Breast Lift Atlanta - Dr. Jones’s Options and Special Techniques for Breast Lift

Candidates for Atlanta Breast Lift

Plastic surgeons, including Dr. Jones, measure the drooping of the breast by how far the nipple has fallen—usually in relation to the base of the breast, also called the inframammary fold (IMF). IMF is the fold at the bottom of the breast, the place where the chest and the breast converge. In a young woman’s breast, with no history of pregnancy or breastfeeding, the nipple is slightly above the IMF. This is also referred to as a normal breast posture (Figure 1). In the first degree ptosis (or sagging), the breast droops mildly (Figure 2). The nipple is located at the IMF. In the second degree ptosis, the breast sagging is moderate, and the nipple rests just below the IMF (Figure 3). In the third degree ptosis, the sagging is advanced, and the nipple sets significantly below the IMF (Figure 4).

Approach Options in Breast Lift

A breast lift candidate’s essential dilemma is that the skin container for the breast is larger than the breast contents. The surgeon has three principal options to correct the problem.

First, the surgeon can increase the amount of material inside the loose bag of skin. This is accomplished by adding a breast implant. However, this option increases the size of the breast, which may or may not be desirable for the patient.

The second option is to excise the extra skin, thus making the container smaller. This alternative does not change the volume of the breast in a significant way. Naturally, the amount of skin excision and consequent scarring are directly related to the amount of drooping to be corrected.

The third alternative is to combine the two techniques—to add a breast implant and excise some of the skin. For safety reasons, the breast implant needs to be placed under the muscle whenever the breast skin is excised at the same time. This choice results in less scarring than the second option above, because adding the breast implant allows the surgeon to do a smaller skin excision than without the implant. In many cases, this combination option results in the most natural looking and feeling final outcome. Dr. Jones recommends to stage the two procedures. First, complete the breast augmentation with the implant, then wait for six weeks to the let the situation settle; and finally, fine-tune the operation by excising any unnecessary skin. Staging the operations gives more predictability to the final outcome by allowing Dr. Jones to tweak the final posture after the implant has settled behind the breast muscle. In addition, it may result is less scarring in the end, because the excising can be done more accurately given the settled implant position.

Types of Skin Excisions

Skin excisions result in small, medium, or large amounts of scarring depending on the amount of skin excised.

In a small breast lift, also called Benelli breast lift, the scarring is minimal, but it only works with small breasts. In this type of a lift, the surgeon excises a doughnut shaped area around the darker skin of the areola and the nipple (Figure 5). The subsequent scar is only around the areola, and Dr. Jones’s suture technique makes the scar usually a fine scar. He assigns the credit to what he has coined the Stanford stitch and the Paris trick. Stanford stitching is a special way to close the incision so that the width of the scar is minimized. It allows the stitches to remain longer

without leaving stitch marks, thus resulting in a stronger, thinner scar. Dr. Jones learned this technique while he was a resident at Stanford University. A trick he learned in Paris allows him to remove the stitches easily and painlessly, leaving the healed wound unaffected.

In a medium breast lift, also called dufourmental breast lift, the skin excised is an ice-cream cone shaped area around the areola and the bottom side of the breast (Figure 6). The skin removed from below the areola on a horizontal plane eliminates some of the stretched skin and helps create the lift.

In a large breast lift, also called an anchor lift, a significant amount of skin is removed from around the areola and the bottom and the side areas of the breast. The name anchor

lift comes from the resulting shape of the scarring (Figure 7). The scarring is considerable because so much stretched skin has to be removed. This approach is applied when the patient has advanced level of droopiness. It is also commonly performed in a breast reduction. Though the scars in the anchor lift are the most noteworthy of all breast lifts, the lifting is also substantial.

A Few Words about Scarring

Scarring is inevitable in any breast lift. By definition, removing areas of skin requires cutting and thus results in scarring. However, breast lifting is devised so that the scars are at or below the nipple level. This minimizes their visibility to the normal onlooker. In most cases, it takes about 6-18 months for the scars in the breast area to mature and fade to their final shape and color. No surgeon can predict the final scar appearance with 100% certainty prior to surgery—especially breast lift. This is an important consideration for the patient. Dr. Jones often recommends adding the implant before the skin excision for the lift, especially for patients concerned about scarring and the final fully lifted look.

Your Next Steps

A consultation with Dr. Jones is easily the best and the most accurate way to learn more about breast lift that is most suitable for you. Dr. Jones will discuss your concerns with you and explain the options to consider. He will work with you to determine a surgical plan that best suits your needs to create the results you desire.

Please call Dr. Jones to schedule a consultation or for more information about the breast lift.