Are you unhappy with loss of volume in your breasts, deflation in the upper portion of the breast, excess skin, and an overall saggy appearance? Over time, you may also notice the nipple complexes sitting lower on your breasts, falling below the inframammary crease, and becoming enlarged in diameter. If so, you are not alone, as many women are unhappy with these changes that can occur with weight fluctuations, pregnancy, or the natural aging process. Sometimes, this teardrop or ptotic shape is just the natural shape of one’s breast.
Dr. Dina Eliopoulos specializes in breast procedures that help women restore comfort and confidence in their bodies. A breast lift reduces excess skin and tissue, elevating the breasts to a more youthful position and creating shapely, symmetrical contours. This popular technique can also be combined with other procedures like breast augmentation with implants or a mommy makeover to create more proportional contours.
See Dr. Eliopoulos' breast lift before-and-after results. These are actual patients. It is important to look at before-and-after images to get an idea of what can be achieved with surgery and to help guide the planning process with the doctor.
View Before & After GalleryAs a breast and body plastic surgery expert. Dr. Dina often discusses the nuances of breast surgery with her patients during their consultations. This video is a *must watch* for anyone considering plastic surgery to reshape their breasts, be it a breast reduction, breast lift, or breast augmentation. In it, Dr. Dina reviews many of her best practices for successful breast surgery and recovery, so that you can reshape your expectations on how to get the best results for this procedure.
A breast lift reshapes the breasts to remove excess skin, as well as repositioning and reshaping the nipple and areola, giving you firmer, perkier breasts for a more youthful figure. While a breast lift can help enhance the upper contour of the breasts to some degree, it will not actually increase the overall volume. Often, women wish for a more augmented look with some roundness in the upper portion of the breast. By combining a breast lift with implants, breast volume can be enhanced while achieving a more lifted appearance.
A breast lift is commonly combined with other cosmetic breast procedures, including breast augmentation, or included in more comprehenive combinations of procedures, which are referred to as "mommy makeovers."
Patients who have sagging tissue of the breasts due to weight loss or pregnancy commonly have excess skin in other areas as well, such as the tummy, arms, or legs. These patients may wish to combine the breast lift with other contouring procedures, such as a tummy tuck, liposuction, brachioplasty, or other body lift procedures to further enhance their results.
Dr. Eliopoulos routinely performs these more complex combinations of contouring procedures in the appropriate patients very safely. These patients love the amazing changes they can make to several areas of their body safely and effectively, all in one stage. It results in less recuperation time and less time off from work, and it is also more affordable than having the procedures done separately.
Dr. Eliopoulos will help you plan a procedure that makes your vision of shapely, youthful-looking breasts a reality. Below, we review the main steps of a breast lift, from pre-operative planning through the day of surgery.
Dr. Dina Eliopoulos has over two decades of experience as a board-certified plastic surgeon with a reputation for dedication, surgical excellence, and professionalism. She specializes in aesthetic surgery of the breasts and is well known for her beautiful and natural breast results.
Many patients wonder what to expect in a consultation. The purpose of her consultation is not to “convince you” to undergo a procedure but to learn about your goals and educate you on your surgical options. Call our office or complete our online form to schedule your initial consultation with Dr. Eliopoulos to discuss the possibility of a breast lift.
Schedule a Consultation TodayPrior to your Breast Lift Boston Plastic Surgeon Dr. Eliopoulos will meet with you for a thorough consultation to determine your candidacy. She will examine your breast tissue, size, skin elasticity, nipple areola position, overall breast shape, and more to determine if a breast lift is right for you. Together, you will discuss your cosmetic goals. Dr. Eliopoulos can then recommend what procedure and type of incision will provide the most benefits with the least amount of scarring.
You can also discuss the possibility of combining your lift with another procedure. Dr. Eliopoulos will show you before-and-after pictures of her patients who have undergone this procedure. Patients find this to be a very useful part of the consultation process.
After multiple discussions with Dr. Eliopoulos, her patients gain realistic expectations of what they can achieve when they choose to go forward with mastopexy surgery. They also feel well-informed of their options and are comfortable with the idea of the well-hidden scars needed to reshape their breasts.
"I was extremely nervous about having plastic surgery. I really wanted to have a Breast Lift and Tummy Tuck. My breasts were never going to magically lift or look full. I had heard good things about Dr. Eliopoulos. I made an appointment to go see her. My experiences with this office were beyond my expectations! I feel better in my skin, and I like how I look in a mirror again. I have received outstanding care at Eliopoulos Plastic Surgery and Med Spa."
Sandy
Dr. Eliopoulos performs her breast lift surgeries under general anesthesia for optimum safety and comfort at Lowell General Hospital. She will see you before surgery to mark the breasts before the operation begins to guide the surgical procedure.
During the procedure, she will remove excess skin and reshape the tissue and nipple areola if needed. She will normally reposition the nipple areola to a higher point on the breast and a more rejuvenated, lifted position. (If patients have elected to undergo breast augmentation as part of their breast reshaping, the augmentation is typically done first, and then the breast lift immediately follows.)
