“Has gravity taken its toll on your body and left you with sagging breasts and low self-esteem?”
As we age, gravity and other factors such as pregnancy, breastfeeding and weight loss take their toll on our bodies, leaving us with sagging, less voluminous breasts. We can use a breast lift at our Perth plastic surgery practice to reshape and lift the breasts to a more full and desirable position.
What is a Breast lift?
A breast lift, or mastopexy, can lift the position of your breasts. Many patients experience an improved level of self-esteem after the procedure as their breasts finally look how they want them to look.
The surgery will involve tightening the skin and repositioning the breasts for a firmer and perkier bosom. This procedure will not alter the size of your breasts; however, it will rejuvenate your shape and profile with a youthful and uplifted appearance. A breast lift can be performed in conjunction with an augmentation to provide volume for those for desire both lifted and larger breasts.
Benefits of a Breast lift
If you are unhappy with the appearance of your breasts, a breast lift with Dr Anh offers a number of benefits. Mastopexy surgery can completely transform the breasts by:
- Lifting the breasts and nipples to a location that is higher and more central on the chest wall
- Reducing excess breast skin and tightening the remainder to achieve a firmer, smoother appearance
- Restoring the shape of the breasts to a more youthful contour
Centralising the location of the nipples on the breasts
Reasons to consider a breast lift
Women of all walks of life come to Dr Anh wishing to restore the appearance of their breasts via a breast lift. There are various life changes that cause the breasts to sag, including:
- The natural ageing process: As we age, the skin around the breasts begins to lose elasticity, which makes them prone to gravity. As the breasts weigh down the skin, they are slowly pulled downwards.
- Massive weight loss: After losing large amounts of weight, many women experience dramatic changes in their breasts. Often, they are left with breasts that look limp, saggy and without shape.
- Pregnancy and breastfeeding: During pregnancy, the breasts usually increase in size to prepare for breastfeeding. However, breastfeeding itself causes the breasts to stretch and shrink, which impacts the skin’s elasticity.
- Genetics: In some cases, women do not have strong muscle tone and begin to experience drooping, sagging breasts at a young age.
Degrees of breast sagging
Understanding your degree of breast ptosis can help Dr Anh determine the level of correction required during your mastopexy procedure. There are four degrees of breast ptosis:
- Mild Ptosis (Grade I): Mild ptosis occurs when the breasts sag slightly below the breast crease. The nipple is usually near the level of the breast crease and above most of the lower breast tissue.
- Moderate Ptosis (Grade II): Moderate ptosis occurs when both the breast and nipple fall below the breast crease.
- Severe Ptosis (Grade III): Severe ptosis occurs when the breasts and nipples sag significantly below the breast crease. The nipples also point downwards at this degree of sagging.
What you can expect from your consultation
We understand that your initial consultation can be daunting. After all, it is only natural to feel nervous about revealing your concerns about your breasts, especially with someone you have never met before. Dr Anh understands that you may feel this way and will try to make the consultation as comfortable for you as possible.
Dr Anh and her cosmetic consultants will spend about 45 minutes with you to better understand why you seek a breast lift, the results you want to achieve and your expectations of having the procedure. Dr Anh will obtain a medical and surgical history and then examine you.
Next, she will discuss your available options (including the type of breast lift, incision lines and potential need for implants), potential complications, the steps she will take to minimise these complications, the aftercare and expected post-operative recovery.
Dr Anh will show you before and after photos of previous patients who have had a breast lift, answer any of your questions and provide you with written material about breast lift surgery for you to take home. At the end of your consultation, you will be given a comprehensive quote, and our practice manager will explain all of the costs involved with mastopexy surgery.
What happens during the procedure
During your breast lift procedure, Dr Anh will follow the below steps:
Step 1 – Administering anaesthesia
For your comfort and safety, Dr Anh always performs breast lift surgery under general anaesthesia. We work with highly qualified and experienced anaesthetists who will administer your medication during the procedure.
