Breast elevation
Woman want and look for a natural appearance in breast surgery and an elevation or mastopexy is not an exception.
This process consists in the elevation and repositioning of the breast tissue, redistributing and eliminating excess skin that gives the appearance of a fallen chest.
In some cases, you can have an enhancement with implants at the same time if necessary. This way, with the implant we can improve the volume on the upper pole (which is normally missing due to pregnancies or due to weight loss), achieving a result which is nice and long lasting which provides not only volume, but also consistency to the breast.
The incisions and scars depend on the position of the breast and the quantity of existing excess skin before the intervention. Some patients only need a small incision around the areola, while others may require more incisions to eliminate the excess skin. With some patients, and in specific cases, by just inserting a prosthesis and with hardly any scars, we can elevate the chest.
During your consultation, Dr. Valverde and Dr. Arpino will listen to your objectives carefully and they will recommend the best options to give your chest a higher, nicer and younger looking shape.
Treatment
Elevate and give shape to the breasts eliminating the excess skin and fat and to place the breasts in a higher position. It can be associated with a breast enlargement with prosthesis.
Type of anaesthetic
General.
Side effects
Temporary pain, swelling, dryness of the skin of the chest, scars.
Duration of result
Normally permanent, but due to weight gain, pregnancy, ageing, etc.
Duration of the treatment
1-3 hours.
Hospitalization
24 hours of admission.
Recuperation
Return to work in a week or more. Greater activity in a month.
Frequent questions
It is very frequent that a woman after becoming a mother and breast feeding, has a somewhat fallen or empty chest. A breast prosthesis would notably improve the appearance after the breast elevation surgery.
Logically it depends on the type of work that the patient has. A job which requires a lot of physical effort is not the same as another which is to be sat in front of a computer all day. If in your job you have to use your arms a lot, we recommend at least ten days rest and if your job requires less physical effort, four or five days should be sufficient.
You can go to the beach or the pool from the moment that the wounds are completely closed which is usually within two weeks.
You can exercise and lift heavy objects a month after the surgery. If possible, we recommend that you avoid lifting weights in the gymnasium, as it implies moving the pectoral muscles, for a month and a half.
When you leave the operating theatre, you will be wearing a compressive bandage which allows the inflammation to reduce and the body to heal well from that moment on. This bandage will be removed on the fourth day after surgery. From this moment on, you can shower normally.
You can do this a month after surgery.
You can sunbathe from the moment we remove the steri-strips (plasters that protect the wound, the stitches are inside and do not need removing, they dissolve naturally), which should be in two weeks. If you are going to the beach, you must wear a bikini and use factor 50+ sun protection on the scar.
Absolutely nothing.
A week after the intervention you can depilate.
Breast prosthesis, if they are of the best quality, last for many years. We have seen patients with prosthesis for more that 20 years which are in perfect condition. However, you should know, although the ones we use are of the best quality available, they should be changed as they do not last forever.
You can travel perfectly on an aeroplane after the surgery. The prosthesis do explode or anything like that.
There is no inconvenience. You can have children and breast feed in most cases. Some patients can produce some reduction in the capacity to breast feed due to the surgical technique used.
Having a breast ultrasound should be sufficient to know that they are good. However, we have protocols regarding the revisions and the necessary tests depending on the time that has passed since the intervention. We will give you instructions as the years pass.
No, it cannot. They are perfectly compatible with the body.
We recommend a sports bra during the first month. Afterwards, and up until the third month after the surgery, we recommend any bra that does not have wires. Then from the third month revision, any bra you like.
We offer the Biodynamic system. It is a system fabricated by the commercial house Allergan, which through a series of external prosthesis which we place under a bra and a special t-shirt, simulate the final result. We can vary the size, height and the projection of them so that you can see how the volume and size of your breasts will end up from the first consultation on.
After the surgery you will be irritated. It will not be pain, but irritation. You will have the sensation of aching, stiffness and some pressure. You will take medication for the pain which means that you will have more irritation at bed time, due to the bandage, the antibiotic etc. which will provoke discomfort more than pain.
Generally, the prosthesis are capable of handling high energy impacts. We have seen patients who have suffered high impact traffic accidents and the prosthesis were in perfect conditions. By this we mean that they can sustain a lot, but everything has its limit.
Scars on breasts are sometimes inevitable. Many of them cannot even be seen, such as those that are in the furrow or that coincide with the areola. However, multiple treatments exist which improve the final result of a scar such as silicon patches, rosehip oil, creams, laser, etc. etc.
You should avoid taking aspirin or any other medication which provokes anticoagulation. Let us know if you usually take vitamin supplements or medicinal plants. Some make the blood coagulate more slowly.
In general, we recommend that any surgical intervention be performed when the patient is over 18 years old. In some cases, due to the psychological effects of a breast asymmetry, the intervention can be carried out from 16 years on, with of course, the consent of one of the parents or tutors.