Does grade 3 ptosis make for a more difficult lift and augmentation?

Grade 3 ptosis can make a long term aesthetic outcome more challenging. I'm curious to know how much tissue you actually have. Using The Ultimate Breast Lift technique you may not need an implant if you have sufficient breast tissue. The UBL was designed to give women maximum lift with less scarring and long term results. The UBL technique does not rely on the skin envelope alone to reshape or lift the breast like older (vertical incision) techniques. FYI, performing a lift in conjunction with an augmentation is not mechanically stable as you are introducing two opposing vectors working against each other. Results are short lived. I recommend visiting the breast augmentation with lift revision forum on this site for more information. I hope this helps.Best wishes and kind regards,Gary Horndeski M.D.

In all breast lift procedures the areola is detached from the surrounding skin and rotated to its desired position. With great three ptosis this is relatively marginal. The breast implant will take up the excess skin volume to certain extent reducing the length of the resulting incisions.

Hello and thanks for your question. I do find that grade 3 ptosis patients have a higher risks of recurrent sagging and needing a "touch up" tightening of the skin after 12 months from breast lift. Not all patients need this second procedure, but I have found that those who choose bigger breast implants tend to have easier time re-sagging. Best wishes, Dr. ALDO

Thank you for your question.  The difficulty of the procedure and the recover really depends.  Some cases are more difficult than others for a wide variety of reasons, which is why you should be sure to choose a surgeon who is board certified in plastic surgery, has performed hundreds of breast lift procedures, and has produced excellent results.  A full lift is the best option in grade 3 ptosis cases, so there will be an anchor scar on the breasts.  Although it is more unappealing in terms of scarring compared to other techniques performed such as the donut lift, the full breast lift with implants can give a remarkable result.All the best,Dr. ResultsMiami, FL

Hi... thank you for the question, Grades of ptosis is refer to the amount of saggy skin that is present, This will determine the technique that would be use... A higher grade, more work to do.

Thanks for your question. "A lift is not a lift is not a lift." This is the phrase I use to explain to my patients that the nipple repositioning, and breast tissue manipulation, that are involved with a mastopexy are not the same for periareolar v. vertical v. inverted-T lift scar patterns. During your consultation, a detailed explanation with diagrams can help to explain how the nipple moves, and the breast tissue isn't, or is repositioned with the more minimal v. more involved mastopexy procedures, respectively. Grade III ptosis, in my hands, requires a more involved mastopexy or aug-mastopexy procedure than grade I ptosis. I find recovery, bruising, swelling to be fairly similar for all three mastopexy types, but infrequently find an ideal candidate for a periareolar approach due to concerns about areolar spreading and breast surface flattening that may occur when the limits of a periareolar approach are pushed. This may be a function of seeing more advanced ptosis cases, and revision cosmetic breast cases, in my practice. I always recommend that you confirm that your Plastic Surgeon is either board-certified or in the process of board-certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Best wishes.

Grade 3 skin laxity simply means that your nipple position is at least 3 cm below your infra-mammary folds. This will require, normally, a full mastopexy with skin removed both vertically and along the infra-mammary folds. An anchor scar is the resulting incisions. Best of luck.

Thank you for the question. The grades of ptosis are determined by how low the nipple and/or breast tissue is relative to the breast fold. Grade 3 requires a more extensive lift and more surgical time for correction but does not necessarily increase difficulty or recovery in terms of pain or time. Best of luckDr. Khuthaila

Thanks for your question.Its very difficult as you can imagine to give you advice without a photo. I would specifically be looking at the size, shape and skin quality.Grade three ptosis does not necessarily mean that your surgery is more complicated. It does mean that you will at least need a circumvertical lift and maybe even an anchor type lift. This makes wound healing a real issue in a combined procedure and depending on your medical condition and the quality of your breast tissues, it may be better to stage the procedures.

That means you have significant sagging of your breasts with nipples pointing down. The more excess skin you have and the more work Surgeon has to do during operation- it will add more time to the surgery. Complexity- is a relative term, and the more experienced Board Certified Plastic Surgeon will handle the complexity more proficiently. That's why physical exam is s important- to determine what you are a candidate for and how lengthy the surgery would be.