Breast enhancement surgery is an effective way to give your breasts fullness and restore a youthful body contour. It can be difficult to know which procedure will best help you meet your aesthetic goals, however. If you are unsure which breast procedure is right for you, consider these basic differences between a breast lift and breast augmentation.
What is a Breast Lift?
A breast lift is a surgical procedure that addresses sagging breasts and restores them to a more youthful position on the chest. It also removes excess skin and tissue that may be contributing to a more aged body contour. A breast lift may be recommended to reverse changes that occurred to the breasts after pregnancy and breastfeeding. It can also help breasts that have begun sagging due to weight loss or the aging process.
What is Breast Augmentation?
Breast augmentation is a procedure that increases the size and fullness of the breasts, usually through the placement of implants. Implants come in a variety of shapes and sizes and are carefully chosen to produce the desired results while maintaining the proportion of the entire body contour. Breast augmentation may also be recommended for breast changes that occurred during pregnancy and breastfeeding, if those changes involved a decrease in breast size.
Which Procedure is Right for Me?
Women that are strictly concerned about the size of their breasts typically select breast augmentation. This is especially true for younger women that have not yet experienced any significant change to the breast, but are simply unhappy with the amount of fullness they currently have. If you are self-conscious about the size of your breasts, or you have trouble finding clothing that fits around both the chest and the hips, breast augmentation may help you achieve your goals.
Women that have noticed significant ptosis (sagging of the breasts) are usually better candidates for a breast lift. You can evaluate the extent of your sagging by placing a pencil under your breast. If the pencil remains in place, your sagging is likely to be significant. Another clue is the position of the nipples. If they point downward, sagging has occurred and a breast lift may be in order to restore the breast position and place the nipples in a more aesthetically pleasing location on the breast.
Do I Need Both?
Some women will benefit from both a breast lift and augmentation. This is particularly true of women that have noticed both sagging and a size reduction after having children. Your plastic surgeon will talk to you about your concerns and your aesthetic goals to help you decide if one or both procedures will be the best option.
Dr. Geoffrey Leber performs hundreds of breast procedures at his Scottsdale office. He can help you make the choices for your procedure that will give you natural, beautiful results. To learn more, contact Dr. Leber at 480-945-5522.