Gravity alone takes a heavy toll on the position and shape of a woman’s breasts. Factor in common occurrences such as weight fluctuation, and childbirth and it’s clear why breast lift procedures are so popular.
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What is a breast lift?
A breast lift (mastopexy) is a surgical procedure that uses strategically placed incisions and excision of skin to lift and reshape the breast and areolar, if needed.
“If you can place a pencil under your breast without it falling, you are a good candidate for a breast lift,” says Dr. Shain Cuber. “A lift will yield substantial improvement of shape and silhouette and can even make the breast appear larger without adding an implant.”
Patients who want perkier breasts without increasing their cup size aren’t the only ones having breast lift procedures.
“I won’t perform breast augmentation on a patient whose nipples have descended below the crease of their breasts without adding a breast lift,” says Dr. Cuber, a NJ plastic surgeon. “The result would not be as satisfactory without the lift and in most cases we can use the same incision for both procedures. It’s a win – win situation in my opinion.”
Whether your breasts are large, small, minimally saggy or extremely saggy, there is a lift procedure for you.
The crescent lift
- Best for women with small breasts and minimal sagging
The least invasive of all breast lift incisions, the crescent lift involves removal of a small crescent-shaped wedge of skin along the top rim of the areolar. This procedure is often combined with periareolar augmentation and can provide a one to two centimeter nipple lift.
The donut lift
- Best for women with small to medium breast with minimal to moderate sagging
The donut lift – also known as a Benelli or Concentric lift – provides substantial lifting with fewer incisions than traditional breast lift procedures that we mention next. To achieve a lift of two to four centimeters, we will make two concentric incisions around the patient’s nipple. The first is made around the boarder of the areolar; the second is made outside of the first – creating a silhouette of a donut. The skin in between the incisions is excised and the two incisions are sutured at the boarder of the areolar to make the scarring less visible.
The Lejour lift
- Ideal for women with medium to large breast with moderate to severe sagging
The LeJour lift – also known as a lollipop lift – is one of the most popular lift procedures used today and utilizes an incision shaped like a – you guessed it – lollipop.
The addition of a vertical incision that runs from the bottom of the areolar to the inframammory crease (crease beneath the breasts) allows the surgeon to remove excess skin and unite the breast tissue to prevent puckering around the nipple. The nipple can be raised up to seven centimeters with this procedure.
The Wise pattern lift
- Ideal for women with very large, problematic breasts
Similar to the LeJour lift – with the addition of an inframammory crease incision – the incision used for the Wise lift resembles an anchor and can raise the nipple approximately 10 centimeters. The addition of the inframammory incisions allows for the removal of stretched skin from beneath the breast, which makes this procedure ideal for breast reduction in women with large, problematic breasts.
With all of these incisions, it is important to keep in mind that there will be some form of scarring on the breasts; this is the nature of a lift. However, the scars are hidden strategically and will fade over time.
“The only reason an experienced surgeon would perform one of these procedures on their patient is because they and the patient agree that the improvement is worth it,” says Dr. Cuber who performs plastic and cosmetic surgery.
If you are interested in rejuvenating the shape and position of your breasts or fat transfer, whether you want to reduce, maintain or increase their size with breast implants in NJ, we are available to discuss our customizable treatment options with you during a free consultation.