While you are under anesthesia, Dr. Eliopoulos will place you in an upright sitting position multiple times in order to view the breast in a more natural position. This helps to ensure the best shape and symmetry with your mastopexy. She will use dissolvable stitches to close your incisions beneath the skin so you will not see any sutures externally.
There will be special surgical tape over the incisions as well, and Dr. Eliopoulos may place drains within the breast to collect excess fluid that can sometimes develop after the operation. You will wake up in a comfortable, soft banded surgical bra with fluffs of gauze tucked inside.
A variety of incision types may be used to accomplish breast reshaping, depending on the amount of excess skin. Sometimes, incisions can be limited to simply around the areola complex. More commonly, we extend this incision into a lollipop shape with a vertical scar running from the inferior areola to the inframammary crease. We also sometimes add a scar running along the inframammary crease. These scars are nicely hidden under bras and bathing suits. Our patients who choose this procedure are very comfortable with the trade-off of these scars for the improved shape of the breast.
Standard anchor pattern. An incision is made around the areola, down to the crease of the breast, and along the crease at the bottom of the breast. This approach allows Dr. Eliopoulos to remove the greatest amount of skin to alter and reposition your breast tissue and really make a dramatic change to the breast.
Vertical method. An incision is placed around the areola and down the front of the breast to the crease. This incision is a good option for patients who have less excess skin, need a moderate lift, and want to minimize scarring.
“Doughnut” incision or circumareolar lift. A circular incision is created around the nipple areola complex. This technique is good for patients who need minimal skin removal and limited elevation of their nipple areolar height, or those who wish their stretched or enlarged areolas to be reduced in size. Patients often like this incision because scarring is hidden within the border of the areola nicely.
A typical breast lift candidate is a woman over the age of 18 with sagging, drooping breasts. If you are considering a breast lift after a recent pregnancy, you will want to make sure your breasts have stabilized. Typically, this means waiting at least six months after your pregnancy before considering surgery. Women desiring a breast lift surgery should ideally not be planning further pregnancies or dramatic weight loss. This is because your results after you receive a breast lift can change if you experience major weight gain or weight loss after surgery, as can occur with pregnancy.
Patients undergoing a breast lift following weight loss should be at or near their goal weight and should be able to maintain that weight. Fluctuations in weight can stretch the breast tissue, causing sagging. Candidates for cosmetic surgery should also be in good overall health and nonsmokers in order to avoid complications.
As with any body contouring procedure, we must understand that results can change as we age or if we gain or lose weight. But typically, after we have repositioned the nipple higher to a more lifted position during the breast lift, that nipple-areolar complex is “fixed” and will not tend to fall to the bottom of the breast again.
Commonly, even with minor fluctuations in weight, the improved breast shape may change a bit, but still tends to look better and more youthful than had we not done the breast lift in the first place.
Unfortunately, insurance does not cover a breast lift, which is a cosmetic procedure. If you are curious about the cost of a breast lift, we encourage you to call our office and we can review that with you.
Wondering what to expect after a breast lift? Immediately following this outpatient surgery, you will relax and recuperate in the recovery room for one to two hours or so until you feel up to going home. You will need someone to drive you home and stay with you for the first 24 hours, given that you have had general anesthesia. You will have a virtual visit from the comfort of your home the next day for a quick check-in to make sure you are doing well.
Our patients are usually pleasantly surprised about their recuperation from this outpatient surgery. Although discomfort is mild, we encourage our patients to take it easy in the first few days and stay in the surgical bra most of the time.
Typically, patients require mainly over-the-counter medications like Tylenol, with minimal need for stronger pain medication. During the first few days, you should get plenty of rest and avoid heavy lifting or straining. You will want to do light walking to promote the healing process and maintain good circulation in your legs. If you had drains placed, they are typically removed at your one-week visit. An average of about one week is required off from work.
Your surgical tapes will be removed in the office two weeks out from surgery, and again, you have no stitches to remove. At your one-month visit, Dr. Eliopoulos will hopefully allow you to resume normal physical activities and exercise, and she will give you more specific instructions at that visit. She will also give you further instructions at that time on how to best care for your scars.
There are several benefits of breast implant surgery. Following your surgery, you will have perkier breasts with a more youthful, lifted silhouette. This often helps patients enjoy more freedom in choosing clothing styles, and patients often experience a boost in their self-esteem as well. As an added bonus, although a breast lift is primarily a cosmetic surgery, it can also potentially eliminate discomfort from sagging breasts.
Whether a breast lift is performed alone, in conjunction with other breast procedures such as breast augmentation, or with other body contouring procedures such as a tummy tuck and liposuction, Dr. Eliopoulos’s patients have a high rate of satisfaction with this procedure.
Plastic surgery isn’t just about people changing their look—it's about making you feel good about being you. Whether you need breast augmentation, a breast lift, liposuction or Botox, Dr. Dina Eliopoulos is here for you. For over 20 years, patients have sought out the care and results that Dr. Eliopoulos can create in her beautiful Chelmsford, Massachusetts office. The peace of mind that comes from a board-certified, residency- and fellowship-trained plastic surgeon is hard to parallel. Schedule a consultation with Dr. Eliopoulos today to experience the difference for yourself.