The medical term for breast uplift surgery is maxoplasty, an operation designed to create firmer, perter breasts. Women may choose it because their breasts have lost their natural shape and/or firmness over time. This can be due to a number of reasons. Substantial weight loss due to dieting can lead to looser skin creating a ‘saggier’ breast contour. Pregnancy and breast feeding can also lead to loss of firmness.
Although aging is a natural process involving loss of elastic tone to the skin, this can happen prematurely in younger women too. Reasons to choose the surgery may be as simple as wanting to feel more confident in sports or swimwear on holiday.
Maxoplasty enhances shape instead of increasing or decreasing size. Patients’ wanting to increase breast size may however combine the procedure with breast augmentation techniques during the same operation.
The surgery requires a general anesthetic and lasts between 1 to 3hrs. There is some variation in surgical technique according to each patients shape, so the procedure outlined here is intended as a general guideline only.
The Procedure
The surgeon makes an incision at sites on the breast; generally crescent shaped incisions are preferred. Excess skin is removed, often using an incision above the areola (dark circle around the nipple. Once excess skin has been excised, the breast can assume a taughter, firmer appearance. The nipple is generally repositioned to create a natural look, as it should now rest higher than when all the breast skin was in situ.
The Recovery
Pain relief and anti-biotics are routine medications following surgery. Drainage tubes may come as a shock to some patients, but they are inserted often during the surgery to collect any blood leakage. They are removed before hospital discharge, which is usually within 24 to 28 hours of surgery. Stitches come out later, at between days 7 to 14 of post surgical recovery and it is vital patients attend appointments with their surgical aftercare team to monitor wound healing.
Patients should refrain from strenuous physical activity following their surgeons’ instructions (generally it is contraindicated for at least a few weeks). Patients will also need several weeks off work. Over the next 4 to 6 weeks, surgeons often plan the gentle reintroduction of exercise.
Vital Preliminary Considerations
The first thing to note is any surgery carries a degree or risk and should be performed only by a specialised team with plenty of experience in the procedure. This surgery always involves scarring. Initially, those are pink, and then fade to faint white lines generally speaking. The extent of scarring varies between patients. Nipple sensitivity may also decrease. A good relationship with the surgical team and confidence in their credentials and ability is therefore essential.
DISCLAIMER: No information here can be used as medical advice or used to make a healthcare decision! Please only consult qualified physicians for advice.
