What Is a Breast Lift Procedure All About?
- A breast lift procedure works at lifting and reshaping the breasts so that it will lose its sagging appearance that could have been brought on by aging, pregnancy, or weight loss. This permanent enhancement procedure is sometimes done along with breast augmentation.
- There are various techniques employed in a breast lift procedure. However, the most commonly used is the anchor-shaped incision, which is the most practical as it follows the breast’s natural contour. This incision serves as an outline of the area where the skin is to be removed and the nipple placed.
- During the breast lift procedure, the skin around the areola would be brought down and then placed together so that the breast can be reshaped.
- There are cases where breast augmentation is done along with this procedure to increase the breast’s size while reshaping it.
- The set of incisions needed for your breast lift procedure will be discussed between you and your surgeon during the initial consultation. This is so your satisfaction of the overall results will be guaranteed.
How Do I Prepare for a Breast Lift Procedure?
Your surgeon will also give you instructions on what to eat and drink. Guidelines on taking medications, vitamins, and quitting on smoking would also be given out. Starting at two days before the breast lift procedure, you will also be asked to bathe using antimicrobial soap.
Here are some of the guidelines that you need to follow prior your breast lift procedure:
- You should quit smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages.
- You should also stop taking vitamin E supplements as well as aspirins or other anti-inflammatory medications at least two weeks before and after the surgery.
- From six to eight hours before the time of your surgery, you should also take care not to eat anything even mints or gums or drink anything even water.
What Are the Advantages of a Breast Lift Procedure?
The advantages that you can get out of going through a breast lift procedure are centered not just on your physical appearance but also on healing your emotional wounds.
So here are the benefits that you can experience after getting a breast lift procedure:
- Small and large-breasted patients can enjoy from the effective lifting and reshaping of drooping breasts done through breast lift procedure. There are cases though when women with smaller breasts can retain their lift longer than those with larger breasts.
- Women can get more youthful-looking and perkier breasts after a breast lift procedure. This is through the lifting and the tightening process done during the surgery.
- Those who went through breast lift procedure will also enjoy having the increase of their clothing options. Once they have firmer and fuller breasts, they are already able to wear sexy dresses and are able to get a bitter fit out of their brassieres.
- Breast lift procedures can also boost the confidence of women who had them. Because they get a better self-image through surgery, these women will feel more comfortable in their own skin. This will result in their participating in more social activities than they did before.
What Are the Side Effects of Breast Lift Procedure?
Although surgeons try their best to minimize side effects, risks, and complications during and after a breast lift procedure, they can still be experienced by some patients. These might be rare cases, but it is still best to be aware of them.
Here are some of the possible side effects, risks, and complications that could occur with a breast lift procedure:
- Loss of sensation on the nipples. This usually happens immediately after the breast lift procedure and could go away after a few days or weeks. Although this could only be temporary, there are other cases when this complication becomes permanent.
- Problems on the asymmetry of your breasts. There could be slight differences that could be noticed on the size and shape of your breasts following the breast lift procedure.
- Visible scarring of the incisions. These scars usually extend around the nipple area and go vertically down until it goes under the breast. Although these scars will eventually fade in time, they might still be visible because of their width.
- Aside from these, there are also other risks and complications that come with a breast lift procedure and these include excessive bleeding, swelling, nerve damage, nipple discoloration, and infections.
What Do I Need to Do After a Breast Lift Procedure?
The average healing period after a breast lift procedure could range from one to two weeks, although this might differ from patient to patient. This is because the healing process is affected by several factors, which include drinking, smoking, genetics, and the surgery’s extent.
Because there will be tenderness, soreness, swelling, and pain immediately after the breast lift procedure, the best thing that you need to do during this time is sleep. Taking your pain medications and antibiotics will also help a lot.
Other things that you would have to do after a breast lift procedure include:
- Have someone help you out during the first 24 to 72 hours after surgery, especially with the cooking and cleaning. This is because you need to limit your movements during this time to avoid more pain and soreness.
- Wear a surgical bra once your sutures have been removed. This will support your breast during the healing process.
- Sleep or rest on your back while in a reclining position for a minimum of six to ten days. You should also take care not to sleep on your stomach for a minimum of six weeks.
How Much Does a Breast Lift Procedure Cost and What Are the Other Choices?
Going through a breast lift procedure will cost you a great deal of money. Because this is a surgery that will not be covered by any health insurance policy, then you would have to shoulder all the expenses yourself.
- As such, you need to prepare at least $4,000 to as much as $9,000.
- On the average, a surgeon will get some $3,500 for performing a breast lift procedure.
- You would also need to pay some $1000 for the surgery facility and $700 for the anesthesiologist.
If you wish to consider other options aside from going through a breast lift procedure, there are also alternatives available in the market.
- While you can make use of push-up bras, there are also massage treatments, and pectoral exercises that can be done.
- Laser treatment can also be an alternative for breast lift procedure. This non-invasive procedure works at tightening the chest area’s skin and then pulls up the breasts. This does not require anesthesia and provide results immediately.
