WHAT DOES THIS SURGERY CONSIST OF?
In many cases due to age, breastfeeding or genetics, the breast not only remains sagging but also loses its elasticity, its shape and appears as empty.
Mastopexy is procedure to correct sagging or ptosis of the breast. The amount of breast tissues changes in proportion to weight, pregnancy, and hormonal changes. The ligaments and duct system in the mammary gland will be stretched so the breast descends.
Mastopexy seeks several purposes:
- Relocate the areola and the nipple to a higher position
- Improve breast shape
- Locate as best as possible the scars that are necessary to improve skin tension.
It can be performed with several surgical techniques, based mainly on the removal of excess skin, the choice of which will depend on the quality of the skin the volume of the breast parenchyma and the size and position of the areola.
In a breast lift, the scars will be placed around the areola (peri- areolar) in order to reposition it. Depending on the flaccidity of the skin, the scars in the lower pole will be vertical or inverted T-shaped to compensate for the excess skin.
In some cases, it may also be necessary to use prostheses to fill in the lost volume, while the excess skin is dried out and the nipple-areola complex (CPA) is placed in the central point of the breast.
The surgery lasts approximately two to four hours and depending on the case of each patient can be performed with:
- Local anesthesia and Pharmacological sedation (Ambulatory)
- General Anesthesia (Requires one day´s hospitalization)
The day after surgery you will feel tired and experience chest pain, which is easily controlled with the medication prescribed to you by a plastic surgeon.
The surgeon may stop drains that will be removed in the next 24 to 72 hours.
A good part of the activities can be resumed towards the 3rd – 5th day after the surgery. You should wear a flannel bra for at least one month, 24 hours a day, to give the best shape to your breast while it heals internally, and this will limit the pain. Around 14 or 20 days your stitches will be removed.
The use of swimming pool should be avoided the first 4 weeks because it can promote infection.
Sport and other physical exercise activities can be done again around 3, 4 weeks after surgery. You may have decreased sensitivity or tingling in the breasts, but this in a couple of weeks has to return to normality.
The scar will be hard and reddish the first 6 weeks, but then with the indicated care it will become pale and soft depending on its healing.
