Breast Lift (Mastopexy)

 

Breast Lift in Portsmouth, New Hampshire near Manchester and Concord

A woman’s breasts often change over time, losing their youthful shape and firmness. These changes, including loss of skin elasticity, can result from pregnancy, breast feeding, weight fluctuations and gravity. A mastopexy, or breast lift, is appropriate for women who wish to improve breast shape and position.

Dr. Gray can restore the firmness and shape of your breast. He sees many patients in his Portsmouth, New Hampshire private facility and often recommends the mastopexy to reposition the breast tissue and restore the nipple and areola to a more superior position. A breast lift raises and firms the breasts by removing excess skin and re-suspending the breast to the chest wall, supporting the new breast contour. Oftentimes the areola (pigmented skin around the nipple) has become enlarged over time, and a breast lift will reduce this also.

Breast lift can be appropriate for younger women also. A teenaged girl may experience loose, sagging breast tissue if her family has a tendency toward that. Young girls can also have breast asymmetry where the position of one breast is lower than the other. For whatever reason, breasts that have lost their firm, uplifted contours can affect a woman’s self-image and confidence.

back to top

Mastopexy is surgery to uplift and improve the shape of a female breast that:

• Sags but may be otherwise proportionate to the body’s frame,
• Has lost firmness and elasticity, has a flatter , elongated shape , when supported the nipple falls below the breast crease,
• Has a nipple and areola that point downward,
• Has stretched skin and an enlarged areola.

If these symptoms are occurring for you, come in for a consultation with Dr. Lawrence Gray.

While a breast lift does not generally affect breast function, women who are planning future pregnancies should discuss this with Dr. Gray. The changes that occur in the breasts during pregnancy can minimize or reverse the improvement a breast lift provides. Plans for significant weight loss should also be discussed. For these reasons, good candidates for a breast lift are generally women of normal, stable weight whose breast are fully developed and who have completed their family.

To begin the process, you will need to have a consultation with Dr. Gray. During the consultation, both Dr. Gray and his nurses will educate you about breast lift including:

• A discussion about your goals and an evaluation of your individual case.
• Options available in breast lift surgery
• The likely outcomes of a breast lift surgery and any risks or potential complications
• Recovery

back to top

Your Personal Breast Lift

Breast lift is a highly individualized procedure achieved through a variety of incision patterns and techniques. Your case will depend upon:

• Your breast shape and size
• The size and position of your areola
• The degree of sagging you have
Your skin quality and elasticity and the amount of extra skin.

During your consultation, at our southern New Hampshire location Dr. Gray and his staff will give you full instructions to prepare for your surgery and let you know what to expect about the day of surgery, following surgery as well as your progress and healing. The final results of your breast lift surgery will appear over the next few months as breast shape and position continue to settle. Over time, your breasts can continue to change due to aging and gravity. Your new breast profile is best maintained by watching your weight, a healthy lifestyle and proper support of your now firm and rejuvenated breasts.

Please visit Breast lift before and after photos in our Photo Gallery.

Breast Lift with Augmentation (Mastopexy Augmentation)

Mastopexy augmentation is a cosmetic surgery procedure that combines a breast lift with breast enlargement using implants. The goal of this surgery is to enhance both the position and size of the breasts. A breast lift with augmentation is appealing for patients who want more comprehensive improvement to their breast appearance with a single combined surgical procedure. Often a patient might think that they want a breast augmentation alone, but may really need an augmentation with breast lift to give them the volume and more youthful position they desire.

Many women find that breast lift augmentation surgery creates a pleasing overall shape and proportion, restoring the breasts to a more youthful position while enlarging total volume. Mastopexy augmentation is often considered by women who have lost a significant amount of weight, mothers whose breast tissue has changed following childbirth and breastfeeding, and women with substantial breast asymmetry. However, only you and Dr. Gray together in your consultation can determine if mastopexy augmentation is right for you.

back to top

Questions

• What can be improved by having a Mastopexy?
  Your breast position will improve while maintaining normal softness and sensitivity to the breasts.


• What will not be helped by having a Mastopexy?
  Stretch marks will not improve.


• What is Dr. Gray’s goal for performing a Mastopexy on a patient?
  The goal of a Mastopexy is to establish a normal breast position that is proportionate with your body size while trying to maintain normal softness and breast sensitivity and the ability to breast feed.


• How long will the results of the surgery last?
  The answer to this question depends on your lifestyle , the normal aging process, weight gain or loss and pregnancies.


• Where is the surgery performed?
  The surgery is performed in our state of the art, certified ambulatory surgery center, which is unparalleled in providing our patients with total privacy and excellence in care.


• What kind of anesthesia will be used on me during the procedure?
  You will receive local or local with IV sedation administered by an anesthesiologist. The anesthesiologist, Dr. Gray and you, together decide on which type of medication is right for you.


• How does Dr. Gray perform a Mastopexy?
  Dr. Gray removes excess skin which re-contours and repositions the breasts while leaving the size of the breasts unchanged.


• What is the recovery like?
  You will experience some initial discomfort which should be relieved by pain medication. There will be restrictions on upper body activity during the post operative period.


• What kind of results can I expect temporarily?
  After surgery you may experience one or more of the following: swelling, bruising, puckering of the scar, discomfort, lumps, irregularities, lightness, numbness, asymmetry.


• What are some common risks and complications of Mastopexy?
  Swelling, tightness, irregularities in shape, bruising and numbness. A permanent trade-off is the scar from the operation and the nipple and the areola may be smaller.


• What are some rare risks and complications of this procedure?
  Bleeding, infection, fluid collection, loss o skin pigmentation, permanent sensory loss, excessive scarring, stretched out nipples, skin loss, severe tightening which makes the breasts overly firm, psychological depression.

Please visit Breast Lift with Augmentation before and after photos in our Photo Gallery.

back to top