Mastopexy Surgery (Breast Lift)
Cleveland Ohio Breast Lift Surgery – restoring youthfulness to the breast or creating a look you always wanted.
Breast may droop or flatten over time due to aging, weight fluctuations, pregnancy, or breast feeding. The breast tissue is a mixture of fat and glandular tissue. Over time, the proportion of glandular tissue decreases and fat increases, consequently the breast becomes less dense, less firm. The skin of the breast also tends to become thinner and stretch over time. Breast size may increase or decrease.
Plastic surgeons distinguish between droop (ptosis) and flattening (pseudoptosis) of the breast. True ptosis is corrected with a breast lift (mastopexy). Flattening is corrected with placement of breast implants. The ideal procedure may combine both a mastopexy and breast implants. As with all cosmetic surgery, the right choice of procedures for you will depend both on your physical characteristics and your goals; for instance a patient may choose not to have breast implants placed with her mastopexy, even though she initially desired a larger bra size. Dr. Goldman will review the nuances involved with mastopexy to help you make the best decision.
Types of breast lift
The basic types of breast lift are periareolar, vertical, and inverted-T. A periaereolar mastopexy involves making an incision around the areola (the pigmented circle of skin around the nipple). A crescent of skin is removed from above the areola. The nipple and areola are lifted upward, and the incision is closed as a circle, concealing it in the border between the areola and the surrounding skin. Only mild droop can be corrected with this technique. A permanent suture may be used around the areola to limit stretching that can occur long term.
The vertical breast lift incorporates the periareolar incision and a vertical incision below the areola. A horizontal incision may be used (like the inverted-T lift but generally shorter). For the vertical mastopexy, breast tissue is generally left attached in the upper breast, allowing lower central breast tissue to be carried upward, filling the central breast and tightening the lower breast. Dr. Goldman most often uses this technique because it produces a dramatic yet natural improvement in the breast.
The inverted-T breast lift adds a horizontal, curved incision just above the fold underneath the breast (the inframammary fold). This is generally longer that the horizontal incision used in the vertical breast lift. The inverted-T technique is most commonly used for breasts with severe ptosis. The vertical and horizontal incision together form the shape of an upside-down T (hence the name). This is sometimes referred to as an anchor-incision because the upside-down T resembles an anchor shape.
Dr. Goldman most often removes some breast tissue from the central part of the lower breast. This is sometimes referred to as an addition-subtraction procedure if an implant is added at the same time. It may seem counter intuitive to remove breast tissue and add an implant, but this removes the tissue that contributes most to droop and adds volume where it produces the most youthfulness, perkiness, and projection – in the central and upper breast. The upper breast cannot gain significant fullness without an implant. Sometimes only a small implant is used. Often only a small to moderate amount of breast tissue is removed, so this is referred to as a small volume vertical breast reduction.
Implant choice (saline versus silicone, smooth versus textured, size, or whether or not to use one) is always important. Dr. Goldman will review the benefits and risks of each choice so that you can understand your options and make the best choice for you. Saline implants are often a good choice when smaller implants are needed. Silicone is becomes more likely if a larger size is desired.
Please don’t hesitate to contact our office for additional information or to schedule a consultation regarding mastopexy or small volume breast reduction with augmentation.