Breast Lift with Augmentation

Posted June 22, 2018 in

Okay, so you’ve had a couple of kids and your breasts just don’t look the same anymore. They’ve lost fullness, especially up top, and they’ve gotten smaller and saggier. Can you get away with putting in breast implants (Fig. 1), or would you benefit from a breast lift too (Fig. 2)?

Figure 1: Breast Augmentation

Figure 2: Breast Augmentation with Lift

According to Dr. Friedman, a board-certified plastic surgeon specializing in breast and body contouring surgery, the answer depends upon these factors:

1. How much do your breasts sag?
   Very simply, the more your breasts sag, the more likely you are to benefit from a breast lift (mastopexy). If only a small amount of tissue droops below the breast crease (inframammary fold), then you will probably do fine with breast implants alone. On the other hand, if your nipples are located below the folds (on profile view), then a breastlift is usually helpful.
2. Are you happy with your breast shape?
   Breast enlargement is a great procedure for resizing the breasts, but it’s not very good at reshaping them. Yes, it’s true that saline and silicone gel breast implants will increase cleavage, fullness of the upper breasts, and breast projection. If that’s all you desire, then breast enlargement alone may be sufficient.However, if you are dissatisfied with the shape of your breasts prior to surgery, implants will not lift sagging tissues. If you have small, sagging breasts prior to surgery, implants alone will simply give you large, sagging breasts.
3. Are the tradeoffs worth while?
   Positives of breast lift:
   1. Improved breast shape: your breasts will be perkier with reduction or elimination of sagging.
   2. Improved nipple-areolar size and position: Stretched-out areolae (the pigmented area around the nipple) can be reduced in size. The nipples will be higher and will generally point forward, rather than down.
   3. Improved breast symmetry: mastopexies can be tailored to lift one breast more than the other, obtaining better-matching breasts.

   Negatives of breast lift:

   1. Additional scarring: depending upon the degree of drooping of the breasts, incisions will be made around the nipple-areola, vertically along the lower breast, and/or within the crease below the breast.
   2. Additional cost: breast lift with augmentation is a more complicated, longer procedure than breast implants alone. Accordingly, it is more expensive.
   3. Additional risks: breast lift carries its own risks separate and apart from those of breast enhancement.

According to Dr. Friedman, “Bottom line: if you are happy with your breast shape, position, and symmetry, then implants alone may give you the increased breast size, fullness, and cleavage that you are seeking. If you are unhappy with your breast shape, breast position on the chest wall, or have significant shape asymmetry, then an augmentation mastopexy (breast implants with breastlift) may be worth consideration.”

Dr. Friedman has performed breast implants and breast lift for women in Dallas, Fort Worth, Plano, Frisco, McKinney, Allen, Richardson, Garland, Denton, Lewisville, Southlake, Colleyville, Irving, and Highland Village. Multiple before and after photos of breast augmentation with breast lift are available on this website.

Please contact us at (469) 467-0100 for more information about breast augmentation with breast lift.