Breast Lift with Implants

A woman’s breasts often define her femininity, and with the vast differences in shape, size, and appearance, breasts further help to define a woman’s individualism. The breasts undergo changes in response to factors such as genetics, aging, pregnancy and breast feeding, weight gain or loss, and hormonal fluctuations. All of these factors can cause the breast size and shape to change. These changes can be dissatisfying and can make women feel as if they are losing some of their femininity and youthful vitality. Breast augmentation alone cannot restore the shape of the breasts. For those women who would like to increase the size of their breasts as well as restore a firm, more upright position, a breast augmentation in combination with a breast lift can improve body contours and revitalize their appearance.

 

Breast Lift with Implants Introduction

A woman’s breasts often define her femininity, and with the vast differences in shape, size, and appearance, breasts further help to define a woman’s individualism. The breasts undergo changes in response to factors such as genetics, aging, pregnancy and breast feeding, weight gain or loss, and hormonal fluctuations. All of these factors can cause the breast size and shape to change. These changes can be dissatisfying and can make women feel as if they are losing some of their femininity and youthful vitality. Breast augmentation alone cannot restore the shape of the breasts. For those women who would like to increase the size of their breasts as well as restore a firm, more upright position, a breast augmentation in combination with a breast lift can improve body contours and revitalize their appearance.

 

Breast Anatomy

Before you learn how a breast augmentation with a breast lift can help to correct breast appearance, it is important that you understand the underlying anatomy. The breasts are composed of different types of tissue known as glandular, fatty, and fibrous tissue, which lie over the pectoralis muscle, along the chest wall. The glandular tissues are composed of lobules and milk ducts. Together, lobules and milk ducts are responsible for producing and transporting milk to the nipple, respectively during lactation. The glands within the breast are surrounded by a layer of fatty tissue that gives the breast its shape and soft form. Suspensory ligaments, which are made of fibrous, or connective tissue, are intertwined amongst the breast glands and milk ducts. These suspensory ligaments attach the breast to the chest wall and allow it to remain suspended, but move freely with the body.

 

What Causes Breasts to Change Shape?

Although there are many factors that can contribute to breast appearance, the aging process and the effects of gravity play a primary role in the changes to the breast. Just like facial skin, the skin around the breast loses its elasticity in response to gradual breakdown of the skin’s support network, which causes the skin to become lax. In addition, the suspensory ligaments that attach the breast to the chest wall weaken and stretch over time in response to gravity. Additionally, the breasts enlarge during pregnancy and breast feeding, which causes the skin to stretch. Once the breasts reduce in size following pregnancy, the skin laxity may increase. Lastly, fluctuations in your weight and even hormonal changes that occur during menopause can cause changes in the appearance of your breasts. Together all of these factors can cause the breast to droop and sag, or rotate in a downward direction.

 

How a Breast Lift with Implants Works

One of the primary reasons that breast augmentation procedures are performed in combination with a breast lift is that breast augmentation alone cannot correct sagging or drooping breasts. Simply increasing the volume, or size, of the breast will only cause the breast to sag more with time. When performed as a standalone procedure, breast augmentation can increase or balance the size of the breast, restore the breast volume, and restore the shape of the breast after partial or total loss. In contrast, during a breast lift procedure, loose, excess skin is removed and the remaining skin is tightened. As a result, the overall shape of the breasts is improved, and they are lifted to a new, more upright position. In combination, breast implants and a breast lift result in total rejuvenation, not only increasing the size of the breast, but restoring a firmer, perkier appearance as well.

 

Breast Augmentation and Lift Techniques

As you may know, there are three general incision techniques used during breast augmentation, known as the areolar, inframammary, and transaxillary incision. In addition, there is a variety of different breast lift incision techniques used to correct varying degrees of breast ptosis. These techniques include the periareolar, circumareolar, vertical, and anchor technique, and are used to treat increasing breast ptosis severity, respectively. Your physician will help you choose the incision that is best for you based on your preferences, anatomy, the position of your implants, and their preferred surgical technique. To learn more about the different techniques view the breast implant and breast lift animations.