What a breast lift is, and who it is for
Mastopexy corrects the position of the breast rather than its size. This covers what causes ptosis, the incision patterns used at each degree, and what the operation does not do.
A breast lift — mastopexy — corrects the position of the breast on the chest wall. It is frequently confused with augmentation, and the distinction is the single most useful thing to be clear about before a consultation: a lift moves tissue, it does not add volume.
What the operation does
Excess skin is removed, the breast tissue is reshaped and supported, and the nipple and areola are repositioned higher on the breast mound. The areola is often reduced at the same time, since it commonly stretches along with the skin.
What causes the descent
Ptosis follows the loss of skin elasticity and of the internal support of the breast. The usual contributors are ageing, pregnancy and breastfeeding, weight change in either direction, and an inherited pattern of skin quality that determines a good deal of it from the outset.
Who it suits
Women whose complaint is the position and shape of the breast rather than its size: breasts that have lengthened, that have lost fullness in the upper pole, or where the nipple sits at or below the inframammary fold.
What it will not do
It will not meaningfully change size, and it will not restore volume that has been lost — a lifted breast of reduced volume is still a breast of reduced volume, better positioned.
Where size is also part of the complaint, the lift is combined with an implant to restore upper pole fullness, or with a reduction where the breast is heavy. Those are different operations with different trade-offs and are planned explicitly, not added as an afterthought.
The consultation
The assessment covers medical history, the degree of ptosis, skin quality and what you want changed, together with examination and standardised photography. The incision pattern follows from those findings — it is not a preference.
The incision patterns
Crescent A small excision of skin above the areola. For minimal descent only.
Periareolar, or donut An incision encircling the areola, for mild to moderate ptosis. It also allows the areola to be reduced.
Vertical, or lollipop Around the areola and vertically down to the inframammary fold. This is the pattern for moderate ptosis and it allows genuine reshaping rather than skin removal alone.
Anchor Around the areola, vertically down, and along the fold. For significant ptosis, where the amount of redundant skin cannot be dealt with by a vertical pattern.
More scar buys more correction. That is the trade being made, and choosing a smaller pattern than the anatomy requires produces a poor shape that recurs early.
Recovery
Strenuous activity and lifting are avoided for four to six weeks. A supportive garment is worn to limit swelling and support the reshaped tissue.
The change is visible immediately, but the final shape develops over several months as swelling resolves and the tissues settle. Follow-up monitors healing and directs scar management once the incisions have closed.
Afterwards
Results are durable but not immune to what caused the problem originally. Further pregnancy, breastfeeding or significant weight change will alter the breast again, which is a reasonable argument for timing the operation after those rather than before.
The procedure this relates to
Mastopexy lifts and reshapes the breast by removing loose skin and repositioning the tissue and the nipple. It does not add volume. The degree of ptosis determines which incision pattern is used.
Before you act on this
Everything here is general. What applies to you depends on your anatomy, your history and what you are trying to achieve, and none of that can be assessed from a page. If a question here is yours, bring it to a consultation.