I am getting a breast lift and augmentation. What is a pedicle? (Photo)

The pedicle is the part of the breast tissue that remains attached to the nipple as it is moved up. This is important so that a blood supply and innervation is maintained.  A superior pedicle means that the upper breast tissue remains attached, a medial pedicle means it is coming from the central chest, inferior means from the bottom, and lateral (rarely used) means it’s coming from the side of the breast. A superior pedicle is used most often with a breast lift unless the breasts are extremely saggy.  The decision about which pedicle to use will be made by your surgeon, depending on which technique he or she thinks will give you the best outcome. Best wishes.

Thank you for the good question.   One of our concerns, as plastic surgeons, is keeping tissue alive while adjusting or moving tissue (in order to achieve a certain outcome).  During breast lifting and breast reduction surgery, the nipple/areola complexes are moved upwards.  It is important to maintain the blood supply to the nipple/areola complexes as well as surrounding tissues. The "pedicle" is the segment of tissue is responsible for delivering the blood supply to the nipple/areola tissue. If the pedicle is made too small then a patient will likely have problems with tissue survival.  In my practice, the "pedicle" is designed on an individualized basis, mainly depending on the patient's anatomic starting point. Best wishes for an outcome that you will be very pleased with.

A pedicle is a mound of tissue that provides the blood supply in this instance to the nipple areola complex.  The naming of the pedicle refers to the direction the blood supply is coming from.