As a woman’s skin loses its elasticity, her breasts often begin to sag, losing their shape and firmness. Mastopexy is a surgical procedure that raises and reshapes sagging breasts. Although no operation can halt the sands of time, mastopexy can certainly slow them down.
Breasts of any size can be lifted, but best results are achieved in women with smaller, sagging breasts (A, B, or small C cup). Results may not last as long in heavy breasts. The ideal candidate for this procedure is a physically healthy woman who is realistic about the possible results.
Many women have mastopexy to reshape their breasts to correct stretched skin and reduced volume as a result of pregnancy and nursing. Depending on your wishes and needs, mastopexy may be performed as an alternative to or in conjunction with augmentation mammoplasty.
Mastopexy almost never interferes with breast-feeding, but you may want to delay having the operation until you have completed your family, as pregnancy is liable to stretch your breasts again and offset the results.
A breast lift won’t keep your breasts firm forever. Gravity, pregnancy, aging, and weight fluctuations will eventually take their toll. Longer-lasting results have been reported by women who have implant augmentation along with their breast lift.
Because mastopexy is primarily a skin tailoring operation, it may be done under local anesthesia with or without added sedation. Depending on the degree of correction required, there are a variety of incision patterns. All techniques employ variations of the keyhole pattern designed to place scars as inconspicuously as possible.
No breast tissue is removed during a mastopexy. Because of this, you will remain relatively the same size, although your breasts will seem firmer because your skin bra has been tightened.
In this operation, there is little disruption of the sensory nerves or the mammary ducts, so there is little risk of permanently affecting nipple sensation or the ability to subsequently breast-feed. Most patients feel up to a desk job three to four days after their mastopexy.
Time and gravity will take their toll on your breasts, but mastopexy may help you reverse and retard the process.