Step 2 – Making an incision
During your breast lift consultation, Dr Anh will discuss your incision options. This may include making an incision around the areola, vertically from the areola to the breast crease or horizontally along the breast crease.
Step 3 – Lifting and reshaping your breasts
Once Dr Anh has made your incisions, she will lift and reshape your underlying breast tissue to improve breast firmness, remove excess breast skin and reposition the nipple and areola to a more youthful height. If needed, Dr Anh may reduce the size of the areolas by excising skin at the perimeter.
Step 4 – Closing the incisions
Once your breasts have been lifted, Dr Anh will close your incisions with layered sutures in the breast tissue. Following the procedure, you will be moved into a recovery area to begin the healing process.
What can i expect during my recovery?
Following your breast lift procedure, Dr Anh will wrap your breasts in dressings and, if needed, may insert drains to collect any excess blood or fluid. You will also be given a support bra to reduce swelling and support the breasts as they heal.
You can expect to experience some pain, swelling and bruising during your breast lift recovery. This may continue for a few weeks; however, our team will monitor your healing process during this time.
Ultimately, recovery times after a breast lift will vary from patient to patient. However, we recommend that you take at least one week off work, and you should avoid any strenuous activity for four weeks after surgery. To optimise your results, it is important that you follow all of Dr Anh’s post-operative instructions carefully.
Combing your breast lift with implants
If you would like more volume and upper breast fullness, then a breast lift alone will not achieve this. Instead, you will need a breast implant in addition to the breast lift to enhance the breast size, volume, and upper breast fullness. This is known as an augmentation mastopexy, which is technically a more challenging procedure.
Traditionally, an augmentation mastopexy (breast lift and enlargement) were performed in stages – first, the breast lift, and once the patient has healed, the second stage will be a breast enlargement with an implant. This is due to the competing forces that occur during a single-stage augmentation mastopexy where the tissues and skin are tightened in a lift (as well as the breast gland being reshaped and repositioned). While on the other hand, an implant enlarges the breast and puts tension on the reduced skin envelope. Today, however, Dr Anh can usually perform an augmentation mastopexy in a single procedure.
VISUALISE – Before your surgery Envisage by Dr Anh
Envisage by Dr Anh is included in the price of your consultation. This allows you to see your new boobs through a virtual reality headset before undergoing surgery!
Dr Nguyen believes that the decision to undergo cosmetic surgery is a very personal and important one and should not be made without considerable research, information and understanding. That is why she will recommend you go and seek other opinions, obtain as much information as possible and be comfortable with the surgeon you choose to perform the cosmetic surgery for you.
Dr Nguyen will recommend a second consultation with you, to go over things again and cover any further questions that you might have.
How much does a breast lift cost in Perth
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to breast lift surgery, as the procedure can vary widely from patient to patient. As such, we simply cannot provide a cost without first seeing you for a personalised consultation.
Similar to most surgical procedures, you can expect your breast lift to be broken down into several cost components:
Initial consultation fees
When you first visit Dr Anh for a breast lift consultation, you will need to pay a fee.
Surgeon’s fees
Surgeon’s fees can vary dramatically, depending on their qualifications, surgical expertise, professional recognition, experience and even popularity. The fee charged by Dr Anh to perform your breast lift will depend on the extent and difficulty of your procedure.
Hospital fees
Both surgeons and anaesthetists are considered “independent contractors” who use the facilities of private hospitals, meaning that Dr Anh has no control over your hospital fees. Again, hospital fees can vary from facility to facility, although most charge by the hour. Your breast lift hospital fee will likely comprise of the time spent in the operating theatre, as well as the time required to recover from anaesthesia. If an overnight stay is required, this will increase your costs significantly.
Anaesthetist’s fees
During your breast lift, your anaesthetist quite literally watches over your life and vital functions. The fee charged by your anaesthetist will depend again on their qualifications and experience.
Post-operative care
In addition to the actual procedure costs, you may also need to pay out of pocket for compression garments and post-operative visits.
