The short answer to your question is yes. Any surgery to the breast can affect the ability to breast-feed. Specifically, when the breast tissue is moved around through a lift or a reduction, this can not only decrease the volume of the glandular tissue, as in a reduction, however, also, in a lift, this can disrupt the natural architecture of the glandular Breast tissue, and therefore impact breast-feeding. Fat grafting probably has the lowest risk of this, however, the combination of the two presents similar risks as stated above. Balance the timing of your surgery and plans for breast-feeding and have a goal directed conversation with your board-certified plastic surgeon. We are happy to help in any way we can.

This is a great question. Generally speaking, a breast lift with fat transfer should not affect your ability to breast feed. However, if this is a concern for you, I would be sure to discuss this with your plastic surgeon. Additionally, pregnancy and breast-feeding will change the size and shape of your breasts. If you are planning to get pregnant in the near future, it may be best to wait until after you have finished childbearing/breast-feeding to have the breast surgery. I recommend you speak with a fully-trained plastic surgeon to discuss your concerns and explore your options. Good luck!

The lift would affect the risk to breast feeding more than the fat transfer. If a large fat transfer is attempted, you could have oil cysts or areas of fat necrosis which could affect your ability as well. However, the risk is low with both.