Many women consider getting breast implant surgery to increase their breast size or restore volume lost after pregnancy or weight loss. However, implants alone may not address sagging or drooping breasts. This is where a breast lift can help. A breast lift, called mastopexy, raises the breasts by removing excess skin and tightening the surrounding tissue to reshape and support the new breast contour. When a breast lift and implants are combined, women can achieve both lifted, perky breasts and increased cup size.
Reasons for Choosing Breast Lift with Implants
There are several reasons why women may choose to have a breast lift and implants together:
Sagging breasts: Pregnancy, breastfeeding, weight fluctuations, gravity, and aging can cause breasts to lose their natural shape and firmness and sag or droop over time. Breast implants can add fullness back to the breasts but don’t lift or perk up them. A breast lift is required to raise and reshape sagging breasts. Combining a lift with implants gives women perkier, fuller breasts.
Nipple position: If the nipple sits below the breast’s natural crease or points downward, a breast lift is usually recommended along with implants. The lift repositions the nipple higher up on the breast for a perkier appearance. Choosing an implant alone will not correct the nipple position, as this surgery is pivotal in adding volume to the breast.
Better symmetry: Women with uneven breasts may require implants plus a lift to achieve balance. The implants provide additional volume while the lift addresses differences in nipple height or breast shape between breasts. Doing just an augmentation could make asymmetry more noticeable.
Better Implant Results: Getting a lift simultaneously as implants can help the breasts maintain a beautiful shape long-term. The lift removes excess skin for a tight fit over the implants. Without a lift, the weight of implants alone may cause breasts to sag more quickly.
Combining Procedures
Having a lift and augmentation together means undergoing only one surgery and recovery rather than two separate procedures. It also allows the surgeon to plan the operations to complement each other and achieve the most aesthetically pleasing results.
Who is a Candidate for a Breast Lift with Implants?
Women who have lost breast fullness and firmness, with nipples pointing downward, are often good candidates for a dual procedure. A breast lift surgery elevates the breasts, nipples, and areolas to a more youthful position. Implants then add volume to fill out loose skin.
What to Expect with Breast Lift with Implants
During a breast lift with implants, the plastic surgeon will make incisions on the breasts to lift the tissue and skin and insert breast implants either under the chest muscle or directly behind the existing breast tissue. The procedure usually takes 2-3 hours under general anesthesia.
There will be swelling, bruising, and post-surgical discomfort for the first week or two. Most swelling subsides within 6-8 weeks, but breasts can take 3-6 months to settle into their new position and entirely shape. Scars from incisions will fade over 12-18 months.
Wrapping Up
The combined procedure can restore a youthful breast contour and profile for patients with sagging breasts seeking added volume. However, combining a breast lift and implants is a major surgery that requires an experienced, board-certified plastic surgeon.