With age, women’s breasts naturally begin to sag. A breast lift can help restore your breasts to their once youthful appearance. Located in Phoenix and serving residents in or around the Greater Phoenix area, such as Ahwatukee, Chandler and Gilbert, board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Larry C. Leverett of Body By Leverett can help reverse gravity and give you younger, perkier looking breasts.
What is a Breast Lift?
A breast lift is technically known as a mastopexy. Over the years, factors such as pregnancy, nursing and the force of gravity take their toll on a woman’s breasts. As the skin loses its elasticity, the breasts often lose their shape and firmness and begin to sag. Dr. Leverett will perform a thorough evaluation to determine if a lift is required to obtain the results you desire.
A breast lift, or mastopexy, is a surgical procedure to raise and reshape sagging breasts. Mastopexy can also reduce the size of the areola, the darker skin surrounding the nipple. If your breasts are small or have lost volume due to pregnancy, breast implants inserted in conjunction with mastopexy can increase both firmness and size.
How Much Does a Breast Lift Cost?
The cost of a breast lift varies from patient to patient depending on the extent of surgery and the number of procedures needed to achieve your desired results. Most insurance companies consider breast lifts to be an elective cosmetic procedure and, therefore, do not generally cover the costs. To help make breast lifts more affordable and accessible to his patients, Dr. Leverett offers financing through CareCredit® and Prosper Healthcare Lending. Our office also accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, cash and cashier’s checks.
Benefits of a Breast Lift
The results of a breast lift can have a tremendous impact on your overall self-esteem and personal life. Many women decide to have a breast lift to help turn back the clock and restore their sagging breasts to their upright position. Other benefits of a breast lift include:
- Improves self-esteem and self-confidence
- Gives the breasts a younger appearance
- Restores natural shape of the breasts
- Can be combined with other breast enhancement procedures
Dual Plane Technique
Get a breast lift without the scar!
Dr. Leverett has extensive experience with breast augmentation using the dual plane technique. With a dual plane breast augmentation, the implants are placed under the muscle in the upper portion of the breast and over the muscle in the lower portion. In many cases, this allows patients experiencing minor droop, known as ptosis, to achieve a lifted appearance without the standard external breast lift incision. Patients are able to maintain a smooth transition with the muscle coverage superiorly yet enhance the lift inferiorly. By placing the implant partially under the muscle, you maintain great blood supply to the nipple and minimize distortion for mammography. Should you decide to have a formal lift in the future, you are able to do so while keeping the implants.
You can discuss your breast augmentation surgery options, including the dual plane technique, with our experienced board-certified plastic surgeon at your complimentary cosmetic consultation.
Benefits of the dual plane technique:
- Restore fullness.
- More natural appearance.
- One inconspicuous incision.
- Reduced rate of capsular contracture.
Your Breast Lift Surgery
Most patients have breast surgery using local IV sedation, allowing for a quick recovery and minimal post-surgical nausea. The procedure is performed on an outpatient basis.
Incisions and Scarring
There are multiple incision options for breast lift patients. Upon analysis of your frame, Dr. Leverett will review with you all of your options and the expectation with each option. Types of breast lift incisions include standard (anchor), modified standard (lollipop), circumareolar and crescent. Dr. Leverett has done extensive work with post-surgical scar management. To ensure that your incision is minimal, he uses dissolvable sutures and post-surgical scar management protocols for various skin types.
Nipple Sensation
There is always a risk of nipple sensation loss. However, it is very uncommon for patients to experience a permanent loss of sensation. Many patients will have heightened or lessened sensation following the procedure, with an expected return to normal four to six months after surgery.
Breast Lift Recovery
Most patients return to work in seven to 10 days depending on the physical requirements of their job. Patients can drive when they discontinue taking pain medication, which on average is five to seven days. If an implant is used, muscle soreness commonly persists for 10 to 14 days and varies amongst patients. Many return to their regular exercise routine around four to six weeks after surgery.
Smoking and Breast Lift Surgery
Dr. Leverett recommends that you quit smoking prior to any surgery, as the healing process is slowed because smoking decreases the amount of oxygen in the blood. With breast lift patients, it is even more important to quit smoking. Depending on the type of lift, there can be a high number of incisions. Compromising the amount of oxygen to those tissues can lead to a higher risk of infection, ugly scarring, implant removal and tissue death.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it True That Breast Augmentation Can Cause Cancer?
Many people hold the belief that breast augmentation implants can cause cancer. This is, in fact, false. Breast implants add no risk of breast cancer. However, certain types of breast implants have been linked to a higher risk of developing anaplastic large-cell lymphoma, a non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma but Dr. Leverett does not use these types of implants.
Are Breast Implants Covered by Medical Insurance?
As a cosmetic procedure, breast augmentations and breast implants are typically not covered by medical insurance. However, if you are receiving breast implants as a component of a breast reconstruction procedure, part or all of the cost may be covered.
Do Breast Implants Go Under the Muscle?
Patients actually have the option to choose whether their breast implants go underneath or on top of the muscles in the chest. Placement under the muscle may require a longer recovery period, but often produces results that look and feel more natural. With implants placed above the muscle, recovery is often shorter.
Is it Normal to Gain Weight After Breast Augmentation?
Breast surgery does in fact leave scars, but the exact size and location of these scars will depend on the surgical approach of your treatment. In any case, your surgeon will make every effort to make incisions in a discreet location, so that any scarring will be well-hidden by clothing and swimwear.
Does Breast Surgery Leave Scars?
Breast surgery does in fact leave scars, but the exact size and location of these scars will depend on the surgical approach of your treatment. In any case, your surgeon will make every effort to make incisions in a discreet location, so that any scarring will be well-hidden by clothing and swimwear.
Are your breasts drooping more than usual? Board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Larry C. Leverett of Body By Leverett helps residents in or around the Greater Phoenix area, such as Ahwatukee, Chandler and Gilbert, restore their youthful-looking breasts while also increasing their self-esteem. Contact our office today to find out more about breast lift procedures.