Breast Lift (mastopexy)

Mastopexy or breast lift surgery refers to a group of elective surgical operations designed to lift or change the shape of a person’s breasts. Mastopexy may involve repositioning the areola and nipple, as well as lifting the breast tissue and removing skin. Mastopexy may be performed alone, or in combination with placement of breast implants; when implants are used, the procedure is typically called breast augmentation. The change that a mastopexy affords to the position, shape and distribution of existing breast tissue is temporary, as the effects of gravity and aging continue, causing ptosis to recur over time. Full breast lift. The full breast lift involves an incision along the crease underneath the breast, incisions around the areola, and a vertical incision between the areola and the base of the breast. This incision is sometimes called an anchor incision or inverted T. This traditional technique is widely used because it consistently produces the desired shape and position of the breast on the chest wall. In this technique, excess skin is removed, the breast is elevated and frequently, the size of the areola is reduced. This approach allows maximal change to the breast. The scar is in three distinct locations that each have a characteristic pattern of healing. In the peri-areolar area, scarring is partially concealed by the change in color at the transition from breast skin to the pigmented skin of the areola. The vertical incision from the areola to the crease may be hidden in shadow. The inframammary portion of the scar, along the fold created by the breast is often the thickest of the scars, but it may be hidden in the inframammary fold. The scars fade over time but remain visible in most cases. Modified breast lifts Modified or limited breast lifts were developed to produce the intended results with less scarring. These techniques use fewer incisions. The potential drawback is that there can be less change made to the breast’s shape. Modified mastopexies are frequently done together with breast augmentation. A popular form of the modified breast lift is the Benelli breast lift, otherwise known as the concentric mastopexy or donut lift. In this procedure, a ring of skin is removed from around the areola, limiting the scar to this area. A modified version is the crescent lift. This technique also removes a ring of tissue from around the areola, but more tissue is taken from the area above the areola, raising the nipple and areola on the chest wall. Another technique, the lollipop lift involves an incision around the nipple and areola, with a vertical scar extending to the crease underneath the breast. Another variation involves the “donut lift” together with the removal of excess skin from underneath the breast.