10 Things To Consider Before A Breast Lift – Dr. Ted Eisenberg

Are you a candidate for a breast lift? Should you also consider implants? What can you expect during recovery? Here are 10 things consider.

Consider This Before Any Breast Lift With or Without Breast Augmentation

  1. A breast lift, or mastopexy, raises and firms your breasts, giving them a more youthful look. Dr. Ted Eisenberg accomplishes this by removing the excess skin, moving the nipples to a new, higher position, and suturing the remaining tissue together to create a sling – essentially a natural support bra – that raises and reshapes your breasts.
  1. To determine if you are a candidate for a breast lift, try the “pencil test.” Take off your bra and look in the mirror. Place a pencil horizontally along the crease under your breast where your bra band would rest. Does your nipple – not your areola – rest above, below, or at the pencil?
  1. If your nipple is above the pencil, relax. You are probably not a candidate for breast lift surgery. Use some of the money you save for new, uplifting bras.
  1. If your nipple hangs below the pencil, your breasts would be considered moderately to severely ptotic (or droopy) and you would need a breast lift to raise and reshape your breasts.
  1. If your nipple is at the pencil and your breasts are mildly droopy, it’s a borderline situation. You might get a good result with breast implants alone because a breast augmentation can give the illusion of a lift. As the implant fills out the upper portion of the breast, it also fills out the lower portion, which makes it appear as if the nipple is located higher on the breast. After about 9 months, when the implant has settled, you’ll have a better idea if you are perky enough. You can always get a lift later if needed.
  2. After a lift, your breasts will be the same size as they were before surgery, because only excess, stretched skin is removed during a breast lift; no breast tissue is taken away. You’ll look exactly how you look before surgery when you are wearing a good bra.
  1. To determine if you need a breast lift and 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 your breasts were bigger, you are probably a candidate for a breast lift and implants (an augmentation mastopexy). Read about the difference between saline and silicone implants here.
  2. Women report minimal discomfort after breast lift surgery. That’s because a breast lift involves removing only loose, stretched skin. If implants are added at the same time, the skin and muscle will be stretched, which may cause a little more discomfort.
  3. It’s very likely 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.
  4. More than 90 percent of my 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.

My Experience With Breast Lift Surgery

Before: “Over the years, I gained and lost a lot of weight, and it took a toll on my chest – loose skin, hanging breasts. My breasts and my spirits needed a lift.” After: “Breast lift surgery shifted my whole sense of myself as a woman. I gained unexpected confidence, pride and sensuality.” – Michelle

Before: “After I had my second baby, my breasts drooped and pretty much disappeared. I wanted to get the volume back and restore some of the perkiness I had before I had children.”  After: “Now I can wear anything I want, and I feel comfortable, sexy and confident again. Surgery gave me a new and improved version of the old me.” – Tiffany

Before: “For so many years, I was ashamed of how my breast looked and how much they changed after breastfeeding.” After: “Now I honestly feel and look beautiful again. You as my doctor were so caring, detailed and gave me what I truly needed. Your staff is also amazing. Words cannot express how happy I am with ‘my girls.'” – Dana

A well-known Philadelphia DJ chose Dr. Eisenberg to do her breast lift surgery. [WATCH HER VIDEO BLOG about her experience.]