BREAST LIFT by Guerra Plastic Surgery Center

What is a breast lift?

Breast lift surgery (sometimes known as mastopexy) is needed when the breasts have lost their youthful volume and have become stretched and saggy. Dr. Aldo Guerra, a board-certified Scottsdale plastic surgeon can perform a periareolar breast lift, vertical breast lift and wise pattern breast lift. Breast lift options are available with or without silicone breast implants.

When performing breast augmentation by itself, it takes great skill to place an implant correctly and achieve wonderful results. Similarly, it takes great skill to appropriately carry out a breast lift procedure by itself and re-establish a youthful looking breast. However, both of these plastic surgery operations have certain, relatively low levels of unpredictability when they are carried out by themselves. Unpredictability in plastic surgery originates from multiple factors, such as, individual wound healing factors, age, hormones and techniques used.

When breast lifts are combined with implant placement (called implant-based breast lift in our practice) the variables that contribute to unpredictability are multiplied several fold. Increased unpredictability sometimes makes it more difficult to achieve predictable results. The experienced Scottsdale / Phoenix plastic surgeon Dr. Aldo Guerra can still be successful by using proven techniques that reduce the amount of unpredictability. Patients who wish to have a breast lift with implants performed together should understand that carrying out this combination of operations is more of a challenge and requires a tremendous amount of skill and experience, on the part of the surgeon, to achieve the best results.

Most patients seen in our practice can have these procedures performed together as long as the anatomy, level of sagginess and tissue conditions favor a good outcome. On average, we carry out two to three implant-based breast lifts per week and have a formidable experience with the techniques mentioned above.

In certain cases, when the level of sagginess and tissue conditions are not favorable, we may recommend against using the combination of breast lift and breast implants during the same operation. Instead, we usually carry out placement of the breast implant first to give the tissues a chance to settle and improve. After 6 to 12 weeks, once tissues have settled, the second stage of the procedure (the lift) is carried out with greater predictability. While it is a disadvantage to have the procedure performed in two stages, the advantage is the ability to achieve much better results in patients who would otherwise have poor results with a one stage procedure. Patients who are likely to need two separate stages include those with severe sagginess, thin tissues, capsular contracture, sub-glandular implants, breast scars and those who already had a breast lift in the past.

Periareolar Breast Lift

When patients have a bit more sagginess and an internal lift will not take care of the issues, we often recommend a periareolar breast lift. A periareolar incision is made around the darker skin that surrounds the nipple and can be used to lift the breast and nipple into a higher position with or without breast implants. In most cases, women with saggy breasts also have wide nipples and areolas which are reduced to make them more proportionate with the rest of the breast size. This is often the ideal incision for such a situation. Healing of these incisions usually proceeds smoothly with incisions becoming relatively undetectable to the naked eye. If a breast implant is used it can be placed above or below the pectoral muscle using this technique.

The only limitation with this procedure is the amount of skin that can be removed. For instance, when the nipple has to be lifted by 2 to 4 centimeters, only a small amount of skin requires removal, and this incision works best. The limit of nipple elevation with the periareolar technique is about 6 centimeters, elevating the nipple beyond this amount will be difficult and creates too much tension on the skin closure. After the plastic surgery procedure, the breast appears a bit flat and there will be pleats in the skin around the nipple where the incision was made. Pleating and breast flatness eventually go away, but this can take from 6 to 18 weeks, depending on the amount of lift that was done. We prefer to use High Profile implants for most of our breast lifts because these provide greater breast projection and allow the breast to regain its round, natural shape sooner.

Vertical Breast Lift

The vertical breast lift technique is ideally suited for saggy breasts that are wide and have a nipple that requires greater than 6 centimeters of lift. The vertical incision is made along with a periareolar incision. The breast gland can be reshaped and lifted through these incisions with or without the use of breast implants. With a vertical breast lift, the nipple can be lifted 6 to 10 centimeters. The wide breast skin is removed and the breast is molded into a more beautiful shape. Skin closure is made without creating a lot of tension. When there is little skin tension, there is usually great healing and, in most cases, the incisions begin to fade soon after breast surgery. The vertical incision technique can be used in patients who previously would have required a wise pattern or lollipop incision and is considered to be a state-of-the-art, minimal incision alternative to more extensive procedures.

Wise Pattern Breast Lift

This breast lift technique is reserved for breasts that have both vertical and horizontal skin excess and demonstrate great sagginess. It is the most extensive form of breast lift technique used by plastic surgeons, but can produce very predictable results. Nipple elevation can be accomplished nicely while achieving a great breast shape through this incision. Ultimately, incisions end up in the breast crease, around the areola and vertically in the front of the breasts. These incisions fade nicely with time. Women who need the wise pattern breast lift technique should not be disappointed when we recommend this procedure. The wise pattern incision is recommended in patients who will benefit the most from this form of breast lift technique. Ultimately, the beautiful breast shape that is established using these incisions make these patients the happiest at Guerra Plastic Surgery Center in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Reversing Nipple Inversion

Inversion of the nipples occurs in some patients. In the majority of cases, patients are born with this condition. Nipple inversion is bothersome to many individuals and a relatively simple procedure can be performed that will correct the condition. Correction of nipple inversion can be corrected by performed alone or in combination with breast augmentation or breast lift plastic surgery procedures.