As you explore your options for breast augmentation, you may find yourself wondering whether you should combine a breast lift with your breast implants. Many women pursue breast enhancement with the goal of achieving both increased volume and a perkier breast shape and position. But when is a single procedure sufficient, and when is a combined approach necessary?
In this blog post, I’ll discuss the benefits of combining procedures and provide some guidance about who may benefit from each approach.
Benefits of Combining a Breast Lift With Implants
A breast lift with implants lifts the breast to address stretched skin and sagging while also adding volume and shape. The procedure is especially popular among women who have had children because it addresses both the drooping and the deflation that commonly occur after breastfeeding.
While breast augmentation has long been the most popular breast enhancement procedure, women are increasingly opting for breast lifts or a combination of both, according to statistics from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
How Do I Know if a Breast Lift With Implants Is Right for Me?
A breast lift with implants is likely right for you if you are looking to improve your breast shape while also increasing size or fullness.
Breast Lift
A breast lift alone will lift and reshape the breasts, but it may not restore fullness in the upper portion of the breast if you don’t have enough breast tissue. I often recommend a small implant for that reason.
Breast Implants
Breast augmentation alone will add volume and fullness to the breasts, but it won’t address significant sagging, drooping, or stretched skin.
If weight loss, aging, or breastfeeding have caused deflation, adding a breast lift may create a more attractive result.
Breast Lift With Implants Before and After
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Is the Recovery Time Longer for the Combined Procedure?
Because you’ll heal from both procedures at the same time, combining them doesn’t add more recovery time. However, including implants with your lift will affect your timeline for returning to exercise, physically demanding jobs, and some household chores. I insert the implants under part of the pectoralis muscle, and it takes 3 weeks for the body to create a capsule around the implant. You’ll need to avoid engaging the pectoralis muscle until then.
How Long Will a Breast Lift With Implants Last?
Many of my patients read online that breast implants only last 10 years, but there is no reason to remove them unless you are having a problem such as capsular contracture or rupture. A breast lift with implants typically creates long-lasting results.
However, I often tell women in their 20s and 30s who have not had children that breast augmentation is not a “one and done” procedure. At that age, you are more likely to have changes in breast size and shape with pregnancy and aging, requiring some revision down the road.
Learn more about maintaining your breast implants in this previous blog post.
To talk about your breast enhancement options with an experienced plastic surgeon in New Jersey, please contact us online or call (201) 967-1212. I look forward to hearing from you.
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