On many occasions the sagging of the breast is due to excess volume. In any of the above situations, it is indicated to carry out a  Mastopexy, a surgical intervention with which  we lift a sagging breast and improve its shape.

In the  mastopexy  the areola and nipple rise to their correct and desired position. When we also find a large areola, it can be reduced in diameter. And if it is the entire breast that has excess volume, it is reduced to the ideal size, acquiring a rejuvenated shape. The best candidate is the woman who has realistic expectations trying to improve her ailments and appearance, rather than the one who seeks perfection.

The Preoperative

Like any aesthetic operation that requires surgery, for a breast lift, a preoperative period is necessary, which the surgeon will indicate in consultation (analytics -blood tests and electrocardiogram-, special care, as well as the reading and signing of the Informed Consent).

You will be given instructions on how to prepare for surgery. Being the intervention under general anesthesia, you must comply with the prescribed fasting of solids and liquids during the 6 hours prior to the intervention. It is important that you have a family member or companion who can take you home when you are discharged, and who, if necessary, can help and care for you during the postoperative period.

The operation

It is essential to perform a chest lift in a hospital center that has all the security measures, such as having an intensive care unit and always under the strict control of the anesthesiologist in the operating room. Once the patient to whom the breast lift will be performed is asleep, the surgical field is sterilized and the operation is carried out. Your surgeon will inform you of the usual and extraordinary measures taken into account for your safety during the breast lift procedure, as well as during the medium and long-term postoperative period. The surgeon will choose the product and the technical and human means that he considers best for his patients. The duration of the operation is 2-3 hours and varies mainly depending on the anesthesia used, the anatomical characteristics of the breasts and the technique used.

Hospitalization is usually outpatient, although 24-hour hospitalization is sometimes necessary. The intervention consists of raising the sagging breast, reshaping the breast and placing the nipple-areola complex in a higher position. For this, it is necessary to remove the excess skin and adapt it to the breast volume that will remain, taking into account that: a) when the breast is practically empty, it is necessary to associate the placement of a prosthesis that adds volume; b) if there is a certain volume, the breast lift is performed, exclusively removing the excess skin and remodeling the breast; c) when the breast volume is excessive, it is associated with the removal of fatty-glandular breast tissue (reduction mammoplasty).

There are multiple techniques to perform breast lift. The choice depends on the characteristics of the breast and the preference of the surgeon; In essence, they can be summarized depending on the scars they cause: pure periareolar scar; “inverted T” scar; “J” or “L” scar; upright scar. The last three also leave a scar around the new areola. The "inverted T" leaves a vertical scar that extends from the lower pole of the areola to the middle of the inframammary fold. The “J” or “L” scar is like the previous one but the horizontal scar extends from the center of the inframammary fold towards the armpits. Those with a vertical scar only leave a scar from the lower pole of the areola to the center of the inframammary fold.

The breast lift technique varies depending on the shape and degree of sagging of the chest. If the breast is saggy but small, we increase its volume by placing a prosthesis under the mammary gland. We are talking then about a type called Mastopexy with prosthesis. When the chest has an adequate size, it is not necessary to place any type of prosthesis. To carry out a breast lift, it is necessary to make incisions around the areola and from it towards the inframammary fold. Sometimes, when the degree of sagging of the chest is maximum, we need to make another horizontal incision in the submammary fold that we will try to be as short as possible.

The Postoperative

After the breast lift operation, the patient should rest her arms, in order to avoid displacement of the implants or bleeding. Inflammation and pain are common after the breast lift operation, although both depend on the technique used and the individual factor of each surgeon and type of intervention. Breast lift requires analgesia, since the postoperative period is painful. With good analgesia and a few days off work, the patient who undergoes a breast lift can return to work within a week, if the job does not involve great physical activity. All stitches are removed in less than 3 weeks.

It is true that during recovery you should not make sudden movements, or lift weights or raise your arms above your shoulders; avoiding efforts with the arms since these efforts in the following weeks after the breast lift operation could cause pain, discomfort or contractures of the pectoral muscle. Once the hospital stay after the breast lift is over, the patient must follow the recommended medical treatment, also recommending sleeping on her back, wearing a specific bra or bandage, and not driving or, as we have already mentioned, exerting herself on days following the breast lift operation. Exercises such as running, swimming or lifting weights are the ones that the patient who has undergone a breast lift takes longer to perform again. Intense physical exercise can be resumed between a month and a half and two months. Although the improvement will be progressive in the following months, the ideal appearance will be seen after a year, since then the scars will be less visible and the shape more stable.