Pop quiz. A breast lift is the only way to lift the breasts, true or false?
If you said false, you’re correct. The truth is, if your skin is in good shape and sagging is minimal you may be able to get some lift with implants. Depending on the extent of sagging and the position of the nipples, a lifting effect of the breasts can be achieved if the right type of implant is used in the right patient.
“Certain implants—textured, projecting and high profile—can give some lift since they add volume to the top part of the breast, but they lift the nipple up by about one-half inch in most cases,” says Encino, CA, plastic surgeon George Sanders, MD. But if the ligaments (that run from under the skin to the tissue down to the muscles) that suspend the breasts are stretched out and lax, they need to be tightened surgically and any loose skin excised. Implants alone won’t do much. Implants have weight and mass and the bigger the implant, the more prone the breasts become to sagging. “If you are okay with the position of your breasts and nipples and where on your chest they sit then you may be comfortable with just implants and not a lift. If not, going bigger will accentuate their positioning,” says Las Vegas plastic surgeon Terrence Higgins, MD
