Mastopexy – Augmentation

Learn about Mastopexy Augmentation surgery

A mastopexy-augmentation is a commonly undertaken procedure which should be considered when a woman wishes her breasts to be larger AND perter.

There is a very common misconception that breast implants can be inserted into droopy breasts to ‘fill the breasts up’ and ‘make them mperter. Some patients even enquire about how big an implant will be required to ‘lift’ their droopy breasts.

The simple truth is that inserting a breast implant will ONLY make the breast bigger. The extra weight in the breast may very well pull the breast down and make it slightly more droopy. Some patients are less concerned by the droopiness of their breasts and prefer simply to have a breast augmentation to achieve a fuller breast.

Before and After breast augmentation of the totic/droopy breast. Note the breast is fuller but has drooped further

 

The only way to ‘lift’ a breast is to undertake a mastopexy (breast uplift) procedure. This can achieve a much better breast shape, but there are two limitations to mastopexy alone: Firstly there are visible scars on the breast, and secondly, it may not restore much fullness to the upper pole of the breast.

Before and After: Mastopexy – note the breast is less droopy but still has an emptiness in the upper pole

Both procedures can be combined so that emptier, droopy breasts can be lifted and augmented to achieve fuller, perter breasts. This is called a mastopexy-augmentation procedure.

 

Before and After Mastopexy augmentation. The augmented breast is fuller in the upper pole and is far perter.

The decision should be made on a case by case basis – and your expectations discussed fully with your plastic surgeon. The key considerations are: how much breast droop you are willing to accept: how much upper pole fullness you want; and whether or not the mastopexy scars would be acceptable to you.

The operation can be undertaken together at the same time, or it can be done in stages – with either the breast augmentation or the mastopexy undertaken first. The second operation is usually performed about 6 months later.

There are advantages and disadvantages to the one-stage or two-staged approach:

One-stage mastopexy/augmentation: the key advantages to a one-stage approach are a) the cost of the combined procedure is slightly less than the separate procedures b) that there is only one operation and hence only one recovery period (also known as ‘down-time’). The key disadvantage is that for safety reasons the breast cannot be made quite as tight/pert as with the two-stage approach.

The advantages of the two staged mastopexy/augmentation are that the second stage may not be required – ie you may be very satisfied with the outcome of the first procedure alone and not wish to undergo further surgery. Furthermore, the breast can safely be made tighter/perter at the second operation with less risk of wound healing complications or nipple necrosis.

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