Breast Lift with Augmentation
Breast lift with augmentation is a combination of two popular breast procedures. Many combined breast lift/augmentation patients initially want breast augmentation alone, but for women who have had children, experienced weight fluctuations, or are over forty, Bellevue cosmetic surgeon Dr. Alex Sobel typically recommends adding a breast lift to achieve the desired results.
A breast lift procedure, also known as mastopexy, helps restore perkiness and firmness to the breasts by removing excess skin and tightening the breast tissue, an ideal procedure for those who are happy with the amount of breast tissue they have.
For those who want to enhance the amount breast volume, we place breast implants to fill out the breasts during the same operation. Through these reshaping and repositioning procedures, women can enjoy more youthful contours, increase breast volume, improve breast symmetry, and correct misshapen breasts.
See our breast lift with implants before and after photos here »
- Triple board-certified in general cosmetic surgery, facial cosmetic surgery, and otolaryngology
- 15+ years of experience specializing in cosmetic surgery
- Operates in an on-site accredited surgical suite for patient safety and privacy
- National leader in cosmetic surgery, including as Past President of the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery and the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, and as an expert speaker at medical conferences
- Former Seattle Met Top Doctor with hundreds of 5-star patient reviews
Your Consultation for a Breast Lift with Augmentation
At Anderson Sobel Cosmetic Surgery, Dr. Sobel takes a customized approach to breast surgery. It starts with an extensive consultation to determine your goals and expectations. Bellevue breast surgeon Dr. Sobel will show you different types of implants, discuss implant placement, and help you understand incision options during your initial consultation. We’ll also help you with decisions about implant types as well as sizing.
“Dr. Sobel is a magician! He is supported by an entire team of outstanding staff. Dr. Sobel will always give you his honest opinion and will tell you if he thinks you won’t be satisfied with what you’re thinking about having done. He first listens intently to your concerns on areas you may like to improve on and then makes his suggestions on what procedures would be the most beneficial. Trust him he’s the best.”
Incisions for Breast Lift + Augmentation
There are different types of incisions used in a breast lift procedure, each with its own unique benefits. Dr. Sobel carefully considers which incisions will achieve the highest quality of results and the lowest visibility of scars:
- Periareolar incisions are made around the areola, suitable for minor lifts with less visible scarring.
- The vertical incision, also known as a “lollipop” lift, involves a incision around the areola extending down to the breast crease, allowing for more significant reshaping.
- For substantial lifting, inverted T or anchor incisions are used to offer the most dramatic transformation with an incision around the areola, extending down vertically, and along the breast crease.
If you are not yet finished having children, Dr. Sobel will discuss how incisions may affect breastfeeding in the future. Many women do not experience changes in their breastfeeding abilities after breast lift surgery or breast augmentation due to Dr. Sobel’s meticulous surgical techniques and careful attention to and knowledge of vital nerves and glands in the chest.
Bellevue Breast Implant Options
We offer the latest silicone and saline breast implants and there are several factors to consider. Dr. Sobel will explain each of these, such as the size, shape, and profile of the implants and how these factors will affect your breasts’ appearance. This is an exciting opportunity to hear from an expert breast surgeon on what variation will achieve your goals and appear beautifully natural! Dr. Sobel is well-known for his ability to create natural-looking breast augmentation results no matter which type of implants you choose.
Fat Transfer Breast Augmentation
Dr. Sobel also offers breast augmentation with fat transfer. This technique involves two key steps:
- First, fat is harvested from another part of the patient’s body, typically areas with excess fat such as the abdomen, hips, or thighs, through liposuction. This fat is then processed and purified.
- Second, the purified fat is carefully injected into the breasts.
The goal is to create natural-looking enhancement without using breast implants. One the advantages of choosing this type of breast augmentation is reducing unwanted fat in other body areas. However, the extent of augmentation achievable is generally more modest compared to implants, and the body may reabsorb a small amount of the transferred fat over time, potentially leading to changes in breast size and shape.
- Read more about this technique in Dr. Sobel’s blog, Want to Make Your Breasts Bigger Without Implants? Here’s Why You Should Consider Fat Transfer »
Dr. Alexander Sobel uses refined techniques and tailors every aspect of your procedure for natural, personalized results.
Special Offer for Breast Enhancement Patients:
Lips, Lines, or Lashes!
Here at Anderson Sobel Cosmetic Surgery, our primary goal is making sure our patients feel well taken care of, comfortable, and thrilled with their experience and results. We know recovery can be a tough time emotionally and physically, so we want to treat our breast enhancement patients to a special gift (and a little pampering!).
After your breast enhancement procedure with breast implants, we want to offer you a choice of one complimentary treatment or product:
- Love your lips: one free syringe of lip filler
- Lose your lines: one complimentary BOTOX treatment
- Lengthen your lashes: one 3mL Latisse eyelash enhancement kit, on us
Limited time offer available to patient who have completed a breast enhancement procedure with implants. Contact us today to book your procedure and claim your gift!
Ideal Candidates for a Breast Lift + Augmentation
The best candidates for this particular surgery are healthy, non-smoking women who want fuller and firmer breasts. Breast lift surgery with implants is appropriate for women who have lost breast volume due to natural aging, weight loss, or pregnancy.
Before any surgery, it’s important that patients are in good overall health, non-smokers, and have stable weight. The results of a breast lift with augmentation are quite durable; however, significant weight changes may alter chest tissue and impact the original results. Emotional readiness and realistic expectations are also crucial, as weight changes and aging effect the elasticity of breast skin and tissue.
If you’re not sure if you need a lift, check out Dr. Sobel’s “Do I Need a Lift?” blog post for more thoughts on the subject.
