Breast Lift in Milwaukee

Depending on your age and family history, your surgeon may require you to have a mammogram (breast x-ray) before surgery. You’ll also get specific instructions on how to prepare for surgery, including guidelines on eating and drinking, smoking, and taking or avoiding certain vitamins and medications.

While you’re making preparations, you must arrange for someone to drive you home after your surgery and to help you out for a few days if you live alone.

Your breast lift will most likely be performed in one of our office-based surgical suites. We use a local anesthetic with intravenous sedation (twilight sleep) for patients undergoing a breast lift procedure. Our medical staff will monitor your physical status throughout the surgery and during your recovery. The procedure generally takes 2-4 hours and then we care for you in the recovery room for at least one hour before you are discharged. Breast lift surgery is usually done on an outpatient basis, for cost containment and convenience. However, you always have an option for having the procedure performed in our office, an ambulatory surgical center or a hospital.

Breast lifts are usually performed under IV sedation or general anesthesia, which means you’ll sleep through the operation.

In selected patients-particularly when a smaller incision is being made-the surgeon may use local anesthesia, combined with a sedative to make you drowsy. You’ll be awake but relaxed, and will feel minimal discomfort.

In your initial consultation, it’s important to discuss your expectations frankly with our plastic surgeon, and to listen to his opinion. Every patient and every physician, as well has a different view of what is a desirable size and shape for breasts.

Our board certified plastic surgeons will examine your breasts and measure them while you’re sitting or standing. He will discuss the variables that may affect the procedure-such as your age, the size and shape of your breasts, and the condition of your skin, and whether an implant is advisable. You should also discuss where the nipple and areola will be positioned; they’ll be moved higher during the procedure, and should be approximately even with the crease beneath your breast.

Your surgeon will describe the procedure in detail, explaining its risks and limitations and making sure you understand the scarring that will result. He will also explain the anesthesia to be used, the type of facility where the surgery will be performed, and the costs involved.

Don’t hesitate to ask your doctor any questions you may have, especially those regarding your expectations and concerns about the results.

Mastopexy usually takes two to four hours. Techniques vary, but the most common procedure involves an anchor-shaped incision following the natural contour of the breast.

The incision outlines the area from which breast skin will be removed and defines the new location for the nipple. When the excess skin has been removed, the nipple and areola are moved to the higher position. The skin surrounding the areola is then brought down and together to reshape the breast. Stitches are usually located around the areola, in a vertical line extending downwards from the nipple area, and along the lower crease of the breast.

Some patients, especially those with relatively small breasts and minimal sagging, may be candidates for modified procedures requiring less extensive incisions. One such procedure is the “doughnut (or concentric) mastopexy,” in which circular incisions are made around the areola, and a doughnut-shaped area of skin is removed.

If you’re having an implant inserted along with your breast lift, it will be placed in a pocket directly under the breast tissue, or deeper, under the muscle of the chest wall.

After surgery, you’ll wear an elastic bandage or a surgical bra over gauze dressings. Your breasts will be bruised, swollen, and uncomfortable for a day or two, but the pain shouldn’t be severe.
Within a few days, the bandages or surgical bra will be replaced by a soft support bra. You’ll need to wear this bra around the clock for three to four weeks, over a layer of gauze. The stitches will be removed after a week or two.

If your breast skin is very dry following surgery, you can apply a moisturizer several times a day. Be careful not to tug at your skin in the process, and keep the moisturizer away from the suture areas.

You can expect some loss of feeling in your nipples and breast skin, caused by the swelling after surgery. This numbness usually fades as the swelling subsides over the next six weeks or so. In some patients, however, it may last a year or more, and occasionally it may be permanent.

Your surgeon will make every effort to make your scars as inconspicuous as possible. Still, it’s important to remember that mastopexy scars are extensive and permanent. They often remain lumpy and red for months, then gradually become less obvious, sometimes eventually fading to thin white lines. Fortunately, the scars can usually be placed so that you can wear even low-cut tops.

You should also keep in mind that a breast lift won’t keep you firm forever. The effects of gravity, pregnancy, aging, and weight fluctuations will eventually take their toll again.

Your satisfaction with a breast lift is likely to be greater if you understand the procedure thoroughly and if your expectations are realistic. A consultation with one of our board certified plastic surgeons will outline the procedure and care you will receive with a Mastopexy procedure. Call 414-963-0500 to schedule a private consultation.

A breast lift is not a simple operation, but it’s normally safe when performed by a qualified plastic surgeon. Nevertheless, as with any surgery, there is always a possibility of complications or a reaction to the anesthesia. Bleeding and infection following a breast lift are uncommon, but they can cause scars to widen. You can reduce your risks by closely following your physician’s advice both before and after surgery.

Mastopexy does leave noticeable, permanent scars, although they’ll be covered by your bra or bathing suit. (Poor healing and wider scars are more common in smokers.) The procedure can also leave you with unevenly positioned nipples, or a permanent loss of feeling in your nipples or breasts

A breast lift is relatively straightforward. But as with any operation, there are risks associated with surgery, there is always a possibility of complications, including bleeding, infection, or reaction to the anesthesia. Slow or poor wound healing along the suture line as well as fat necrosis is a possibility, especially in association with obesity, diabetes and smoking. We recommend that our patients stop smoking for at least 6 weeks before and after surgery. You can reduce your risks by closely following our medical team’s advice both before and after surgery.