Ten reasons to consider a breast lift

You might need a breast lift (mastopexy) if one or more of these ten reasons sounds familiar to you:

1. You prefer the breast shape you get when you lift your breasts upwards with your hands.
2. You want your breasts to be “perkier”.
3. Your breast size is good, but they are "too low".
4. When standing, one or both of your nipples point towards the ground.
5. When standing, one or both of your nipples are at or below the level of your breast crease.
6. You can't go braless in any kind of top.
7. Your breast skin is loose, very stretchy, hangs or sags, because of weight fluctuations, pregnancy or breast feeding.
8. You like your breast shape when you stretch your arms above your head.
9. You look short-waisted because your breasts are covering your upper abdomen.
10. If you want your nipples to be positioned higher on the breasts.

Breast implants, by contrast, do not lift the breast. They can add volume, increase roundness, give more upper pole volume, increase projection and fill up loose breast skin - but implants do not lift.

If you have one of these 10 reasons, and want the breast to be larger as well - a combination of breast augmentation and lift may be an option for you.

Do I need a lift, Doctor?

A common question from patients who are considering a breast augmentation is whether they would need a breast lift or not.

There are several methods that plastic surgeons use to decide whether or not there is significant droop of the breast, known as "breast ptosis". Essentially, it all has to do with the position of the nipple, compared to the position of the crease underneath the breast, known as the "infra-mammary fold".

If the nipple is positioned above the horizontal level of the infra-mammary fold when you are standing up - then any ptosis you may have is considered "mild". If the nipple has descended below the level of the crease, then the breast droop is more significant, and you may indeed benefit from a breast lift, in addition to any augmentation you might be considering.

Another easy method to check for breast ptosis involves clasping your hands on top of your head, and looking at what happens to the nipple position in the mirror. If the nipple position is still too low for your liking, then a lift operation might be beneficial.

When the amount of droop is mild, often we can use a short-scar technique for the lift, avoiding the long anchor-shaped incisions used in the classic breast lift. The benelli or "donut" lift, for example, allows us to can use one circular incision around the nipple - and get three benefits with it: use it to place the implants, make the areola smaller in size, and get a little bit of a breast lift all at the same time.