The breasts are exposed to continuous changes and adaptations throughout a woman’s life. As a milk-secreting ectodermal gland, during pregnancy and lactation they undergo a series of changes aimed at milk production, and are generally a remarkable development of the mammary gland, with an overall increase in size. Subsequently, this same gland atrophies as it no longer has to perform this secretory function. This results in a general loss of volume, loss of firmness and “ptosis” or sagging of the breasts.
On the other hand, with age, the skin of the breast loses its firmness and tissue attachment capacity, both the dermis and the glandular content atrophy, and what finally predominates is its adipose component. Often, the loss of support and support causes them to “droop” and look saggy, empty and flaccid, without the characteristic turgidity of youth.
What is mastopexy or sagging breast lift?
Mastopexy is a surgical procedure that restores the shape and consistency of the breasts. Literally means “breast lift” but the mastopexy procedure is not only to lift the breast, but also to reshape it, remove excess skin, fat or tissue and form a new breast with more attractive dimensions and more typical of the years of youth.
It can be performed with insertion of breast prostheses or without prostheses, exclusively remodeling the existing tissues. The decision to use prostheses or not will depend on the patient’s preferences, the condition and characteristics of her breast, and the result she desires.
In some cases, it can be combined with infiltration of adipose tissue “lipofilling” to increase the volume of the breast flaps.
If the breasts are very atrophic, either due to breastfeeding or age, it is advisable to use prostheses to adequately fill the breast tissue, reshape the breast, and restore its shape and fullness, especially in the upper poles.
There are different types of mastopexy, depending on the type of breast and the tissue resection necessary to restore its harmonious shape. Depending on these two premises, the scar used will vary.
- Mild cases: a periareolar pexy (the scar surrounds the areola) will be sufficient.
- Moderate cases: a circumvertical pexy will be necessary (the scar surrounds the areola and is continued with a vertical scar on the meridian of the breast).
- Cases with a large excess of skin: an inverted T-scar will be necessary.
Many times the patient wishes to undergo this procedure and recover the shape of the breast, demanding the minimum scars possible, so a periareolar pexy is the most attractive option. However, my advice is to let yourself be advised by the professional, and if he thinks that the best result will be obtained with approaches that involve more scarring, you should trust him. On the other hand, patients may find themselves in consultations that promise to solve all their breast problems with a simple periareolar scar (it may sound wonderful, but it should also make us suspicious since in cases of moderate to severe ptosis it is not a good indication since there will still be a lot of skin left over in the lower pole of the breast). In my experience, I believe that a patient can be much more dissatisfied if after undergoing this procedure, her breast is still sagging, flaccid, with little shape, rather than having another scar, if she has achieved the expected result).
What does the mastopexy operation consist of?
This type of surgery is performed under general anesthesia, always in the operating room.
Asepsis and antisepsis precautions must be taken as this procedure usually involves the implantation of prostheses, which are after all a foreign material, in the patient’s body. The procedure lasts approximately 3 hours, depending on the complexity of each case, and the patient is generally admitted to the hospital until the following day. Sometimes it is necessary to use drains (devices that store serum and exudates from the surgical wound), although they are avoided whenever possible.
Before and after photos of sagging breast surgery
Preoperative sagging breast lift
A sports bra must be worn for the first few weeks after surgery, even when sleeping. Efforts with the arms should be avoided during the first two weeks and the patient should take the painkillers needed during the postoperative period. On the other hand, a short course of antibiotics is given after surgery.
Postoperative lifting of sagging breasts
Stitches begin to be removed in 7 days, and are completely removed 10-14 days after surgery.
In the revisions after the operation, you will be given the management guidelines that you will have to follow, such as special treatments for the scar, use of a breast band if necessary, etc.
Once the patient resumes her normal life it is not necessary to follow any special care or recommendations except for wearing a sports bra when doing sports. On the other hand, prostheses do not interfere with the breast cancer screening program, mammograms and ultrasounds can be performed on prosthesis wearers and the findings are not masked.
Finally, when the patient returns to sports, she should always wear a sports bra.
Virtual simulation of breast lift operation
With virtual simulation tools such as crisalix we can simulate the result of a breast augmentation, as follows: we make a scan of your torso to generate a virtual avatar to which different types of prostheses, sizes, shape, coverage, etc… can be applied, so you can get an idea of the expected result, try several prostheses to see the effect… and we will discuss it with you and advise you.
Free 3D simulation.
If you are interested in undergoing this type of surgery, do not hesitate to contact us, we will advise you and simulate with this virtual tool the result of this intervention … the result is amazing …!
Request a free virtual simulation and visualize your dream breasts.