Can I Get a Breast Lift With Implants?

Yes! While some doctors prefer to do two separate operations – the breast lift first followed a few months later by the breast augmentation – Dr. Ted Eisenberg performs both procedures at the same time. It’s called a simultaneous augmentation mastopexy. He uses his groundbreaking I.D.E.A.L. Breast Lift technique, which has simplified this challenging procedure. He teaches his technique to doctors from around the world. 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.

In 2010, Dr. Eisenberg was interviewed for an article in New You magazine about the technique he created, which he also uses for breast lift surgery. Below is an excerpt. 

Perk Up: Pregnancy, Weight Loss and Aging Can Get the ‘Girls’ Down, But Breast Lift Surgery Can Restore Their Joie de Vivre

By Rochelle Nataloni

For 26-year-old Rachael L. (not her real name), breast lift surgery came to the rescue following a weight loss that left her with breasts that didn’t suit her otherwise fit and youthful body. “I had lost some weight that I had put on in college, and I wanted to be perkier again,” explains Rachael, who considered a breast lift (or mastopexy) for a little over a year before deciding to move forward with the procedure.

Rachael opted to have the surgery performed by Dr. Ted Eisenberg, a board certified plastic surgeon whose name is synonymous with cosmetic breast surgery in Philadelphia and the surrounding Delaware Valley. Watch one woman’s video blog of her experience before, during and after her breast lift surgery.

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. [WATCH OUR VIDEO: Do I Need a Lift?]

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.

“After years of using this approach, I had an ‘aha moment’ and thought: What if I tacked the skin together first?” Dr. Eisenberg explained.

His innovation, 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.

“The I.D.E.A.L. Breast Lift increases precision for the surgeon and offers significant benefits for the patient, as well,” explains Dr. Eisenberg, who had taught his approach to doctors from around the world.

“It cuts down on anesthesia time because I don’t have to go back and forth readjusting the amount of tissue that needs to be removed. It also creates the maximum amount of symmetry and lift in the shortest period of time.”

The approach is especially beneficial for women who have a moderate to severe degree of droopiness. They can achieve good results regardless of their breast size or the difference in size of their breasts.

Stellar surgical technique is necessary for a successful outcome, but Dr. Eisenberg points out that the consultation is perhaps equally critical. “I always ask a patient to tell me how she feels when she looks at herself in the mirror in her bra. If she likes the way her breasts fill out her bra, then a lift is the right procedure, but if she wishes she had more volume, I can add an implant and do a combination augmentation lift with saline or silicone gel breast implants,” he explains.

During consultation, Dr. Eisenberg explains that significant weight gain and/or pregnancy are the main factors that can affect the newly lifted breasts and could possibly cause them to droop again. Read “7 Things to Consider Before Breast Lift Surgery.”

“Many women who are planning to have children sooner than later wait to have the surgery until after giving birth,” said Rachael. “But since I’m a long way off from that stage of my life, I decided to get it done now and enjoy the results.”

Women who consider the procedure often worry about the loss of nipple sensation or their ability to breastfeed in the future. Scarring is a concern as well. Dr. Eisenberg explains that while not all women are capable of breastfeeding, the surgery may not impact their ability one way or the other. As far as sensation, Rachael says, “I have all the sensation after surgery that I had before.”

“Dr. Eisenberg told me that the degree of scarring varies from person to person, but that most women heal nicely. I’ll always have some signs of the breast lift when I’m naked, but for me it’s minimal and worth it considering the great results,” Rachael said.

To read more: I Used to Have Perky Breasts: What Happened?