As women age or experience weight loss, pregnancy, and gravity's effects, their breasts can lose their firmness and perkiness. Breast lift surgery, also known as mastopexy, can restore the position of your breasts to sit higher on your chest, for a renewed youthful and perky appearance.
Whether minimal, with a crescent lift or more complex in cases of a lollipop lift, the goal of breast lift surgery is to elevate the breasts by removing excess breast skin and improve breast contour for a younger-looking appearance. Accomplishing these objectives sometimes involves minimizing the areolas, then tightening the surrounding breast skin to achieve an aesthetically pleasing breast contour.
Performed under general anesthesia by our Board-certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Fredric M. Barr, M.D., F.A.C.S., breast lift surgery generally takes two to three hours at our outpatient surgical center.
Women who choose breast lift outpatient surgery can experience multiple benefits, including:
Breast lift surgery could be the right solution for you if any of the following apply to you:
Our West Palm Beach plastic surgeon, Dr. Barr, and his surgical team can perform breast lift surgery on adult women of any age.
Typically, women choose to undergo breast lift surgery after a pregnancy, after completing breastfeeding, or after achieving significant weight loss, which tend to diminish breast volume.
Much depends on each patient's existing breast appearance and their specific goals for the breast lift surgery. For these reasons, this surgical procedure can take anywhere from two to three hours. Dr. Barr performs breast lift surgery by first putting the patient under general anesthesia at our outpatient surgery center.
If requested by the patient, our plastic surgeon combines breast lift surgery with a breast reduction, which serves to resolve gravity's effects over time on large breasts. Combining these procedures extends the length and involvement of the breast lift surgery, versus cases where Dr. Barr only performs a breast lift.
During the surgical procedure, he trims away excess breast skin and lifts the breast tissue to a higher position on the chest before sculpting the breast tissue to achieve a perkier and more youthful appearance.
After your breast lift, it's normal to feel discomfort and pain in your chest, which we will help manage and minimize with pain medication prescriptions. We will also recommend wearing a surgical bra for the first six weeks post-op to support the new position of your breasts. Within 24 hours, you can return to basic life activities, such as showering. To reduce the risk of complications, Dr. Barr will recommend a light dressing over the wounds and antibiotic ointments.
Patients who work in an office can expect to return to work within a week; however, patients with more active or strenuous jobs should discuss with Dr. Barr to determine an appropriate time to go back to work.
For the first two to three weeks, expect your breasts to be swollen and moderately uncomfortable. Menstruating women should anticipate that their first cycle after breast lift surgery will cause more pain and swelling in their breasts than usual. Although it takes more than nine months to experience the final results of a breast lift, the results are long lasting.
First, you will schedule a consultation with our patient counselor and plastic surgeon to honestly and fully discuss your desired results from a breast lift, including your goals for your breast size and shape. Our plastic surgeon will examine your breasts to evaluate breast shape and breast size, skin elasticity, and the location of your nipples and breast gland. These measurements will help Dr. Barr ascertain the most optimal type of breast lift surgery for you.
At this time, be prepared to discuss your medical history and family history, including any history of breast cancer. We will also inquire about herbal supplements, vitamins, other supplements, and prescription and over-the-counter medications you may be taking.
During this consultation, be sure to disclose if you smoke, have uncontrolled high blood pressure, allergies, difficulty with proper blood clotting, or a tendency toward excessive scarring. Your plastic surgeon must be aware of these factors because they can negatively impact the outcome of your breast lift and increase your risk during breast lift surgery.
The type of breast lift suitable for each patient depends on several factors, including breast size and desired breast lift results. Regardless of the breast lift procedure most appropriate for you, you can look forward to achieving beautiful breasts.
Lollipop Lift: In a lollipop lift, Dr. Barr removes excess skin through an incision around the areola and down the middle of the breast, resulting in a gentle lift that removes excess breast skin.
Standard Breast Lift: Standard breast lifts offer patients more lift, particularly if they have more than moderate sagging and excess skin. In addition to incisions around the areola and down the middle of the breast, Dr. Barr makes an incision on the fold of the breast to remove excess skin and give the breast a more dynamic lift.
Like any surgical procedure, a breast lift carries certain risks. Some of the risks associated with breast lift surgery include:
During your consultation, we will discuss these risks thoroughly and advise you to follow all pre- and post-operative care instructions to help mitigate potential complications if you choose to undergo breast lift surgery.
No. Insurance generally considers breast lift surgery a cosmetic procedure, and is unlikely to cover it, since it's not deemed medically necessary.
While in rare cases a breast lift may be deemed medically necessary, in most cases, patients should expect to cover the cost of breast lift surgery out-of-pocket. At Palm Beach Plastic & Cosmetic Surgery, we accept CareCredit®, cash, checks, and credit cards.
As experienced plastic surgeons can attest, the cost of breast lift surgery varies significantly from patient to patient, depending on multiple factors such as the patient's breast profile, the breast lift techniques employed, whether the patient prefers both a mastopexy and breast reduction, and how much extra skin needs to be removed.
During your consultation, we will explain the breast lift procedures and recommend the right breast lift procedure for you based on your unique needs and desires.
