Female breasts are primarily composed of fat and ligaments. Since they lack muscle tissue, no exercise can help sagging breasts stay strong and lifted.
Chicago Aesthetic Surgery Institute (CASI) offers several procedures to enhance the shape and size of the breasts. Breast lift surgery is a popular method for restoring form and projection to breasts that have begun to sag. A breast lift surgery can restore youthfulness to your figure and enhance your proportions, allowing clothing to fit better and improving your overall appearance.
Patients in and around Rosemont, IL, seek our expertise for breast lift procedures. If you’re unhappy with the shape of your breasts, it’s time to learn more about breast lift surgery.
What Is a Breast Lift?
In a breast lift, a skilled plastic surgeon changes the shape of the breasts. The procedure involves reshaping breast tissue and removing excess skin to lift the breasts and restore firmness. The surgery is also called mastopexy.
Sagging Breasts Are Normal
Sagging breasts are common. Breasts tend to droop over time as skin loses the elasticity and structure that helps them retain fullness. A natural decline in structure-supporting proteins, combined with the effects of gravity, will cause breast tissue to sag.
However, your breasts may sag more dramatically if you wear less supportive bras, smoke, spend a lot of time in the sun, or have experienced weight fluctuations, including during pregnancy. Size is another factor to consider; larger breasts are heavier and more susceptible to drooping.
Breast Lifts Are Popular
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reports that breast lifts have grown 70% in popularity since 2000. Currently, surgeons perform twice as many breast lift procedures as breast augmentations with implants.
Breast Lifts Easily Combine with Other Procedures
A breast lift doesn’t change breast size. However, the surgery does require removing extra skin to lift the breasts, so it sometimes slightly reduces breast size. If you hope to either increase or significantly decrease the size of your breasts, you can combine your breast lift with breast augmentation or breast reduction surgery.
A Breast Lift Can Adjust Your Nipple Size and Position
As breast tissue sags, the nipples can begin pointing down instead of forward. A breast lift procedure can restore the projection of your nipples and reposition the nipple-areola complex, ensuring it doesn’t sit below the breast crease.
In addition, we can reduce the size of your areolas as we reposition them to create a more natural look.
Breast Lifts Resolve Asymmetry
Breast asymmetry can appear in several ways. For example, the breasts may be unbalanced in size or shape, or the position and alignment of the nipples can be uneven. A breast lift procedure can restore symmetry to the breasts, matching their size and shape and adjusting the nipples.
There Are Several Types of Breast Lifts
The type of incision we use in performing a breast lift varies based on the patient’s needs. Determining the incision technique requires evaluating the amount of excess skin we’ll remove, the existing breast tissue, and the ultimate goals of the procedure. We always strive to complete breast lifts with minimal incisions in discreet areas.
Crescent Lift
Patients with minimal sagging may benefit from a crescent lift, where the incision runs along the edge of the top half of the areola. This incision is often performed on patients who undergo breast augmentation with their breast lift.
Peri-Areolar Lift
A peri-areolar lift, or donut lift, uses a circular incision running along the edge of the areola. It is also commonly used with combined breast augmentation and lift procedures. This technique reduces areola size, and the incision is usually well hidden on the areola’s edge.
Vertical Lift
In cases where the patient has moderate sagging and seeks more significant breast reshaping, we may use a vertical or lollipop lift. This incision is among the most common and allows us to remove excess skin and adjust the shape of the breasts with easily hidden incisions.
The vertical lift is often called a lollipop lift due to its two incisions. One incision goes around the areola, while the other runs from the inframammary fold to the bottom edge of the areola.
Inverted T Lift
Patients seeking more dramatic results may require an inverted T lift, also known as an anchor lift, to remove significant extra skin and some sagging tissue. The three incisions run the edge of the areola, from the areola to the inframammary fold, and then along the breast crease.
We often use this technique when combining a breast reduction with a breast lift.
Breast Lift Recovery Time
The recovery from a breast lift is fairly minor. Most patients can return to everyday activities within one to three days and resume low-impact exercise within two weeks.
Typically, patients have zero restrictions within six weeks of their surgery.
Healthy Patients Are Good Candidates
As with most plastic surgery procedures, ideal candidates are nonsmokers who are physically healthy and at a stable weight.
If the skin of your breasts is stretched and sagging, your areolas are enlarged and sit below the breast crease, or you’ve lost shape and volume in the breasts, you’re a good candidate for a breast lift.
Reestablish Your Youthful Figure with a Breast Lift
There are many reasons more patients are choosing a breast lift. The procedure can dramatically reshape your figure with little downtime.
Contact the expert surgeons at Chicago Aesthetic Surgery Institute (CASI) if you’ve considered a breast lift. We are the preferred choice for patients in the Chicago area, including Rosemont, IL, and Hoffman Estates, IL. Learn why when you schedule your appointment today.
