First comes first, breast augmentation and breast lift are very different procedures. This is what you need to know, when you decide that you need a boob job, but you do not know which one of them is the right one for you. Some patients need both procedures, but if you do not know exactly which one will help you achieve the look you want, this article will help you.
All women experience undesirable changes in the look of their breasts over time. In the majority of cases, these changes happen after a pregnancy or after breastfeeding. Actually, the greatest number of women who have a breast augmentation or lift are moms who want to regain their pre-baby looks.
If you do not know what procedure you need, here are two questions you should answer.
- Are your nipples at or below the level of your breast fold?
- Do you have a significant of skin laxity to your breasts?
In case you have a positive answer to both questions, then you probably need a breast lift.
Have you tried the pencil test?
Another option to understand what surgery you need is to try the pencil test. You may have heard of it, it is a simple test, but it will definitely offer you an answer. You should lift up your breasts with one hand, and then put the pencil horizontally under the breast. It is important to place it in the natural crease of the breast, and then leave the breast to go to see if the pencil falls or not.
In case your breast will keep the pencil, then the next step is to note the position of the nipple, because it determines the type of procedure you will have.
- In case the nipple is above the level of the pencil then you have a condition called pseudo ptosis.
- In case the pencil is at the same level as the nipple, then you have grade l ptosis.
- In case the pencil is below the nipple you have grade lll ptosis
- In case the nipple is at its lowest point, and you can compare your look with the ones of the women in primitive cultures, you have seen in National Geographic magazines, then you suffer from grade lll ptosis.
What you should know about breast lift?
A breast lift is an aesthetic procedure that has the purpose to raise and reshape sagging breasts. As you age, your skin loses its elasticity and as a result, your breasts will lose their natural firmness and shape. This procedure will remove the excess skin and it will reshape the breast tissue. The surgeon will decide the new location of the nipple and it will create a more youthful contour.
What should you know about breast augmentation?
In case your only problem with your breasts is that you do not like their size, and you would like a bigger one, then you should get a breast augmentation. This procedure is also known under the name of mammoplasty, and it has the purpose to accentuate your natural shape and size of the breasts. If you will have this procedure, then the surgeon will place implants underneath or over your muscles, depending on your chest contour, and on the aesthetic goals, you have. The surgeon together with the patient will decide what the best location for the implants is. It is important the position of the implants to minimise the visible scars.
What you should know before having an aesthetic intervention?
In case you answer with “yes” to one or to both of the above questions, you should check with a doctor.
If your nipples are too low and you opt for a breast augmentation, the implant will look like it is placed too high. You will look like the breast tissue is falling of your chest wall, and it will look worse than it does now. It is recommended to have a breast lift, because it will reduce the diameter of your areola and it will lift the nipple to an optimal position.
Also, alongside a low nipple, you can also experience loose skin. This is a common condition for the women who lose a great amount of weight or who have breastfed one or two children. In this situation, the breast lift should also include a replacement of volume, because a simple lift would not offer you the look you want.
If you are a young mom, who lost breast volume because of breastfeeding, then a breast augmentation surgery will help you get the result that you want.
If according to the pencil test you suffer from pseudo ptosis or grade l ptosis, then you do not need a breast lift, a breast augmentation surgery will help you add more volume, and have a beautiful appearance.
But, if the pencil test indicates a grade ll or grade lll ptosis, then having a breast augmentation surgery alone will not help you. The doctor will ask you what degree of scars you can accept, because a breast lift can produce some permanent scars, and many women do not want to have signs of their surgeries on their body. They prefer to have a less aesthetic look, resulted after a breast augmentation, than to experience these marks.
Why do people avoid breast lifts?
If you experience a grade ll or lll ptosis, then there are great chances the surgery to be an extensive procedure and to leave some additional scars. At its minimum, it will leave a scar around the areola that can be removed with the help of laser treatment. But, there are cases when additional incisions are required, and in this situation the patient also experiences vertical scars from the areola to the crease under the breast. The doctors state that the aesthetic enhancement of the look is totally worth, and the scars can be diminished later with further aesthetic treatments. The extra skin is removed, and the breast skin will be more compact. In the majority of cases, if the women prefer to have only the breast lift, they go down with a cup size.
