Breast Lift

First, and foremost, combination surgeries can only be done on patients who are medically healthy. Once this is established certain surgeries can make a lot of sense to combine. This is due to the ability to benefit from one recovery instead of several, and for the financial savings. The cost of splitting the procedures is higher due to paying for anesthesia and operating room fees twice.

The most common combination procedure is any breast surgery with a tummy tuck. This combination is called a "Mommy Makeover" and is designed to restore a woman's figure back to her pre-childbirth state. Breast surgeries here are customized to what's needed, and can range from breast implants, to lifts, to reductions. The tummy tuck removes the extra skin and stretch marks, as well as tightening the abdominal muscles beneath. Patients should plan on taking ten days to two weeks off from work while recovering from this procedure.

This is a really common question, and one that Plastic Surgeons consider themselves when evaluating new patients. Essentially a droopy breast can be thought of as a bag that’s not filled to its capacity. Whether the patient does, or doesn’t, want breast implants will be the starting point for the surgeon to figure out what is the best surgical option for the patient.

If no implants are desired then a lift is offered, however if the patient is an A cup a small implant is still discussed to give some fullness to the upper part of the breast that isn’t really possible with A cup sized breast tissue.

If an implant is desired then its proposed size needs to be assessed. If the implant size the patient wants is too small to take up all of the excess breast skin (aka empty bag) then some type of lifting procedure needs to be done at the same time to give the new breast a full, anatomically correct look. Breast lifting techniques range from resulting scars being located just around the nipple areola complex (NAC) when a small amount of skin is in excess, to “lollipop” scars which extend down the middle of the breast from the bottom of the NAC.

Occasionally the amount of excess skin present is taken up by the size implant the patient desires and no additional lifting scars are necessary.

As with all Plastic Surgery the surgery needs to be customized to the patient’s anatomy and desired results.