Am I a Candidate for Breast lift Surgery?
If your breasts are droopy or saggy or have lost significant volume, then you could be an ideal candidate for a breast lift or mastopexy.
Reasons to consider a Breast Lift
- Reduced breast firmness and sagging as part of the ageing process
- Drooping or sagging breasts after pregnancy or breast-feeding (in this situation you may also require a breast up-lift)
- Sagging or dropping breasts as the result of rapid weight loss or yo-yo dieting
It is important to have realistic expectations about the results that can be achieved. Although a breast lift can be performed on any size breasts, women with smaller breasts seem to attain the most benefits from mastopexy. If you have very large breasts then you may want to have a breast reduction, which will also involve lifting.
The ideal breast lift candidate is a woman who:
- Is over the age of 18
- Has drooping breasts (breasts with stretched skin and less volume than in the past).
- Is physically healthy and emotionally stable.
- Is not pregnant or breastfeeding (and does not plan to get pregnant).
- Does not have plans to lose excessive amounts of weight.
- Hasn’t experienced healing problems with any past surgical treatments ie prone to keloid (red, angry, raised) scars.
- Your surgeon may caution you that scars could be raised and be very visible after surgery.
Only a qualified cosmetic surgeon can determine whether a mastopexy is right for you, but providing you are fit and healthy and have realistic expectations of what can be achieved then surgery can be a great way of giving you more confidence in the way you look.
Undergoing any form of surgery is a big step so make sure you have thought abut it carefully and come to an informed decision. You should also never consider having surgery if you are being pressured into it by someone else.
You should also think carefully about whether you intend to have children or if you already have a family, whether you are planning to have any more. It is usually best to wait until you are not planning to get pregnant again as pregnancy and breast-feeding can dramatically change the shape and fullness of your breasts and are two of the main reasons for women undergoing a breast lift in the first place. Although breast lift surgery does not affect you becoming pregnant, having surgery before you have finished having a family may result in the need for additional surgery. By waiting to have a mastopexy, you increase the chance that your breast lift results will last longer. In most cases, mastopexy does not affect the ability to breast-feed, however, this is a possible complication of this type of surgery.
If you have decided to have surgery after losing a lot of weight then you should not consider having surgery until you have reached your goal weight as losing significantly more weight can effect the result of your surgery ad result in more drooping and sagging because of the loss of fat. Because your breasts are not the only areas on your body to accumulate excess skin after a sizeable weight loss, in addition to a breast lift, you should discuss with your surgeon additional procedures including a tummy tuck or body lift.
If you have experienced healing problems with any past surgical treatments or if you are prone to keloid (red, angry, raised) scars, your surgeon may not recommend a breast lift or may caution you that scars could be raised and very visible. Heavy smokers are also not ideal candidates for any type of surgery as they are at more risk when under going general anaesthetic. If you do smoke, you’ll be asked to stop at least two months before the procedure, as smoking can also delay the healing process.
Having a thorough consultation with a qualified surgeon is the only way to discover if the procedure is suitable for you.
