What is Breast Lift?

Breast lift surgery; It is the surgery of lifting the sagging breast for reasons such as frequent weight gain and loss, breastfeeding, childbirth, aging, wrong bra use.

A breast consists of fatty and mammary glands but it does not contain muscles. Breasts become saggy in time owing to gravity which causes deformities in all tissues of human body. In addition to the gravity; rapid weight loss and gain, breastfeeding, delivery, aging and use of wrong bras make this condition worse. The lower position of breasts is medically called ptosis. Breasts of people with this condition get drained, or the skin of these breasts become extremely saggy, which also cause the breasts to appear saggy. This saggy appearance creates aesthetic disturbance for women. The procedure of raising nipples or breast tissue to the normal position without changing the breast volume is called mastopexy. Although mastopexy is solely performed for eliminating the aesthetic concerns, marks similar to those arising from breast reduction procedure may be generated. The determinative factor here is how lower the nipples are compared to the normal position and how saggy the tissues under the breasts are. If nipples are two-three cm below compared to the normal positions and if the ptosis on the lower sections is in the moderate stages, a method called “periareolar mastopexy” is performed to lift the breasts without leaving a mark. However, if both nipples and breast tissue appear saggy, a mark looking as a straight line inevitably extends from the nipples to downwards. Mastopexy resembles to the procedure of breast reduction in terms of certain aspects. Breast lift procedure yields positive results considering the new forms of breasts. Post-operative results resemble to the outcome of breast reduction procedure. Visual correction is ensured first. Following the operation, patients can wear whatever dress they like; patients’ self-esteem increases and patients feel better psychologically.

The operation is performed under general anesthesia and lasts for 2.5 hours on average. Drains are used to ensure blood is not collected in breasts during the post-operative process. Patients are provided a special bra that shapes the breasts at the end of the operation. They can be discharged on the same day or hospitalized for a day. Moreover, they can take shower in the third day after the operation; their dressing is renewed on the same day. Stitches are hidden and disappear in time, meaning there is no need to remove the stitches later. Patients need to use the bra for three-six weeks. They can return to their daily lives and non-heavy works a week later. After the second week, they can do light sports activities; following the sixth post-operative week, they can do heavy sports activities. In certain cases, breast tissue may lose its volume and breasts may become saggy. In such cases, augmentation mastopexy can be performed to solve the issue.