Breast Lift with Augmentation Procedure
Preparing for Surgery
Effective preparation is essential for optimal results and a smooth recovery. Dr. Sobel will provide detailed pre-operative guidelines like avoiding blood-thinning medications and arranging for assistance during the initial recovery period.
Breast Lift Surgery
For this procedure, patients are given general anesthesia. Once you are fully anesthetized, Dr. Sobel will proceed with surgery, using the incisions discussed during your consultation to lift breast tissue and raise the breasts to rest in a naturally higher position on your best. The technique Dr. Sobel uses in each lift procedure will depend on the size and shape of the breasts, along with the extent of sagging.
Breast Implant Placement
Dr. Sobel will also place the breast implants you selected during your consultation. Depending on your preferences, breast implants can be placed above the chest muscles or below the chest muscles. Once placed, Dr. Sobel makes any changes needed to create a beautiful breast appearance.
Video transcript
The breast lift procedure is at its best when it removes the heavier portion of the breast and reorganizes the skin around the lifted breast. While there are other techniques that can help that out; there are synthetic materials like mesh, Gore-Tex, or a series of silk products, as well as cellularly derived products like Strattice (currently the most popular). These materials have replaced the use of the patient’s own tissue. Historically, there were elaborate flaps of tissue, such as the large pectoral muscle of the chest wall, were used to support the breast in a lifted manner. However, these adjuncts, as elegant as they may sound, they introduce their own degree of unpredictability, whether they stretch, they swell, or, in the case of certain materials, disappear over time. These techniques are best suited for specific situations, particularly for women who have had prior implants, who may have had capsular contracture or other scar tissue in their breast, or who have specialized lift needs. Most commonly, though, women seeking a breast lift or reduction do not require these adjuncts for a highly successful procedure.
Breast Lift + Augmentation Recovery
After the initial stages of recovery are complete, your physical activity will be limited for at least a few weeks to help ensure proper healing. Having a partner or loved one with you after surgery can help you with meals and medication as the effects of anesthesia wear off and you begin healing. If you have young children at home, you’ll need to plan ahead for help with children and avoid lifting them for at least 6 weeks. (Dr. Sobel will provide you with a detailed, personalized guide to your recovery period before surgery.)
- Key Benefits
- Glossary
- Enhances size and shape of the breasts
- Repositions the breast to sit higher up on the chest
- Tightens loose skin for a firmer breast look and feel
Areola: The darker pigmented area surrounding the nipple on the breast.
Breast Tissue: The collection of fat and glandular cells that make up the breast.
Autologous Fat Transfer: A cosmetic procedure where fat is removed from one part of the body and injected into another area, often used for breast augmentation or facial rejuvenation.
Breast Ptosis: The medical term for sagging of the breasts.
Fat Grafting: Also known as fat transfer, is a surgical procedure where fat is harvested from one part of the body and injected into another area for augmentation or reconstruction.
Mammograms: X-ray images of the breast used primarily to screen for breast cancer in women.
Complications: Unexpected problems or adverse events that can occur during or after a medical procedure or treatment.
General Anesthesia: A reversible state of unconsciousness with loss of protective reflexes, often used during a surgical procedure to prevent pain and discomfort.
Breast Shape: Refers to the contour, size, and appearance of the breast.
Traditional Breast Lift: A surgical procedure that raises and reshapes sagging breasts by removing excess skin and repositioning the remaining tissue and nipples.
Nonsurgical Breast Lifts: Cosmetic treatments aimed at lifting and firming the breasts without invasive surgery, often using techniques like radiofrequency or laser therapy.
Breast Crease / Breast Fold: Also known as the inframammary fold, is the line or crease under the breast where it meets the chest wall.
Combining Breast Lift with Augmentation with Other Procedures
Tummy tuck
Breast lift surgery with augmentation is also performed with a tummy tuck to balance proportions and create a youthful silhouette. Treating multiple areas at once provides more natural-looking results as these areas achieve a complementary level of enhancement.
Liposuction
Liposuction is minimally invasive and highly effective for removing stubborn fat deposits around the breast area such as “bra bulges” that can form under the breasts, along the back, or near the armpits using tiny incisions.
Mommy makeover
For patients who wish to address breast and body changes after childbearing, Dr. Sobel customizes a mommy makeover procedure plan to restore your figure. While most women can benefit from a mommy make over at any time, Dr. Sobel recommends waiting at least 2 years before you welcome a new member into your family to keep the impact of weight fluctuations and accommodating the pregnancy from reversing your original results as much as possible.
- For more factors to consider in mommy makeover surgery, read Dr. Sobel’s blog, Is there a “right age” for a mommy makeover? »
References »
Austin RE, Saheb-Al-Zamani M, Lista F, Ahmad J. Periareolar Augmentation-Mastopexy. Aesthetic Surgery Journal. 2019 Aug 22;39(9):953-965. doi: 10.1093/asj/sjz128.
W. Grant Stevens, David A. Stoker, Mark E. Freeman, Suzanne M. Quardt, Elliot M. Hirsch, Mastopexy Revisited: A Review of 150 Consecutive Cases for Complication and Revision Rates, Aesthetic Surgery Journal, Volume 27, Issue 2, March 2007, Pages 150–154, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asj.2006.12.014.
Christopher R. Costa, Kevin H. Small, William P. Adams, Bra Sizing and the Plastic Surgery Herd Effect: Are Breast Augmentation Patients Getting Accurate Information?, Aesthetic Surgery Journal, Volume 37, Issue 4, 1 April 2017, Pages 421–427, https://doi.org/10.1093/asj/sjw221
For more information about how we can help you improve your figure, contact our office. During your personal consultation with Dr. Sobel, he and your patient concierge will help you explore your Seattle breast lift with augmentation options. We look forward to helping you get curves you’ll love!
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Medically reviewed by Dr. Alexander Sobel — Updated on Oct 23, 2024