When your breasts start to sag … the breast lift

Are you considering surgery yourself? On our page about breast lifts at Duinbergen Clinic, you can read about the techniques we use, what the recovery process is like, and what to expect during your consultation. The passage of time takes its toll on buildings, our cars, nature—and certainly on our bodies as well. Due to a combination of gravity and changes in the composition of our breasts, they will eventually begin to sag. Fortunately, with a breast lift, we can lift and firm your breasts.

Why do breasts start to sag sooner or later?

No matter how well you work out your chest muscles, these exercises won’t help prevent your breasts from sagging anyway. Here’s why: a breast consists of glandular tissue, fatty tissue, and skin. When you’re young, you usually have more glandular tissue. As you get older, the glandular tissue gradually disappears after pregnancies and menopause. Proportionally, more fatty tissue remains, and—unlike muscle tissue—you can’t exercise that away. In addition, the skin loses its elasticity.

As a result, gravity takes its toll and the breasts begin to sag. The only way to counteract this natural process is with a breast lift. This procedure both lifts and firms the breasts.

When Should You Consider a Breast Lift?

Are you (still) happy with your cup size, but do you feel that your breasts sag too much? If so, a breast lift (or mastopexy) is a good option. You may be a candidate for this procedure, especially if your nipple has dropped to the level of your breast crease or lower.

Do you feel that your breasts are not only sagging too much, but would you also like a larger cup size? In that case, we’ll combine the breast lift with an implant. This can be done during the same procedure or at a later time.

As an alternative to silicone implants, you can also opt for lipofilling. In this procedure, fat harvested from your abdomen is injected into your breasts. However, the results of this augmentation are less predictable than with implants. Be sure to read our blog about lipofilling.

How does a breast lift work?

During a breast lift, we reposition the nipple higher, remove excess skin, and rearrange the glandular tissue to create the most attractive breast shape possible.

The scar left by this procedure depends on the extent of the breast lift. For a minor breast lift, a “donut” pexy or periareolar pexy is sufficient. This procedure can be performed under local anesthesia and results in only a circular scar at the edge of the areola. For a full breast lift under general anesthesia—when the breasts are more sagging—we must reposition the nipple higher and remove more skin. This results in a vertical scar below the areola. If there is a significant excess of skin, a horizontal scar in the crease may be necessary, known as an anchor scar or inverted-T scar.

Wondering if a breast lift is the right procedure for you? Be sure to schedule a no-obligation consultation at Duinbergen Clinic.