In a previous blog I discussed how the periareolar mastopexy (breast lift) operation can bring an areola that is too large or sitting too low into better harmony with the breast.  This operation also allows me to position a breast implant, so that I can adjust the volume of the breast as well.

Through the same incision that I use for the breast lift portion of the surgery I can create a tunnel that allows me to place a breast implant, usually in the submuscular plane.  I can do this in a way that does not disrupt the natural architecture of the breast.  This optimizes the chance of breast feeding and also makes sense from the standpoint of obtaining good quality mammograms.

I can make use of either saline breast implants or silicone gel breast implant through this approach.  As a practical matter a significant majority of my patients choose the silicone gel implants because of the better artistic result that they provide.

The recovery from a combined periareolar mastopexy and breast augmentation is essentially the same as that from a regular breast augmentation surgery.  Of course the mastopexy adds time to the procedure and there is considerable skill necessary to make it work well, so it is a more expensive operation than breast augmentation by itself.  It is however considerably less expensive than having to undergo a second surgery because the first surgeon followed the mistaken strategy of putting a big implant in the subglandular plane!

There are practical limits to the combined operation of periareolar mastopexy with breast augmentation.  The periareolar breast lift works best if the breast is settled to a mild to moderate degree.  If the breast is severely ptotic (the term plastic surgeons use to describe drooping of the breasts) then another type of breast lift surgery will need to be performed.  I have a number of breast lift techniques at my disposal and I always try to find the best technique for each breast.  The selection of a particular technique also takes into account a careful consideration of each patient’s taste and preference.

If your visit the photo gallery section of my main website you can see some nice examples of patients in whom I combined different techniques of breast lift with breast augmentation.