Can I have a breast lift with abnormal breast mammograms due to dense tissue?

Yes you can have a breast lift.

Dense breast tissue is a common finding on mammogram.

An exam and consultation with a plastic surgeon is recommended to discuss your options and expectations.

Dear Winston45,

it is hard to tell for sure without an examination. 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

As long as your breasts are considered benign and no further work-up is needed then you're fine to proceed with a breast lift. We have extensive experience with breast lifts and offer it under local anesthesia. This approach is called the Awake Breast Lift. It's a full lift and complete reshaping while the breast are completely numb. Scars are in a small anchor pattern. Recovery is reduced substantially compared to older methods.

Absolutely , dense tissue is very common. I recommend an in person consultation with a plastic surgeon to discuss your goals and be measured. After I measure and discuss goals with my patients, we then look at pictures of women (my patients) with similar measurements with different size and style breast implants, if interested. They also get to see what they would look like when the breasts have fully dropped and fluffed and in clothes. You get to see actual results and the surgeon's experience and not a virtual idea of what can be achieved. Women tell me that this process is very helpful in determining what size and style breast implant is right for them. Dr. Ted Eisenberg, Board Certified Plastic Surgeon and Author. RealSelf Distinguished Hall of Fame Inductee. Philadelphia, Pa., USA

It is possible to perform a breast lift on a patient with dense breast tissue, however please speak with your primary care physician first just to make sure. If they give you the green light, please also let your plastic surgeon know so they can modify surgical techniques to accommodate your situation.

Dense breast tissue is not a contraindication for a breast lift. The technique I recommend is The Bellesoma Method. This will reshape your breast tissue creating upper pole fullness without implants, elevate them higher on the chest wall and more medial to increase your cleavage. Vertical scars are avoided, nipple sensation (in 95%) and the ability to breast feed are maintained.

Best Wishes,

Gary Horndeski, M.D.

A breast lift retains all of the volume of the breast but reduces the skin envelope, at the same time as lifting the nipples/areola to the correct position. No or minimal incisions are made into the breast tissue itself, so the future appearance of your mammograms should not change.