I.D.E.A.L.® Breast Lift Philadelphia

Looking to perk up your sagging breasts? Philadelphia plastic surgeon Dr. Ted Eisenberg is the creator of the I.D.E.A.L. Breast Lift. This groundbreaking technique, which Dr. Eisenberg published in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and teaches to doctors around the world, raises and reshapes the breasts, giving them a more youthful look. Click here to read the article’s abstract.

When Casey, a popular Philadelphia DJ, wanted a breast lift, she chose Dr. Eisenberg to perform her surgery. She documented her experience before, during and after surgery in an intimate and entertaining 8-part video blog. Watch her candid video series below. Read recent patient reviews here.

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Why Do Breasts Sag?

Breasts can start drooping at any age depending on your genes and the elasticity of your skin. For the most part, your breasts are made up of fatty tissue, so you breasts might get smaller and droopier if you lose 10 percent or more of your body weight.

When you are pregnant, the developing placenta stimulates the release of hormones, causing your milk glands – and your breasts – to grow and swell. This rapid growth can also cause the skin to stretch. When the milk is gone, some women are left with less breast volume and/or droopiness. To know your true post-pregnancy breast size, it’s best to wait at least six months from the time you give birth or from the time you stop breastfeeding, whichever is later, before having cosmetic breast surgery.

Breast Lift Breast Augmentation Dr. Ted Eisenberg

Are You a Candidate for a Breast Lift?

To see if you are a candidate for a breast lift, try this “pencil test.” Place a pencil horizontally along the crease under your breast where your bra band would rest. Look in the mirror. Is the position of the nipple itself (not the areola) above, at, or below the crease?

If your nipples hangs below the pencil, you would be a candidate for a breast lift. It would restore your breasts to a more youthful look by repositioning the nipples at a higher position and removing excess skin.

If your breasts are mildly droopy (with the nipple above or at the crease), the approach is not as clear-cut; it depends on how much of a pick-me-up you are hoping for. Obviously there are other measurements done during your free consultation – without a pencil – to help you decide if a breast lift is the right choice for you

A saline or silicone gel implant placed behind the pectoral muscle might help create the illusion of perkiness. That’s because as the implant fills out the top of the breast, it also fills out the bottom, making it look as if the nipple has moved higher. It hasn’t. A silicone gel implant placed in front of the pectoral muscle might create the same illusion.

Should You Get Breast Implants With Your Lift?

To determine if you want a breast lift and breast implants, put on your bra and look in the mirror. If you are satisfied with the size of your breasts, then a breast lift alone might be the right procedure for you. If you wish that your breasts were bigger, you are probably a candidate for a breast lift with implants (an augmentation mastopexy).

While some doctors prefer to do two separate operations – the breast lift first followed a few months later by the augmentation – Dr. Eisenberg performs both procedures at the same time using his original I.D.E.A.L. Breast Lift technique. It’s known as a simultaneous augmentation mastopexy. Having one surgery rather than two reduces the time that you are under anesthesia. It is a safe operation that takes about 3-1/2 hours.

“I feel sexy, vibrant and ready to take on the world.” – Olivia P.

Breast Lift Cost

Prices around the country range from about $5,000 to $10,000 for breast lift surgery. If it’s combined with a breast augmentation (an augmentation mastopexy), expect to pay an additional $3,500 for saline implants and $4,500 for silicone. On your initial phone call, our friendly, experienced staff will discuss the cost, financing options, and our payment policy. Dr. Eisenberg’s price is all-inclusive. It includes his surgical fee, hospital and anesthesia costs, smooth breast implants, laboratory tests, and all postoperative visits – usually at 1 week, 3 weeks, 3 months and 9 months.

The I.D.E.A.L. Breast Lift Technique

Dr. Eisenberg’s practice is dedicated entirely to cosmetic breast surgery; he’s performed over 7,000 breast surgeries including lifts, augmentations and a combination of the two. Because he focuses exclusively on breasts, he’s developed improvements to the conventional breast lift technique.

The traditional plastic surgery approach is to remove the excess skin on one side and tack it back together to see how it looks. Surgeons repeat the process on the other side and compare. If the breasts aren’t even, they go back and forth and back and forth, trimming skin until they get it right.

Dr. Eisenberg’s innovative approach, which he calls “previsualization,” relies on the use of surgical staples to temporarily fasten or “tailor tack” the breasts into their new higher position, enabling him to see exactly how they’ll will look before he makes a single incision. “With this technique, I know precisely how much skin needs to be removed. It takes the guesswork out of the procedure,” he says, adding, “The staple-first technique exemplifies the expression: Measure twice, cut once.”

