Breast Lift
Women who have either had children and breastfed or lost vast amounts of weight, often experience the deflated feeling of losing the youthful fullness and volume of their breasts. If this is the case for you, then you would benefit from a breast lift. As the years pass, your nipple seems to point further down and you find that even the best “pushup” bra doesn’t seem to prevent the sagging.
The reason for this is that over time, your breasts lose their volume and elasticity, causing them to sag, droop or change shape. If you are therefore requiring a firmer breast, then you are a candidate for a breast lift.
As a female, Dr Nerina Wilkinson understands your needs on a personal level and is with you from your first consultation until after your breast lift has been performed. Dr Wilkinson tries to understand every patient’s unique needs, and always ensures you are fully educated about the procedure and knows what to expect.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What Is A Breast Lift?
A Breast lift, or mastopexy, is a surgical procedure to raise and reshape sagging breasts — at least, for a time. (No surgery can permanently delay the effects of gravity.) Mastopexy (breast lift surgery) can also reduce the size of the areola, the darker skin surrounding the nipple. If your breasts are small or have lost volume (for example, after pregnancy) breast implants inserted in conjunction with mastopexy can increase both their firmness and their size. The procedure removes fat, glandular breast tissue, and mostly excess skin from the breasts, making them lighter and firmer.
How Is Breast Lift Surgery Performed?
Techniques for breast lift surgery vary, but Dr Wilkinson almost exclusively uses a Short Scar (Lollipop) technique which involves an incision that circles the areola and extends downward towards the crease beneath the breast. Dr Wilkinson removes excess glandular tissue, fat and skin, and moves the nipple and areola into their new position. She then brings the skin from both sides of the breast down and around the areola, shaping the new contour of the breast.
Liposuction is used to remove excess fat from the armpit area. The nipples remain attached to their blood vessels and nerves. Stitches are located around the areola and in a vertical line extending downward toward the crease of the breast. Dr. Wilkinson always tries to use the smallest possible incisions that your breast will allow. The surgery usually takes two to three hours to complete.
Who Would Benefit From A Breast Lift?
Breast lifts are a very common procedure in our practice, but it’s still important for you to conduct research into the topic of mastopexy to make sure it’s the right option for you. Choosing to have any cosmetic surgery is a big decision to make and it’s important to know that you’re not just making a physical change to your body, but an emotional one as well. This is why having a good understanding of the procedure and getting to know the team that will be performing it is vital.
As a female, Dr Nerina Wilkinson understands your needs on a personal level and is with you from your first consultation until after your breast lift has been performed.
When Is The Best Time To Have A Breast Lift?
Besides post pregnancy, breast feeding and significant weight loss, the best time to have breast lift surgery is once you have conducted all the relevant research and consultations to make sure it’s the right option for you. Choosing to have cosmetic surgery is a big decision and it’s important to know that you’re not just making a physical change to your body, but an emotional one as well. This is why having a good understanding of the procedure and getting to know the team that will be performing it is vital.
How Long Is The Recovery After Breast Lift Surgery?
You’re likely to feel tired and sore for a few days following your surgery, but you’ll be up and about within 12 to 24 hours. Most of your discomfort can be controlled by medication prescribed by your doctor. Within 2 – 4 days, the Elastoplast dressings and drainage pipes will be removed, and you will start to wear a surgical bra supplied by us. You should wear it 24 hours a day for 6 weeks.
You may also experience a burning sensation in your nipples for about two weeks, but this will subside as bruising fades. Although the stitches are dissolving there will be 4 little knots to come out 10 – 14 days after surgery, but the swelling in your breasts may take four to six weeks to disappear. The final breast shape will only be determined after 3 months.
How Do I Know If Breast Lift Surgery Is Right For Me?
To see if a breast lift is the best cosmetic surgery procedure for you, always start with a professional consultation with qualified and experienced cosmetic surgeon for an in-depth analysis of your body features and to reach a good understanding of your concerns and goals.
Dr Nerina Wilkinson’s unique and comprehensive surgical consultation is available for you to discuss and analyse your concerns and goals and for her (together with her team of specialists) to provide bespoke advice.
The
Procedure
During your consultation process, Dr Nerina Wilkinson will select the correct mastopexy procedure for you to achieve optimal results. In most cases, she uses the “short scar” technique or the so-called “lollipop lift” to achieve the optimal lift with the least visible scarring. Ordinarily, you can expect to have around 2 consultations before undergoing your procedure. This is to ensure that you are both on the same page in terms of your needs and expectations.
During your consult, she uses your physical examination, measurements, and photographs to assess your breasts for surgery. Dr Nerina Wilkinson also takes into account the size and shape of your breasts, skin quality, nipple and areola placement, and general medical history. This includes information about any medical conditions, drug allergies, medical treatments, current medication, and previous surgeries.