Mastopexy, or breast lift surgery, involves incisions which will result in scars. However, as a skilled surgeon, Dr. Barr strategically places incision lines to minimize the visibility of scars. The extent and location of scarring depends on the specific breast lift techniques employed and individual healing characteristics.
While some permanent scars are inevitable, Dr. Barr's overall goal is to achieve aesthetically pleasing results while minimizing scars. He will discuss scar management techniques and provide post-operative care instructions to optimize the healing process and reduce the appearance of scars over time.
Patients should openly discuss any concerns about scarring with Dr. Barr during preoperative consultations to gain a clear understanding of what to expect and how to care for the scars post-surgery.
Whether there is mild sagging, moderate sagging, or severe sagging, raising the breasts involves removing excess skin, elevating the breasts on the chest wall, and reshaping each breast to improve breast contour. Unfortunately, only a breast lift mastopexy under general anesthesia can achieve these results. There is no non-surgical solution.
Weight fluctuations can indeed affect the results of a breast lift. Significant changes in weight, whether through weight gain or weight loss, can impact the shape and position of the breasts post-surgery.
An increase in body weight can lead to an increase in breast volume, potentially altering the results achieved through the breast lift procedure. This can cause the breasts to sag again, reversing the effects of the surgery.
Conversely, if you lose weight, it can result in a reduction of breast volume, potentially leading to a deflated or sagging appearance of the breasts post-surgery.
To optimize the long-term results of a breast lift, patients should be at a stable, healthy weight before undergoing the procedure. Maintaining a stable weight through a healthy lifestyle and regular exercise can help preserve the aesthetic outcome of the surgery.
Discuss weight management and any weight concerns with Dr. Barr during your preoperative consultations. He will provide tailored advice and guidance to help you maintain your newly-shaped breasts over time.
A breast lift, also known as mastopexy, can help correct breast asymmetry to a certain extent. During the procedure, Dr. Barr can adjust the position and shape of the breasts to create a more symmetrical appearance.
By lifting and reshaping the breast tissue, repositioning the nipple-areolar complex, and potentially adjusting the size and shape of the areolas, a breast lift can address mild to moderate asymmetry. However, if there is significant variation in breast size or shape, a breast reduction may be necessary to achieve optimal symmetry.
To support your newly shaped breasts, we recommend wearing a surgical bra for six weeks.
Has the aging process, pregnancy or breastfeeding made your breasts change in an undesirable way? Would you like to achieve lifted breasts for a more aesthetically-pleasing appearance? Whether you have naturally smaller breasts or larger breasts, breast lift surgery can help you achieve a more youthful breast contour. Determining the right surgical procedure for you depends on factors such as the amount of breast tissue and how much extra skin and surrounding tissue needs to be removed, any previous surgeries you may have had, and your medical history.
Schedule a consultation with our patient counselor to discuss your individual needs and goals by calling (561) 833-4122 or completing our online form. We will listen with compassion and prioritize your safety before, during, and after your surgical procedure.
Breast Lift Before and After Photos*
The answer depends on multiple factors, including the specific combination of procedures, your recovery rates, your age and health status, and your behaviors or habits. More invasive surgeries typically require recovery time ranging between 6 and 12 weeks to 6 months, and surgeries to the same area of your body will also generally require recovery time between procedures.
However, if you are in good health and the combination of procedures in question will be performed on different parts of your body and are not especially invasive, a combination of procedures could potentially be approved together on a case-by-case basis. It is imperative that the combination of procedures does not compromise your healing, and your attention to prescribed pre-operation and recovery habits also plays a significant role. Schedule a consultation for an assessment and guidance regarding the procedures you are considering.
While aging affects us all, there are steps we can take to put forth a more vibrant appearance. We seek to perform subtle adjustments to address imperfections and the wear of time while retaining your natural look. While you should notice an improvement, the glaring changes or distortions in appearance you are concerned about and may have seen from other surgeons’ work do not meet the standard of quality plastic and cosmetic surgery we perform in our office.
Dr. Frederic M. Barr is a board-certified Plastic & Cosmetic Surgeon with over 30 years of experience performing Plastic Surgery in South Florida. We enhance and refine your appearance according to your goals. Review our Gallery of Before & After Photos to see some examples of our work.
For patients with Breast Implant Illness (BII), which can include allergy, auto-immune, and thyroid hormone issues, this has been an emerging topic with significant press coverage in recent years. Although numerous medical professionals have demonstrated varying responses to these women’s concerns, we believe in addressing these women’s experiences and symptoms. In response to this phenomenon, we have also chosen not to perform new breast implant surgeries. We perform Total Capsulectomy on patients with breast implants, which involves the removal of both the saline or silicone implant and the capsule around it.
Removal of the implants and surrounding scar tissue has been shown to improve women’s health concerning these symptoms. While some women choose no further procedure following Breast Explant Surgery, some patients elect to have a Mastopexy procedure that involves reshaping the breast tissue for a pleasant cosmetic breast appearance. We welcome your specific questions regarding these procedures and their anticipated effects for your situation. See our Breast Implant Explantation (Total Capsulectomy) page for more detailed information, including before-and-after photo examples.