As a breast lift is usually performed for cosmetic reasons, it is not covered by Medicare or private health insurance. Dr Anh and her team will give you a detailed breakdown of breast lift costs during your consultation.
Free download
FREE BREAST SURGERY GUIDE
- The evolution of breast surgery
- Factors to consider when designing your desired results
- What makes breasts beautiful?
- Breast surgery pricing
A word of caution on
Overseas cosmetic
surgery
“The money you save on a cheaper breast lift procedure is at risk of being spent tenfold.”
We repair a lot of botched jobs
Some breast surgery patients have opted for cheap procedures overseas. Unhappy with the results, they come in to have their botched boob jobs repaired. There can be many health risks of having cosmetic surgery abroad.
The medical risks
Many countries’ medical regulations aren’t as strict as Australia’s. These regulations exist to keep you safe and healthy. Having a breast enlargement in a less sterile environment increases the risk of infection. Even scarier, your surgeon may not have trained to perform the surgery. You can end up with results far from what you had envisioned. We have all heard the horror stories of things going wrong with cosmetic surgery tourism:
- People losing their nipples
- Terrible infections
- Allergic reactions to cheap products
- Even death
While you may save now, but you’ll pay later
If that’s not enough to deter you, consider that you could end up spending way more money. The money you save on a cheaper breast lift procedure is at risk of being spent tenfold. It’s expensive dealing with medical complications of an incorrectly done surgery. Therefore it’s also expensive to repair botched results. Combined, these can lead to higher costs than paying for a high quality procedure in the first place.
It’s just not worth it
Does the cost of breast lift with Dr Anh seems out of reach? If so, we encourage you to consider finance options. Another options is to save up a bit longer. It’s worth it in order to afford good quality surgical care. In the end you’ll be glad you did. Don’t gamble with your health.
FAQS
Breast lift is a highly personal procedure and one that you should not consider without serious contemplation. However, you may be a candidate for a mastopexy procedure if:
- You have fully developed breasts
- Your breasts have lost shape and volume, whether through age, weight loss or pregnancy
- You are satisfied by the size of your breasts but wish they were firmer and higher on the chest wall
- Your nipples fall below the breast crease when unsupported
- Your nipples and areolas point downwards
- You do not smoke
- You are in good general health
- You have realistic exceptions of what surgery can achieve
To learn more about whether you are a suitable candidate for a breast lift, please book a consultation with Dr Anh.
During your breast lift, Dr Anh will use one of three techniques, depending on the degree of breast ptosis.
The donut breast lift technique makes an incision around the perimeter of the areola and is suitable for patients with mild to moderate breast sagging.
The lollipop breast lift technique makes an incision around the perimeter of the areola and vertically down from the areola to the breast crease. This method is best suited to patients with a moderate degree of breast ptosis.
The anchor breast lift technique makes three incisions: one around the areola, one from the areola to the breast crease and one horizontally along the breast crease. This method creates the most scarring; however, it can address severe breast sagging.
During a breast lift, Dr Anh will also be able to improve the appearance of the nipples and areolas if they should point downward or are stretched or enlarged. Again, Dr Anh will discuss this with you prior to surgery.
After breast lift surgery, most patients will require around one to two weeks off from work. If you work a desk job, you should be able to go back within seven days. However, patients whose occupation requires vigorous movement and lifting may require additional time off. Depending on the nature of your work, this could be anywhere from two to six weeks.
After a breast lift, you will need to treat your breasts with care. As such, you should not wear any bra with an underwire for at least six weeks after the procedure. Our team will provide you with clear instructions on what you should and shouldn’t wear after surgery. Then, after roughly six weeks, you will be free to wear whatever you like once more.
While scarring is an inevitable part of any invasive procedure, Dr Anh always aims to keep incisions as discreet as possible. By following proper scar management techniques, you can expect your incision lines to fade entirely in time.
