Should I Get a Breast Lift, Breast Augmentation, or Both?

As you consider options for breast enhancement surgery, especially if you’ve recently experienced major changes to your body, it can be difficult to determine which procedure will be most beneficial to you. Women who want to restore fullness and a youthful boost to their breasts after pregnancy or weight loss often struggle to choose between a breast lift and breast augmentation at my Staten Island practice.

Each procedure offers its own benefits , and in many cases, combining them within a single surgery is especially effective. In this blog post, I’ll discuss the benefits of each procedure and explain why many women choose a combination of the two surgeries to achieve a figure that makes them feel amazing.

Should I Get a Breast Augmentation?

The primary goal of breast augmentation is increasing breast volume through the addition of synthetic implants. This can be helpful for women who:

• Naturally have less breast volume. You may feel your breasts are not proportionate with the rest of your body, or you may not feel confident wearing more revealing clothes such as bathing suits or low-cut tops.
• Have asymmetrical breasts. Asymmetry in the breasts is quite common, and breast augmentation can correct it. Placing a larger implant in the smaller breast creates a more balanced figure.
• Want to enhance their cleavage. Round implants can help women achieve greater fullness in the upper pole of their breasts, resulting in more prominent cleavage.

Breast augmentation is typically not the best option for correcting sagging or drooping, however.  Without correcting stretched tissue, implants add weight and can worsen the effects of gravity, rather than “filling out” the loose skin as some women hope.

Should I Get a Breast Lift?

The primary goal of a breast lift is to address sagging tissue and lift the breasts to a higher, more youthful and perky position on the chest. It’s often the best option for women who:

• Have had children. Pregnancy and breastfeeding involve many fluctuations in breast size and can result in a droopy, deflated appearance. Once you are finished having children, a breast lift can correct this.
• Have experienced significant weight loss. Weight loss leads to a decrease in breast volume, which can also result in sagging. A breast lift can put a finishing touch on the body you’ve worked so hard to achieve. It’s sometimes performed alongside a tummy tuck or other skin tightening procedures, which you can learn more about in my previous blog post.
• Have nipples that point downwards. Breast ptosis (sagging in the breasts) is often accompanied by nipples that point downward or hang below the breast fold. A breast lift can reposition the nipples (and resize the areola) to a more youthful placement.

Keep in mind that a breast lift will not add volume. In fact, even though tissue is not removed, some women find their breasts appear slightly smaller because they sit higher and tighter on the chest.

Should I Get a Combined Breast Augmentation and Lift?

The combination of these procedures (called an augmentation mastopexy) can address both sagging breasts and insufficient volume within a single surgery. I recommend this approach if you are looking to achieve a more youthful breast shape while increasing your breast size, whether subtly or more dramatically. It offers the benefits of both procedures while requiring only 1 recovery period, making it much more efficient than having each procedure done separately.

The best way to determine the right procedure for you is to consult in person with a board-certified plastic surgeon who will make recommendations based on an in-depth examination and discussion of your goals.

See examples of the results you can expect after a breast enhancement procedure by visiting our before-and-after photo galleries for breast augmentation and breast lift.

If you would like to learn more about breast lift and augmentation procedures in the Brooklyn, Queens, or Staten Island area, please contact us online or call (718) 720-9400.