| Dr. Patti Flint is a plastic surgeon certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Here the Doctor has answered some of the common questions bizymoms visitors have about Breast Lifting.
Q. What is Breast Lifting?
A. Breast lifting is known as a mastopexy. It involves removing excess breast skin that can occur after breast feeding or weight loss, or due to gravitational changes. The nipple and areola are shifted to a higher position on the chest wall, above the crease underneath the breast. Some patients desire to be decreased in size at the time of the procedure and others choose to have an implant placed. An implant can help preserve fullness in the area above the nipple on the top of the breast over the years, and does not necessarily require having a larger breast, as some of the natural breast tissue can be removed to balance size.
Q. How is breast lift surgery done?
A. I perform breast lifting with the patient under general anesthesia delivered by a board certified anesthesiologist. I hand pick my anesthesiologists and they have put me and my family to sleep for surgery. I use an out-patient surgicenter across the street from my Scottsdale office that is owned and run by the hospital. The surgicenter is certified as a specialty hospital. The procedure takes approximately two hours and is performed as an out-patient. Patients leave to go home about 90 minutes after the procedure is completed.
Q. Who is an ideal candidate for breast lift surgery?
A. Ideal candidates for breast lift surgery are those patients who feel their breasts are droopy or deflated in appearance for whatever reason. I believe it is generally wise to wait until after child-bearing is completed prior to pursuing the surgery so that the changes associated with breast feeding and pregnancy do not recur following surgery.
Q. Are there risks and complications to a breast lift surgery?
A. Risks of breast lifting procedures are low in properly selected patients. I choose not to operate on patients who smoke, because healing problems can be severe in those who smoke and complication rates are dramatically higher. Bleeding or infection occur in less than 2% of patients. Scarring is genetically pre-determined and different from patient to patient. If poor scarring occurs, there are treatments that can be employed to improve the scars. Nipple numbness is possible, although in my practice, I have seen it in less than five percent of patients. Asymmetry is a common pre-operative complaint that I can almost always improve at the time of surgery, but perfect symmetry is impossible in life, with or without surgery.
Q. How long do the results last?
A. The length of the result varies depending on the quality of the patients skin, history of smoking, and size of the breast. Generally, the use of an implant improves the longevity of the result, as it acts as an internal bra. Most women definitely still like their breast shape better ten years following breast lifting than they did prior to the procedure. It is very rare for a patient to have a second lift in my pracitce.
Q. How much does breast lift surgery cost?
A. Fees for breast lifitng surgery are approximately $6500 - $8000 all inclusive, depending on if an implant is used or not.
Q. What are some of the most common benefits of breast lift surgery?
A. Women generally feel more confident about their breast following the procedure. More options are available for clothing as well. Many women report their neck and back is more comfortable, even if the size is not reduced.
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