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Definition of Breast Lift

Breast lift plastic surgeries are performed to reshaped the breast and elevate the nipple and areolar complex. Often a woman will come for a breast augmentation consultation and learn that she needs a breast lift. She may elect to have a breast lift alone or have a breast lift with breast augmentation. Some women come requesting only a breast lift. There are many different types of breast lifts.

The type of breast lift surgery that is used by the plastic surgeon is a combination of woman’s requests, her anatomy and the plastic surgeon’s skill set. There are some breast lifts that are relatively straight forward and others that are more complex and difficult to perform.

The goal of a breast lift surgery is to raise the position of the nipple and the breast mound itself. The most common misconception about a breast lift is that the nipple is actually cut away from the breast gland and sewn to a higher position on the breast mound. This is certainly not the case in the great majority of breast lifts. If the plastic surgeon plans on doing this, it will be discussed ahead of time. Cutting the nipple off and sewing to a higher position is called a free nipple graft procedure and it is very, very rare. Most breast lifts will reposition the nipple while keeping it attached to the underlying breast tissues. So the not only is the nipple being raised to a higher position, the breast gland itself is raised.

The amount of breast gland elevation that is required during a breast lift depends on the woman’s existing characteristics. Some women will only require the excess skin to be cut away and only minor breast gland reshaping. While other women will have heavier breasts and they will require more surgery or different techniques to raise the breast gland and nipple. Some of these heavier breasted women will request that some of the heavy breast tissue be removed (reduction) and the time of their breast lift. Some thinner women will request breast implants at the time of their breast lifting.

A breast implant is indicated when the women requests more firmness or more size to their breast mounds. Breast lifts will restore some fullness in the upper half of the breasts initially but over time the breast mounds will settle to a lower position. As the breast mound does descend it will not reach the before shape or position. The nipple will remain at the higher position. The breast lift alone will not provide any change in the firmness or feel of the breast mound. In both of these instances, upper pole fullness or firmer breast, a breast implant is required to achieve these desires.

Breast scars from breast lifts can be extensive. Fortunately there are techniques that allow for a lot of surgery to be performed and not leave very many breast scars. The greatest contributor to the amount of scars is the distance the nipples have to be raised and weight and skin characteristics. In general terms, there are three final scar appearances. There can be scars around the areola only, or around the areola and down the breast, and then the scar that is around the areola and down the breast and along the breast crease. The first type of scar is called the periareolar scar which means around the areola. If more adjustments are required than can be accommodated using the areola incision, then the incision down the middle of the lower breast is the next scar. This scar is often referred to as the lollipop scar. This scar typically heals better than the scar around the areola and can provide a better shaped breast. The lollipop incision is usually worth the scar for the better breast shape. Some lollipop incisions will have an extension off to the side of the breast that will result in a scar that looks like a ‘j’ or ‘L’. The last and most extensive scarring that is left on a breast after a breast lift is the lollipop and the breast crease incision along its full length. This scar looks like an anchor. The long lower scar is typically the scar that heals with the most widening and thickening. Dr. Brown does not use the anchor incision at all for his breast lifting procedures.