In addition, it’s important to inform her of future plans, such as dramatic weight loss or breastfeeding. Many women find their breasts sag or shrink with weight loss. In this instance, she may recommend that you schedule surgery once your target weight has been achieved.
Most importantly, if you’re planning on breastfeeding after your breast lift surgery, you need to mention this during your consultation. If you have not had children and plan on having a breast lift, you may wish to wait until your childbearing and breastfeeding days are over. Many women, however, have breast lift surgeries before childbirth knowing that they may need a revision mastopexy afterwards.
It is usually possible to breastfeed after a breast lift as the milk ducts and nipples are left intact. There are several mastopexy procedures available, and this information will determine the type of surgery that is best for you.
The breast lift surgery is performed while you’re under conscious sedation using female anaesthetists in our private day clinic and is completed in a few simple steps:
- Incisions – The incisions will depend on the extent of your breast sagging. In most cases, she makes a small incision around the areola and vertically down, to the crease of the breast. This is known as the ‘lollipop’ technique and is preferred as it leaves minimal scarring. Additionally, it also optimises your chances of breastfeeding in future, should you wish to do so. This is because your remaining breast tissue isn’t detached from the nipple. Alternatively, the ‘doughnut’ (or concentric) mastopexy is reserved for those patients with small breasts and minimal sagging. With this incision, the scar is limited to the areola. However, in cases where the breast droop is extensive, she may need to use the older traditional “inverted T” scar incision where the lollipop scar includes an incision in the breast fold. In general, she will remove excess breast skin, raising, reshaping and firming up the breasts in the process.
- Tightening and Lifting – Then, instead of utilising your skin to elevate each breast, she constructs an ‘internal bra’. She reshapes the more fibrotic breast tissue into a cone shape and move the lower sagging breast tissue to a new position to augment the fullness in the upper pole of the breast. This is to ensure that your breasts sit and stay in the desired, higher position. It is also at this time that any other recommendations are implemented. For example, you may want the size of your areolas reduced.
- Finishing touches – The wounds are closed with dissolvable stitches and the area is cleaned. Small drains may be inserted to avoid fluid build-up and you will have dressings on your breasts over the surgery site.
We strongly advise that you spend the night under our nursing care on the day of your surgery. However, you can be discharged on the same day. You can expect to have some discomfort for a few days. However, most patients are surprised at how little pain they actually experience after a breast lift. Post-op, you can expect a recovery period of up to 10 days, during which you shouldn’t take part in any strenuous activities. You’ll also be required to wear a surgical bra during the postoperative phase and Dr Wilkinson may insert temporary drainage tubes for 2 to 3 days if required.
You’ll be encouraged to get out of bed for short periods of time on the day after surgery. Straining, bending, and lifting must be avoided for several days as this could result in bleeding or swelling. It’s also important that you sleep on your back, which keeps the pressure off your breasts.
If drainage tubes have been used, they’ll be removed after a few days and your dressings will also be changed after 7 days. As far as your stitches are concerned, they are usually taken out on the tenth day after your procedure. Scars are made as inconspicuous as possible and should fade entirely after a couple of months. You will be supplied with scar reducing tapes that are worn for 6-12 weeks depending on the quality of your scars.
In most cases, it’s possible for patients to resume work within a week after a breast lift surgery unless the nature of the work is excessively strenuous. You may also resume exercise, starting slowly, within a few weeks.
Dr Wilkinson stresses that you need not be concerned if your breasts take some time to regain a natural shape and for the scarring to subside. This is completely normal, and you shouldn’t exert any energy on worrying during your recovery, which can last around 12 months.
Dr Nerina Wilkinson is more than capable of providing optimal breast lift procedures in South Africa. With over 18 years of experience, she has gained a unique understanding of how to best address her patients’ needs and provide what they want, physically and emotionally.
Contact the practice today to find out more about Dr Nerina Wilkinson’s breast lift procedures.
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Meet
The Cosmetic Surgery Team
She specialises in Breast Rejuvenation & Restoration
Dr Nerina Wilkinson combines her more than 2 decades of surgical precision in Cosmetic plastic surgery, in-depth understanding of anatomy, detailed understanding of aesthetic concepts and the newest innovations in technology to deliver a unique breast aesthetic couture experience.
About Dr Nerina Wilkinson FCS (Plast SA)
Dr Wilkinson is considered the “go to” expert for patients seeking a highly personalized bespoke breast rejuvenation and restorative surgery.
She takes her clients on an ultimate curated journey to beauty and confidence.
“Nerina – just to say a MASSIVE thank you to you for the incredible job you did on my boobs – I wasn’t sure what to expect, but am beyond thrilled, you surpassed all my expectations! Many thanks to you and your great team!”