During this breast lift procedure, Dr. Eisenberg makes an incision around the nipple-areola, vertically down and then along the underside of the breasts. The stretched skin is removed, the nipple/areola is lifted, and dissolvable stitches are placed to hold the breasts in their new perky position.

Women can achieve good results, regardless of their breast size or the difference in the size of their breasts. See before and after photos here.

Dr. Eisenberg’s I.D.E.A.L. Breast lift technique has been published in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the journal of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery; in the atlas Cosmetic Surgery: Art and Techniques; and featured in Cosmetic Surgery Times. For details, click here.

Breast Lift Surgery

At your free consultation, you’ll see pictures of the breast lift incision, which is anchor-like in shape; it goes around the nipple, extends from the nipple down to the breast fold and then in the breast fold itself. Healing is usually very good and is helped by Dr. Eisenberg’s use of dissolvable stitches, which do not have to be removed.

During surgery, Dr. Eisenberg repositions the nipples at a higher position and removes the excess skin. When the remaining skin is tightened, it creates a natural sling – like a new bra – to support and lift the breasts.

Dr. Eisenberg performs his I.D.E.A.L. Breast Lift surgery in the safety of the operating room at Nazareth Hospital, one of the region’s top facilities, with sensitive and competent registered nurses and certified anesthesiologists. On the day of surgery, your support person can stay with you until you are transferred to the operating room. That means he or she can be by your side when you meet the anesthesiologist and when Dr. Eisenberg marks the incision site, takes pictures for you and your records, and reviews your postoperative medications and diet. Then you’ll have to say goodbye – or ta-ta!

Dr. Eisenberg has developed a medication protocol to minimize post-operative nausea and vomiting during breast implant and breast lift surgery.

The procedure takes about two hours. After surgery, you will be cared for in the recovery room by skilled and compassionate nurses until you are ready to go home later the same day. You must arrange for someone to drive you home.

“From the moment I walked into your office, I knew I was making the right decision.” – Alicia W.

After your lift, your breasts will be the same size as they were before surgery because only excess, stretched skin is removed; no breast tissue is taken away. You’ll look exactly how you looked before surgery when you are wearing a good bra. After surgery, your bare breasts might appear to be smaller than they used to because the surgery shortened and tightened them. The change in size is just an illusion.

Recovery After Breast Lift Surgery

Patients report to us that they have minimal discomfort after breast lift surgery. That’s because a breast lift involves removing only loose, stretched skin. If breast implants are added at the same time, the skin and muscle will be stretched, which may cause a little more discomfort. Dr. Eisenberg will prescribe medications to make you more comfortable during this period.

More than 90 percent of patients are back to work on the fifth day after surgery if they work in an office setting. Women whose work requires lifting, pushing or pulling usually go back to work toward the end of the second week. They might be a little sore at the end of their work day, but by Week 3, they feel pretty much back to normal.

  • You can shower the day after surgery.
  • By the third day, many women are able to comfortably lift their children; they can also drive if they are not taking narcotics.
  • Your first postoperative visit is usually within a week. Your stitches are dissolvable, so there are no stitches to remove at this visit — or ever.
  • There are no drains to be removed either; they are never used.
  • Patients can generally return to aerobic activity in three weeks and upper body weightlifting in six weeks.
  • You shouldn’t soak your incisions in a bathtub, pool or hot tub for six weeks.

After Breast Lift Surgery

How long does a breast lift last? A breast lift has long-lasting results. As you age, the newly positioned nipple and areola will generally stay above the inframammary fold. However, future pregnancies or significant weight changes can undo some of the improvement and cause your breasts to sag again.

Will I be able to breastfeed? The likelihood is very strong that breast lift surgery won’t affect your ability to breastfeed because your milk ducts, which run from the mammary glands to the nipple, are not disturbed. Only skin from the perimeter of the areola is removed, and there are no milk ducts there.

What will happen to my breasts if I lose weight after my lift? For the most part, your breasts are made up of fatty tissue, so they might get smaller and droopier if you lose 10 percent or more of your body weight.

“I left your office after a 14-year checkup feeling overwhelmed by your caring and genuine nature. It was nice to be treated with the same respect 14 years later as when I first walked into your office. This meant so much to me. You are so appreciated. The world needs more doctors like you.” – Frankie