Breast Lift With Implant Augmentation Southern California

What a breast lift with implant augmentation changed for this patient

A breast lift with implant augmentation can pair a smaller, moderate-profile implant with a lift when the goal is moderate size. Southern California is home to the most plastic surgeons in the country. That makes a wide search possible. Many people picture the Beverly Hills and Hollywood look of extremely prominent breasts. That was not this patient's desire.

On the first examination she did not present with severe skin redundancy of the breasts. Her ideal breast appearance was one of moderate size. She chose smaller breast implants with a moderate profile, and she required a breast lift as well to reach that end result. The photographs above show her from the front, the oblique, and the side after the operation.

Severe skin redundancy was not the finding, and the lift was still required. The end result depended on repositioning breast tissue and the nipple-areola complex, not only on adding volume. A moderate size can still sit too low if the tissue and the nipple-areola complex stay where they were. The smaller implant was chosen to match that moderate size. The moderate profile was chosen for the same reason. The lift was the step that raised the breast the implant then filled.

Orange County, California is amongst the top 5 most populous counties in the country. A search for this operation is common for that reason. The number of choices does not change the goal in this case. The goal was moderate size, with a lift included, rather than the extremely prominent breast associated with that Hollywood picture.

The lift and the implant

A breast lift with implant augmentation combines a breast lift, also called mastopexy, with breast augmentation using implants. The lift treats sagging. The implant treats a lack of volume. Together they raise the breast and supply the moderate volume this patient asked for.

Sagging, as this operation treats it, follows pregnancy, breastfeeding, aging, or fluctuations in body weight. In the lift, breast tissue is repositioned and the nipple-areola complex is repositioned. A smaller implant changes volume and profile. It does not move the nipple-areola complex. That is why a lift was still required when severe skin redundancy was absent. The breast lift with implant augmentation on this patient started without severe skin redundancy, and the lift was still the step that set the nipple-areola complex.

Pregnancy, breastfeeding, aging, and a change in weight are the sources named for that sagging. The lift elevates and reshapes. It moves breast tissue. It moves the nipple-areola complex to a higher position on the breast. Volume is a separate concern. An implant answers a lack of volume. In this case the volume added was the smaller implant with a moderate profile, so the raised breast would stay in the moderate size she asked for. An extremely prominent breast was the look she did not choose.

Breast implants in this operation are saline or silicone. Size, shape, and profile are chosen from the patient's goal and from her proportions. This patient chose smaller implants and a moderate profile because that profile matched a moderate size.

Incisions, anesthesia, and implant position

Incisions are made around the areola, in the breast fold, or vertically from the areola to the breast crease. The pattern depends on how much lift is required and on the implant type. Scars follow those incision lines. This case does not name which of the three patterns was used. The absence of severe skin redundancy does not by itself pick the pattern. The pattern is still matched to the amount of lift needed and to the implant.

An incision around the areola follows the edge where the areola meets the breast skin. An incision in the breast fold sits in the crease under the breast. A vertical incision runs from the areola down to the breast crease. Each pattern leaves a scar along that line. How much lift is needed, and which implant is used, decide which line is used. This patient had a lift with a smaller, moderate-profile implant, and the scar follows whichever of those three lines that lift required.

The operation is performed under general anesthesia so the patient is comfortable and free of pain during surgery. The anesthesia plan is discussed before the day of surgery. Excess skin is removed through the chosen incisions. Breast tissue is reshaped to lift and tighten the breast. Those same incisions are the access for placing the implants.

After the lift, the implants are inserted. They can sit beneath the pectoral muscle, which is submuscular placement, or behind the breast tissue, which is subglandular placement. Submuscular placement puts the implant under the pectoral muscle. Subglandular placement puts it behind the breast tissue and in front of that muscle. The pocket depends on the implant type and on anatomy. Her pocket is the one that fits that implant and her chest.

Recovery after the operation

Discomfort and swelling follow the surgery. Pain medication is provided for the initial period. A surgical bra or a compression garment is worn for support and to limit swelling. The garment also supports the breast while the incisions heal.

Recovery times may vary. Most patients return to light activities after a week and return to work within 1 to 2 weeks. Strenuous activity and exercise are avoided for several weeks so the lift and the implant can heal.

Wearing the surgical bra or the compression garment is part of that healing. The garment reduces swelling and holds the breast while the incisions settle. Support matters because the breast has been lifted and an implant has been added in the same operation. Pain medication is for the early discomfort. Swelling is expected while that early period passes.

Shape and volume improve immediately. The final appearance becomes clearer as swelling subsides and the incisions heal. The result can last. Breast implants are not lifetime devices, and they may need replacement later.

Choosing a surgeon for a moderate result

A board-certified plastic surgeon with experience in breast surgery is the starting point. Southern California has many surgeons, and the match is the goal. This patient wanted moderate size, smaller implants, a moderate profile, and a lift. A set of cases that only shows extremely prominent breasts does not demonstrate that goal.

The visit is where the current breast shape is examined and the goal is stated in plain terms. For this patient the exam found no severe skin redundancy, and the stated goal was moderate size. From that exam she chose smaller implants with a moderate profile and added a lift. A surgeon who does breast surgery can walk through saline and silicone, and through size, shape, and profile, against that goal. The same visit is where the incision pattern and the pocket, submuscular or subglandular, are matched to her anatomy and to the implant.

Extremely prominent breasts are what many people expect from a breast operation in Southern California. This patient set that expectation aside. Her first exam did not show severe skin redundancy, and her size goal was moderate. The implant that followed was smaller and moderate in profile. The lift was added so the nipple-areola complex and the breast tissue would sit with that moderate volume. The photographs are that result. They are the front, the oblique, and the side after the operation.

A scar is part of any of the three incision patterns. The line may sit around the areola, in the breast fold, or vertically from the areola to the breast crease. She still chose the lift. Without that lift, the smaller moderate-profile implant would have added volume while leaving the breast tissue and the nipple-areola complex where they were. Moderate size was the goal, and the lift is what gave that size a higher position on the chest.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons describes a breast lift as surgery that raises and reshapes the breast. Breast augmentation with implants is the volume step the same society describes. Readers comparing where to be seen can start with breast augmentation in Orange County and with the breast augmentation locations for the wider region. The combined operation is also described as a lift with implants.