What Do You Want From Your Breasts?
Women’s breasts experience many changes throughout life as a result of pregnancy, breastfeeding, weight fluctuations, and aging. While these changes are expected and normal, they can lead to insecurity and anxiety about your figure, which can, in turn, have a negative effect on your happiness and quality of life. If the altered appearance of your breasts has left you with similar feelings, now may be the time to consider breast surgery. Two of the most common procedures that enhance the breasts are breast augmentation and breast lift surgery. While both of these procedures can restore youthfulness and perkiness to the breasts, they achieve this feat very differently.
How Breast AuGmentation is Performed?
Breast augmentation is appropriate for women who have experienced a significant volume loss after pregnancy, breastfeeding, or weight fluctuations. When the breasts lose volume, they often look as though they have deflated. They can appear smaller, and the skin can lose elasticity. For women experiencing these complications, or for women who have always desired larger breasts, breast augmentation with implants is the ideal way to enhance the size and shape of the breasts.
Do you qualify for breast augmentation?
Women may qualify for breast augmentation if they wish to enhance the volume, size, and shape of their breasts. Women who choose breast augmentation as a standalone procedure should have good skin elasticity. While breast implants can “fill the void” in the breasts, so to speak, they will not lift sagging breasts. In fact, for breasts with moderate to severe sagging, the weight of breast implants may accentuate this laxity.
Read more about our Breast Augmentation & Enhancement Surgery.
What are your Breast IMplant options?
There is a substantial amount of decision making regarding breast implant and surgical technique options. With implants, you can choose between saline implants or gel implants. It is mainly a matter of personal choice. Saline implants consist of a silicone shell filled with sterile saline liquid. While more cost-effective, some women believe that saline implants do not mimic natural breast tissue as well as gel implants do. Gel implants (silicone or “gummy bear” implants) consist of a silicone shell filled with silicone gel. These implants are available in many sizes and shapes to meet any patient’s unique desires. Many women believe that gel implants look and feel more like natural breasts and may last longer.
Another decision you have to make is about the incision location. Dr. Goldschmidt offers three different incision options. The first is known as the inframammary method, where the incision is placed along the crease underneath the breast. The second is the transaxillary incision, where the incision is made in the armpit, and the final is the periareolar technique, where the implants are inserted through incisions created around the areolas. All of these incision options provide natural-looking results. The main difference between these is where the resulting scars will be placed. All incisions are made in discreet locations; however, there is a possibility of developing visible scarring with any surgery.
Breast Lift Surgery
While many women want to enhance the volume of their aging or post-pregnancy breasts, others desire youthfulness and firmness without an increase in size. If you are satisfied with the size of your breasts but are dissatisfied with the sagging that pregnancy, breastfeeding, weight fluctuations, or gravity have created, breast lift surgery may be what you are looking for.
The Breast Lift Process
Breast lift surgery enhances the appearance of breasts that have begun to droop and sag by removing lax, excess skin and repositioning the nipples and areolas to a higher position. These alterations restore youthfulness and perkiness and can improve your confidence and body image.
Do I qualify for breast lift surgery?
Breast lift surgery corrects mild to severe breast ptosis. Breast ptosis, or sagging, is common after weight loss, pregnancy, and breastfeeding. During these times the breasts fluctuate in size, and while the breast tissue can handle these fluctuations, the skin cannot, and therefore begins to lose elasticity and structure. Breast lift surgery can restore the elevation and shape of the breasts but cannot restore lost volume. If anything, breast lift surgery may give the appearance of smaller but perkier breasts because the excess skin is removed and the breast itself becomes firmer and more compact. If you wish to enhance the size of your breasts, breast lift surgery as a standalone procedure may not be ideal for you.
What are your options?
Breast lift techniques vary depending on the level of ptosis. For mild sagging, the periareolar incision is used. This incision is made only around the areola and provides little to no visible scarring, as the scars are hidden along the edge. Another technique that can be used is the lollipop incision, which includes an additional vertical incision from the areola down to the breast crease. While this technique does involve an extra incision, and therefore an extra scar, it can correct more significant breast ptosis than the periareolar incision. For more significant levels of sagging, the anchor incision is used. While this technique uses three different incisions (the same two as the lollipop and an additional incision made along the breast crease), it can provide a higher level of correction for significantly sagging breasts.
Combining Procedures
While some women’s insecurities stem merely from dissatisfaction with breast size or placement, many women benefit from a combination of breast lift surgery and breast augmentation, especially after weight loss and pregnancy have affected both the volume and position of the breasts. For these women, breast implants can be placed at the time of your breast lift surgery to enhance the overall size, shape, and position of the breasts. Combining these procedures can restore youthfulness and an elevated breast position.
To learn more about what breast augmentation and breast lift surgery can do for you, contact Dr. Matt Goldschmidt by calling (216) 350-3175 to schedule a consultation.
About Dr. Goldschmidt
Matthew Goldschmidt, MD, FACS is a cosmetic surgeon with an impressive list of academic and professional achievements. He is board certified by two surgical boards which include the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery, for body, breast and facial surgery, as well as the Board of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery.