Breast Uplift

Many women, following the birth of their children and or breast-feeding, find that their breasts have deteriorated in terms of size, shape, and feel. As the skin loses its elasticity, the breasts tend to lose their shape and firmness and begin to sag. Even without pregnancies however, the effects of time, gravity, and alternate weight gain and loss, can all take their toll. Occasionally, unfortunate young ladies who have not had children or even extreme changes in weight develop breasts which are inherently droopy or sagging. In contrast to the mastopexy procedure, the main aim of the breast augmentation and breast reduction procedures is to change the size or volume of the breast. A breast uplift or mastopexy, however is a surgical procedure to reshape and raise sagging breasts without altering the overall volume of the breast. Mastopexy can also reduce the size of the areola, the darker skin surrounding the nipple.

The surgery

During the procedure, skin is cut away above, below and around the nipple and areola. The breast tissue is reshaped in order to achieve a better contour and enhanced projection. The remaining skin is then stretched taut and rejoined and the nipple is repositioned. Because this type of surgery interferes less with the nerve supply to the nipple areola, sensation is usually preserved.

Risks

As in any procedure the risk of significant infection is always possible. This is minimised by careful surgical technique and the preventative administration of antibiotics both at the time of surgery and after. However despite these measures mild infection is relatively common and can occur around the incision sites, but usually subsides over a period of about 2 weeks.

Risks such as leg and lung blood clots are rare. Early mobilisation by moving around as soon after the surgery as possible reduces this considerably.

As mentioned earlier, swelling should be expected after this operation. When mild or moderate swelling is present, the body rapidly reabsorbs this. Very occasionally, increased bleeding can lead to more significant swelling and the development of a haematoma (a collection of blood under the skin)-less than 1%.

During the first 2 -3 weeks after surgery, some patients may experience a minor loss of wound adhesion or even chafing of the skin at any point of the incision sites. One of the most common sites is the point where the vertical scar meets the nipple and or the under-breast crease. This is a temporary complication, which will require regular dressing changes initially. Eventually a scab develops over this, which subsequently separates after 3-4 weeks. A padded dressing for a period of a few weeks decreases the likelihood of this occurring.

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