You will notice an immediate lift in your breasts following a mastopexy procedure. However, you should keep in mind that it can take a few months for post-operative swelling to subside and for your new breast shape and position to settle. You can expect your final results to gradually appear over this time. In addition, you can expect your incision lines to fade over the course of the following two years, depending on how well you look after your scars.
Many women go on to successfully breastfeed their children after a breast lift procedure. However, this will depend on the surgical technique used and whether it will disrupt the nipples and milk ducts. If you are hoping to breastfeed in the future, please let Dr Anh know during your consultation.
You should also keep in mind that pregnancy and breastfeeding can cause the shape and size of the breasts to change. For this reason, we often recommend that women wait until they have finished having children to consider mastopexy surgery.
Every invasive surgical procedure has risks. In particular, some of the potential complications associated with mastopexy include:
- Anaesthesia complications
- Fluid accumulation
- Poor scarring
- Excessive bleeding
- Changes in breast sensation
- Infection
- Breast asymmetry
- Loss of nipple and areola tissue
Dr Anh will discuss all potential risks during your consultation so that you can make an educated decision to proceed with surgery.
We understand and appreciate how having an all-female surgical team can be important for some patients. However, this requires additional coordination between the hospitals, anaesthetists and our clinic and can sometimes add additional wait time until your surgery. With this in mind, having an all-female surgical team is something that we are definitely able to arrange. Simply mention this to Dr Anh during your scheduled consultation, and our friendly surgical team will make the necessary arrangements.
Before your breast lift procedure, Dr Anh will give you a comprehensive list of pre-operative instructions. To optimise healing, you should strive to be as fit as possible before surgery. Dr Anh may also ask you to adjust some medications, and you must stop smoking at least six weeks beforehand.
It is also a great idea to set up a recovery area in your home and pre-prepare some healthy meals. You should also arrange for a friend or relative to drive you home from the hospital and stay with you for the first 24 hours after surgery.
All forms of invasive surgery are associated with a level of discomfort. While you won’t feel anything during the procedure, the amount of pain felt during recovery will vary from patient to patient. Luckily, you can manage most discomfort with medications prescribed by Dr Anh. If you experience any sudden or severe pain after surgery, please get in touch with the clinic immediately.
Following your breast lift procedure, you must avoid any vigorous activity for at least four weeks. Exercising too soon after invasive surgery can worsen bruising, bleeding, and swelling. Despite that, you should resume some light walking within a few days after surgery to prevent blood clots and lung complications.
The length of your breast lift procedure will vary from patient to patient, depending on the complexity of the case. However, the average mastopexy procedure usually takes between two and three hours in theatre.
While a breast lift can significantly improve the appearance of breast sagging, the procedure does not address breast size. If you feel that your breasts are too small, you may choose to combine your mastopexy with breast implants. Keep in mind that this is a far more complicated procedure and may increase costs and recovery times.
You can expect the results of your mastopexy surgery to last for years to come. However, the procedure does not prevent the ageing process, and you may find that your breasts will begin to sag again over time. Pregnancy and weight fluctuations can also negatively impact your results. To ensure your breast lift results last for as long as possible, you should maintain a stable, healthy weight and make healthy lifestyle changes.
The best time to have a breast lift is whenever you feel ready. However, if you are a massive weight loss patient, we suggest waiting until you have reached your goal weight and have maintained it for six months before considering surgery. This is because further weight fluctuations can affect your results.
In addition, we advise that patients wait until they have finished having children before considering any kind of breast surgery. Again, pregnancy and breastfeeding can cause the breasts to stretch and swell, which can reverse your breast lift results. Once you have had your last child, we recommend waiting six months after you have finished breastfeeding.
- Continue your research by checking out our Resources tab, downloading our FREE Breast Surgery Guide and reading our Frequently Asked Questions.
- Book your breast lift consultation with Dr Anh by calling 1300 8-DRANH.
- Ask a friend or relative to come with you to your consultation and begin drafting a list of questions to ask your surgeon.