Breast Lift (Mastopexy)

Newport Beach, Orange County, CA

Breast Lift / Mastopexy Information Resource for Southern California including Orange County, Newport Beach, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and San Diego.

Welcome to Orange County's best information resource for plastic surgery and, in particular, breast lift / mastopexy surgery. Dr. Cruise, board certified plastic surgeon, Newport Beach, CA, has filled every inch of this site with the most comprehensive breast lift / mastopexy information available. Patient education is a priority for Dr. Cruise. With this in mind, he was adamant that the information be highly relevant, easy to understand and, above all, lots and lots of pictures.

To give you a brief overview, here are some of the important topics that will be discussed. This is in addition to the many, many breast lift before and after pictures available for your review.

• How do I know if I need a breast lift?
  Won't a breast implant give me a breast lift? We will guide you so that you can get an idea if a breast lift is right for you.

• Should I have a breast augmentation with my breast lift?
  How do you know? If so, which breast implants are the best for you? Silicone implants vs Saline implants vs Gummy Bear implants; Smooth vs Textured implants. What is the difference between high profile, low profile, anatomic breast implants?
  

• What is an Anchor Lift, or a Donut Lift?
  What are the different types of breast lift? We will explain what determines which one is best depending on the shape and position of the breast.
  

• Complications, Risks, Recovery and Safety
  Here we discuss Nipple sensitivity, Capsular Contracture, Implant Rupture, Rippling, Asymmetry, etc.
  

• Recovery time
  How long do I have to take off work? When can I lift my baby?

• Breast lift cost
  Is financing available?

Overview of Breast Lift / Mastopexy

Another name for breast lift is mastopexy. The female breast over time ages like any other part of the human body. In the youthful breast, the breast tissue is held up by suspensory ligaments. Over time and with the changes associated with childbirth these suspensory ligaments stretch and the breasts become saggy.

The first thing a woman notices when her breasts begin to sag is change in the nipple position. In youth, the nipples point directly forward. With aging, the breast tissue sags and the nipples begin to point downward.

Breast Lift with "anchor incision" with 340 cc implant. Lateral view of patient above.

With aging, there may, or may not be, a loss of breast volume, but there certainly is a change in breast positioning. This is why a breast lift can be so helpful. By regaining proper nipple positioning and cleavage, not only does a woman look more youthful but she feels more youthful. The mind is very powerful. It is common to hear a woman say that she feels great until she looks at her breasts in the mirror and realizes that they look older and saggier than she feels. The fortunate thing is that this can be remedied predictably and safely with a breast lift.

Often, the sagginess and loss of cleavage can be corrected simply by performing an augmentation. The implant does two very important things. One, it fills the skin envelope and essentially performs a mini breast lift. Secondly, it dramatically restores upper breast fullness and cleavage. The amount of cleavage obtained is completely up to the patient. Often, she simply wishes to return to her youthful state. Commonly, however, she may wish to create even more cleavage than she ever had. These options will be discussed during your consultation with Dr. Cruise.

38 year-old woman who wanted her breasts lifted and more upper breast fullness. Notice the improvement with just an implant. No lift was performed. It also significantly corrected asymmetry.
Lateral view of same patient demonstrates how the implant alone can improve nipple positioning and upper breast fullness.

39 year-old mother who had a peri-areolar breast lift with 475cc implant. The incision goes around areola. Lateral view of same patient shows significant improvement in the shape and overall look.

After a breast lift, a patient may have some decrease in sensation of the nipple. This usually returns to normal in 6 to 12 weeks. More commonly, the nipples become hypersensitive and even erect. This is because the nerves to the nipples are over stimulated. This too will go away with time.

The chance that loss of nipple sensation will occur increases with the amount of sagginess present. Peri-areolar breast lifts have a very low chance of loss of sensation in Dr. Cruise's experience. With significant sagging, however, loss of nipple sensation becomes a more realistic possibility.

Breast Lift / Mastopexy Information Resource for Southern California including Orange County, Newport Beach, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Beverly Hills.