Breasts

Looking to fix poor areola scarring after breast lift? Many patients have undergone the suboptimal peri-areolar breast lift popularized as the Benelli Lift. Unfortunately, this breast lift is limited by virtue of a purse-string suture used to lift the nipple and areola tissues. The result of placing all of the tension on the areola is a poor areola scar characterized by the starburst effect.

In addition, since incision lines are limited to only around the areola, a suboptimal breast lift is observed on the order of 1 to 2 cm when most patients would benefit from a 4 to 5 cm lift at a minimum. Finally, the peri-areolar lift does not allow for the optimal reshaping of the breast. This will result in residual ptosis of the lower breast tissues.

When performing breast lifts for breast lift round out, it is critical to gauge the lower breast pole during breast tissue in-setting. This is because the lower breast pole tissues are very dynamic. Often, they will shift and stretch out even within three to six months. Thus, the typical complaint I observe on social question and answer platform, is why are more nipples pointing upward?

This side effect occurs very frequently as the lower breast pole gives out and results in what we call bottoming out. Bottoming out occurs when the weight of the breast pushes on the lower breast skin and makes it stretch out.

Redness over the lower breast mound following breast lift is unavoidable in the early postoperative period. As a medical advisory member on Realself, an online question and answer platform for patients, I observe this concern from patients routinely.

The most common concern is whether the redness over the lower breast following breast lift is an infection. The redness can be quite bright and concerning for patients who worry about their incision lines acting as a source of breast incision line contamination and subsequent infection. In particular, breast lift incisions are prone to poor healing.