Aiming for Higher: The Mastopexy

Wearing your bra as you sleep is not healthy. When you wear a bra 24/7, it can cause breast tissue to shift or sag. This is known as mastopexy and can be corrected through silicone implants or an operation. For many years, bras have been marketed for their ability to give women the “perky” effect that we seem to crave in society today and the same is true in regards to mastopexy. However, there are some issues with this marketing and the general knowledge of mastopexy. It is important to know about the surgery and its effects before deciding on what kind of treatment would be best for you.

The information in this article is based on excerpts from Plastic Surgery Disasters - Prevention, Detection, Correction , a new book by Dr. Randal Haworth and Jan Oldenburg that focuses on the problem of plastic surgery addiction. Randal Haworth practices plastic surgery in San Diego, California. He is the author of over 100 scientific articles on breast implants, facial plastic surgery and reconstructive aesthetic surgery published in peer-reviewed journals. In addition, he has written a number of popular articles and posts on plastic surgery in the lay press. A full list of publications can be found at www.haworthcosmeticsurgery.com . His book " Plastic Surgery Disasters: Prevention, Detection, Correction , is available here

Although most people know that mastopexy surgery can be performed to correct sagging breast tissue after breast augmentation, most are unaware that this is a common alternative to correcting undesirable physical changes after mastopexy and that it often does not even involve implants. In many cases, mastopexy is performed to correct a broad spectrum of physical changes, including menstrual irregularities, pain and other symptoms of chronic physical disorders such as fibrocystic breast changes (often called “bumpy breasts”), an overgrowth of skin on the chest wall in the region of the armpit (known as mammary gland hypertrophy), and fibrosis.

It is my belief that most women who undergo mastopexy surgery do not realize that this is a common treatment for this problem. Few women I have spoken to about their surgery have even heard of mastopexy, much less know what symptoms they can expect from it and how common it is.

A mastopexy can be performed in a number of ways. Most women who have had this surgery have reported to me that they were told it was going to be a small procedure. This is often because the cut used leaves a smaller scar than an implant-based operation, but also because only some of the breast tissue is resected (cut away). Some of the tissue is simply pushed up to achieve the desired result and then anchored with either sutures, tape or internal surgical devices.

The outcome for women who undergo a mastopexy surgery can vary widely depending on how much tissue is removed and where the remaining tissue is placed. Some women may find that it gives them their desired effect, while others have a variety of bothersome symptoms. So what is the difference between a mastopexy and an implant surgery? I asked my colleagues to review my article and many of them thought it was intended to be about implants only. After reading it more carefully, I realized this was not the case, as you will see below...

A mastopexy can be performed in several different ways. One way involves removing some breast tissue from each breast, leaving behind fat as well as some natural nipple sensation. Another way involves removing about the same amount of breast tissue from each breast, leaving behind fat as well as some natural nipple sensation. A third way involves removing up to the same amount of breast tissue from each breast, leaving behind fat as well as some natural nipple sensation. What is the difference between these three ways of performing mastopexy? This depends on how much of the remaining breast tissue is left after surgery, and how it is used to correct sagging breasts. For instance, in the first method, the remaining tissue can be spread over a wider area to give a more natural breast appearance and to minimize nipple sensation loss. In the second method, the remaining tissue is spread over a wider area as well as some of it being left behind under the armpit (mammary gland hypertrophy). In the third method, which is sometimes called “dual plane” mastopexy surgery, some of the tissue is left behind under the armpit (mammary gland hypertrophy) while other is spread over a wider area to give a more natural breast appearance.

This is the mastopexy operation that was performed on a 24 year-old woman in the US. She had a mammary gland hypertrophy and sagging breasts, as well as chronic pain in her fibrocystic breasts. She underwent two operations to correct these problems, but her breast shape remained unsatisfactory until she underwent another operation to correct these problems.

The mastopexy surgery performed based on this diagram involves removing breast tissue from each breast and then moving the remaining breast tissue over a wider area using implants, clips or a combination of both. In the past, this kind of mastopexy surgery has been known as a “lollipop” mastopexy because of the way that the nipple-areola complex was usually moved. However, today it is also common to move the nipple-areola complex in a different way by simply moving some of the remaining tissue into a position over a wider nipple area.

Conclusion

Regardless of how much breast tissue is removed, the outcome for mastopexy surgery can vary widely depending on how the remaining tissue is used to correct sagging breasts. Some women may find it gives them their desired effect, while others have a variety of bothersome symptoms. Despite these differences in outcomes, if the skin and nipple-areola complex are moved in such a way that they hang well below the armpit and there is a significant amount of cleavage absent when viewed from above (as in the diagram above), it could be termed a “lollipop” mastopexy without implying that it was performed using this technique.