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Why it's done
By Mayo Clinic staffAs you get older, your breasts change — losing elasticity and firmness. There are many causes for these kinds of breast changes, including:
- Pregnancy. During pregnancy, the ligaments that support your breasts might stretch as your breasts get fuller and heavier. This stretching might contribute to sagging breasts after pregnancy — whether or not you breast-feed your baby.
- Weight fluctuations. Changes in your weight can cause your breast skin to stretch and lose elasticity.
- Gravity. Over time, gravity causes ligaments in the breasts to stretch and sag.
A breast lift can reduce sagging and raise the position of the nipples and the darker area surrounding the nipples (areolae). The size of the areolae can also be reduced during the procedure to keep them in proportion to the newly shaped breasts.
You might consider a breast lift if:
- Your breasts sag — they've lost shape and volume, or they've gotten flatter and longer
- Your nipples — when your breasts are unsupported — fall below your breast creases
- Your nipples and areolae point downward
- Your areolae have stretched out of proportion to your breasts
- One of your breasts falls lower than the other
A breast lift isn't for everyone. If you're considering pregnancy at any point in the future, you might delay getting a breast lift. During pregnancy your breasts could stretch and offset the results of the lift.
Breast-feeding is a consideration as well. Although breast-feeding is usually possible after a breast lift — since the nipples aren't separated from the underlying breast tissue — some women might have difficulties producing enough milk.
While a breast lift can be done on breasts of any size, women with smaller sagging breasts will likely have longer lasting results. Larger breasts are heavier, which makes them more likely to sag again.
- Thorne CH, et al. Grabb and Smith's Plastic Surgery. 6th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Wolters Kluwer Health Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2007:1.
- Disa JJ. 100 Questions & Answers About Breast Surgery. Sudbury, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett Learning; 2005:167.
- Efrain A. Understanding Cosmetic Procedures: Surgical and Nonsurgical. Clifton Park, N.Y.: Thomas Delmar Learning; 2006:159.
- Breast lift surgery. American Society of Plastic Surgeons. http://www.plasticsurgery.org/cosmetic-procedures/breast-lift.html. Accessed May 21, 2012.
- Rinker B, et al. The effect of breastfeeding on breast aesthetics. Aesthetic Surgery Journal. 2008;28:534.
- Riordan J, et al. Breastfeeding and Human Lactation. 4th ed. Sudbury, Mass.: Jones & Bartlett Publishers; 2010:309.
- Jacobson SR (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. May 29, 2012.
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