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Over the years, factors such as pregnancy, nursing, weight
loss and the force of gravity take their toll on a woman's
breasts. As the skin loses its elasticity, the breasts often
lose their shape and firmness and begin to sag. The Breast
Lift or Mastopexy is a procedure to reshape the breast and
create or restore a more youthful "perkier" appearance. Most
women are happier with the more youthful appearance of their
breasts after a breast lift and feel more attractive.
Many women, especially those with very drooping breasts,
say that they are more comfortable after the breast lift
and are better able to participate in physical activity.
Many women seek a mastopexy because pregnancy and
nursing have left them with stretched skin and less volume
in their breasts. However,if you're planning to have more
children shortly after surgery, it may be a good idea to
postpone your breast lift. While there are no special risks
that affect future pregnancies, pregnancy is likely to stretch
your breasts again and offset the results of the procedure.
Procedure:
The techniques of this surgery vary, but the most common
procedure involves an anchor-shaped incision following the
natural contour of the breast. The incision outlines the area
from which breast skin will be removed and defines the new
location for the nipple. When the excess skin has been
removed, the nipple and areola are moved to the higher
position. The skin surrounding the areola is then brought down
and together to reshape the breast.
In some cases this procedure can be combined with an
augmentation to increase the size of the breasts while
reshaping them. The operation and /or set of incisions that
will give you the best overall appearance will be determined
at the time of your consultation. As with any surgical
procedure there are potential risks and these too will be
discussed at your consultation.
Breast Lifts or Reductions -
Throw away the anchor!
The exciting news in breast surgery today is what has been
euphemistically called the "Scar Wars." Formally breast
reductions and most breast lifts were done with what had
been called an inverted T or anchor scar. This placed an
incision around the nipple-areola, one vertically downward
from there and one in the fold. This operation very
predictably enhanced the shape of the breast while reducing
and/or lifting it.
However, some patient's formed very visible scars following
this operation that did not resolve over time. This left the
patient with a better shape but with scars on her breast that
may be visible in lingerie, bathing suits, and low cut tops.
In an effort to eliminate big scars, operations have now been
developed in the USA, Europe and South America to limit the
amount of scarring while preserving a youthful contour to the
breast.
In most cases the scar can be either limited to around the
nipple-areola complex, or for larger breasts a short vertical
scar going down from the areola. With this technique the
incision under the breast has now been done away with. Throw
away the anchor scar! Very few surgeons in the United States
have adopted or are even aware of this technique, but we have
been using it in our office for several years now. We have had
very exciting results with patients who have been very happy
that they have gone with this newer technique.
Our goal with breast surgery is to give each patient the
prettiest looking breast with as little scarring as possible.
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