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How much will it cost? The fee for breast lift surgery can be located in the suggested fees . Please call my office for an accurate price quote or make an appointment for a personal consultation to discuss your specific concerns. My suggested quotes include professional fees, anesthesia fees, operating room costs, house calls, before care and after care. They do not include hospitalization costs, prescriptions, home nursing care, preoperative history and physical examination, laboratory costs, or pathology fees. If you compare prices, make sure that you consider all these costs. In addition, breast lift surgery requires some time off work for a safe recovery. I require complete payment two weeks in advance of all cosmetic surgery. What can I do to correct my breast sagging? When breast sagging results in nipple position below the level of the fold underneath the breast, breast lift surgery should be considered. If the nipple is at the same level as the fold or above the fold, breast enlargement surgery may be all that is necessary. Is it abnormal to have different breast sizes and shapes? It is not abnormal to have differences in breast size and/or shape. In fact, most women have some asymmetry. It is common for women to be self-conscious about this. Some women are so self-conscious that they are always covered except when bathing. Fortunately, surgery can be considered to improve these differences. Will I ever be exactly the same on both sides? It is normal to have differences in breast size and shape. Surgery can reduce these differences but not eliminate them. It will be necessary for you to adjust to some breast asymmetry after your surgery. Will there be scars after surgery? Scars are part of all surgery. It is important to understand where breast lift scars will be placed. Breast lift scars are located around the nipple, straight down to the fold beneath the breast and in the fold itself. They are the shape of a keyhole. They are inconspicuous and easily covered with clothing. When your breasts are uncovered the scars will be visible. Will my bathing suit hide the scars? My goal is to place the scars in a position that can be covered by the bathing suit of your choice. However, fashion always offers bathing suits that may reveal some of the scars. What are the risks of breast lift surgery? There are risks with any surgery. Infection, excessive bleeding, abnormal scarring, poor healing, slow healing, skin loss, changes in skin sensation, muscle or nerve injury, although uncommon, can occur with any surgery. Wound separation, skin loss, and nipple loss are also possible. Fortunately, most problems that result from such complications are correctable with additional surgery. You must understand your risk of complications completely before you choose to have breast lift surgery. Will I lose feeling in my nipples? Although rare, complete loss of nipple feeling can occur due to nerve injury. This may interfere with sexual arousal and breast-feeding. Ten to fifteen percent of patients experience some change in breast feeling. This can include loss of nipple sensation. I have heard about so many bad things on television, is it safe to have breast lift surgery? There are always risks with breast lift surgery. When severe complications are combined with inexperienced surgeons, poor results can occur. I believe that breast lift can be done safely with a high degree of patient satisfaction. Serious problems are usually related to excessive surgery and/or medical problems. Most poor results can be improved with additional surgery. What can you tell me about this new technique that I saw on television? Everyone in America wants the latest in medical care. This is not always the best medical care. At times media presentations will leave out critical information about potential complications, quality of result, and FDA regulation. I am open minded when it comes to new technology but I would rather not use my patients to try out the newest techniques. New techniques trying to improve upon breast lifting surgery have focused on reducing the number of scars on the breast. I believe that the breast shape after these techniques is not as natural as the traditional keyhole pattern surgery. How old do I have to be to have this surgery? Breast development can continue into the early twenties. When surgery is done before this time, there is a chance the surgery will have to be repeated. In addition, it may be emotionally difficult to adjust to the surgery during teen years. For these reasons, I suggest that surgery be postponed until eighteen years of age. How long must I wait after breast-feeding before I can have breast lift surgery? You must wait for three to six months after breast-feeding before you can proceed with breast lift surgery. Reasons for this are increased risk of blood and/or milk collections. In addition, it is impossible to predict what the size and shape of your breasts will be once all the milk has passed. Will breast lift surgery increase my risks of breast cancer? No. Breast lift with or without breast enlargement does not increase your risk of developing breast cancer. However, all women are at risk for breast cancer. If you have family members that have had breast cancer, your risk is increased. Remember that breast cancer can occur at any age and a physician must properly evaluate all breast lumps. Do I need a mammogram before surgery? I recommend that you have a preoperative mammogram if you are thirty-five years old or older. I also recommend that you have a mammogram if you have any significant breast problems or breast lumps. Breast cancer can occur at any age and a physician must properly evaluate all breast lumps. Will this interfere with mammograms? All breast surgery can interfere with the interpretation of mammograms. It is important that you continue with monthly breast self-examinations. When you do have a mammogram, be sure to tell the physician or the x-ray technician that you have had breast lift surgery so they can do extra x-ray views, if necessary. For general health reasons, I recommend that all my patients stop smoking. It is clear that smoking increases your risk for developing all sorts of cancers. Breathing problems like emphysema and circulatory problems including heart attacks are also linked to smoking. Smoking can increase the risk of coughing after your surgery that can lead to unwanted bleeding. Smoking also reduces blood flow that can result in skin loss during the healing period. When this reduced blood flow is combined with breast lift, skin and nipple loss can occur. The deformity of the nipple and breast can be difficult or impossible to repair. It is always best to stop smoking. There are always other choices when it comes to breast enlargement surgery. These include acceptance of a deformity or changes in clothing styles. There are alternate surgery designs including reduced skin scars on the breast. I believe these other techniques do not give as natural result as the keyhole pattern scar. Always understand all your options before having breast lift surgery. What additional procedures can I consider that will enhance the result? Surgeries can be combined to yield dramatic and complimentary results. For safety reasons, I recommend the length of surgery be limited to six hours and no more than two areas of the body be treated at the same time. The most common surgery done at the same time as a breast lift is breast enlargement. This may even give a better result that breast lift alone. Other surgeries commonly combined with breast lift are tummy tuck, liposuction, and thigh lift. Can my breasts be enlarged at the same time? Breast enlargement can easily be combined with breast lift surgery. It may even enhance the final result. Am I a good candidate for the surgery? This is a question that can only be answered after a personal consultation. Breast lift surgery is suggested to women with sagging breasts whose nipples hang below the fold beneath the breast. Many women consider this after having children or weight loss. The surgery is designed to reposition the nipple higher. There are other things to consider as well including psychiatric conditions, life stress, medical illness, obesity, and motivation. You should be a healthy nonsmoker, within twenty pounds of your ideal weight. Major life stresses (i.e. grieving a death and divorce) must be absent in your life. The ideal candidate is motivated by internal desires to look better. How many times can I have the surgery done? Each time surgery is done, scar tissue is created in the surgical site. This scar tissue detracts from the natural result. For this reason, I recommend that mastopexy surgery not be repeated more than two or three times at prescribed intervals
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