A woman’s body changes significantly as she goes through life. Pregnancy and nursing alone can have a profound effect on the breasts. And then there is the matter of weight, hormones, and the simple process of aging that none of us can avoid. If the physical changes of aging have left something to be desired about your appearance, you may need more than a padded or uplifting bra to achieve the improvement you really want. When surgery comes up as a solution, many women think about how a breast augmentation could help. But why stop there when a combination lift and augmentation achieves a lot more?

When a Combination Approach Makes Sense

Not every woman needs a breast lift alongside her augmentation procedure. However, it is important to recognize that augmentation on its own is intended to improve the shape and volume of the breasts only. If the breasts have begun to sag or if a woman is approaching menopause, there is good reason to explore the benefits of a breast lift. This extra procedure expertly trims excess skin to create a new and improved envelope to hold the augmented breast in a higher, perkier position.

Two Concerns met with a Single Surgical Process

There are several benefits to combining plastic surgery procedures like breast augmentation and breast lift. One is that there need only be one surgery day. A single surgical process reduces costs and also limits downtime.

Learn more about Breast Augmentation and Breast Lift

Breast augmentation is one of the most popular forms of breast enhancement performed today. The key term here, though, is breast enhancement. Patients need to know what augmentation with breast implants can do and what it cannot. Lifting the breasts higher on the chest wall sits in the “cannot” category.

Are you ready to feel more satisfied with your appearance? Call our Cincinnati office at 513.985.0850 to schedule a consultation with Dr. Krummen.

Breast lift surgery achieves results that appear right away and that continue to improve over the course of a few months as tissue settles. What comes next?

Understandably, any person who undergoes plastic surgery to improve an aspect of their appearance is interested in knowing how long they can expect their results to last. Breast lift surgery is performed to correct the sagging that occurs after pregnancy, breastfeeding, and aging. Even if a woman does not plan to become pregnant in the future, there is a strong likelihood that her breasts will change as she ages. Here, we offer a few suggestions on maintaining perky breasts after breast lift surgery.

Protect Collagen

One of the primary reasons why tissue ages is because collagen breaks down over time. Furthermore, the body doesn’t continue making vast quantities of collagen during adulthood. Basically, we’re losing collagen faster than we can make it. That is unless we make some simple changes. To promote lasting results from breast lift surgery, it is helpful to protect collagen. This may look like wearing sunscreen anytime the chest skin is exposed to sunlight or UV rays. It may also look like taking a time-released vitamin C supplement every day. Studies suggest that UV light breaks down collagen. Research also suggests that vitamin C is a collagen stimulator when taken regularly.

Fight Gravity the Right Way

Gravity is not something we can avoid altogether; we need it to keep our feet firmly planted on the Earth. At the same time, gravity does put some pressure on our aging skin. Some women believe that wearing a good push-up bra is a great way to fight gravity but this could actually backfire. Perky breasts rely on muscle tone to some degree and a push-up bra puts the breasts in a position where the chest muscles don’t have to do any work at all. Muscles that don’t work atrophy, which can promote breast sag. Another factor that can exacerbate the effects of gravity is weight. The heavier the breasts are, the more gravitational pull they get. Women who undergo breast lift surgery are encouraged to maintain a relatively stable weight so the fat cells in breast tissue do not expand and become heavy.

Breast lift surgery has become increasingly popular in recent years. To learn more about this procedure, schedule a consultation in our Cincinnati office.

Breasts can frustrate a woman. When they are too large, they get in the way and create discomfort. When they are quite small, some women feel less feminine than they’d like. When they sag, just forget about it. We can’t even. If you’re facing the physical changes that come with age, you know what we mean. If your breasts are still perky, you may still feel slightly concerned. You may wonder what you can do to keep your breasts “in good shape.” Here, we offer a few insights that can help you regardless of where your breasts fall, literally.

DO This

• Apply sunscreen to the chest area anytime your skin is exposed. Also, use moisturizer on your chest and breasts. These steps will not reverse tissue degradation, but they can minimize it.
• Watch your weight. Healthy eating and regular exercise are excellent strategies for maintaining an average weight. Alongside weight fluctuations, the breasts inflate and deflate, causing tissue stretching that can increase the severity of drooping.
• Exercise the chest muscles. There is no way to completely prevent tissue sagging. The breasts contain fat, which will deflate with time. The breasts are covered in skin that will lose elasticity with age. Muscle tone is something well within each woman’s control. The more toned the pectoral muscles are, the better breast tissue may be supported to retain some degree of perkiness.
• Wear a properly-fit, supportive bra. When we say supportive, we mean a bra that gently holds breasts in their natural position. More on this in a moment. Breasts may change over time, so regular bra fittings are recommended for every woman.
• Consider a breast lift. Sagging breasts can be recontoured and repositioned as needed to restore height and also the appearance of fullness. Breast lift surgery can be performed on its own or in combination with breast augmentation.

DON’T Do This

• Wear extreme push-up bras. Magazines and movies have a way of making lacy, push-up lingerie look appealing. The eye candy may be lovely and probably won’t do much harm if worn for short periods of time. But to wear a push-up bra all day, every day, that could be a problem. When the breasts are too supported, the muscles beneath them don’t have to work at all. They become lazy and lax, which could worsen droopiness.
• Shy away from the bounce. Many women believe that they should steer clear of exercise that makes the breasts bounce. However, the connection between aerobic activity like running or dancing and sagging breasts has not been confirmed. With the support of a good sports bra, women should feel empowered to engage in any form of exercise they wish.
• Get breast implants thinking that will solve a laxity issue. Breast implants are not immune to the effects of gravity. If you are considering breast augmentation and your breasts are already somewhat saggy, talk with your surgeon about a breast lift.

Give your breasts the help they need. Call our Cincinnati office at 513.985.0850 to schedule a consultation with Dr. Donna Krummen.

When we talk about ways to enhance the overall appearance of the breasts, it is usually breast augmentation that gets all the attention. Dr. Krummen performs numerous breast implant surgeries every year and enjoys helping women obtain the shape they desire. Sometimes, though, the problems that exist can be handled in another way: breast lifts surgery.

Why Breast Lift Surgery May be Necessary

Look, every woman is going to notice changes in the structure of her breasts at some point. This change is as inevitable as the development of lines and wrinkles on the face. The idea isn’t to prevent it; it is to support a woman’s well-being through appropriate and personal care. Breast lift surgery is performed with the intent of reinstating proper form.

How A Breast Lift Restores Form

Here are some of the ways that proper form is restored through breast lift surgery.

Position

One of the most common complaints that women express is the sag that has occurred in breast tissue over time. Sometimes, this occurs later in life. Sometimes, breasts start to droop after weight loss or pregnancy and breastfeeding. Whatever the reason, the concern is valid. During her younger years, a woman gets used to her breasts being a littler higher up on her chest, a little perky and firm. Breast lift surgery can recreate this by literally lifting the tissue that supports the breasts.

Shape

When the hammock of tissue in which the breasts sit loses its structure, everything from position to shape changes. Breasts that used to have the volume all the way around may now carry all weight at the bottom pole, with a steep slope taking over the upper pole. Depending on the nature of degradation in supportive tissue, breasts may also appear to narrow into longer tubes (tubular breasts). Again, the key to beautiful change is to restructure the tissue that holds breasts in place. In this instance, it isn’t so much a higher position but the smaller nuances of structure that lend to voluptuousness.

Let’s Talk about The Nipples

Nipples are not pardoned from the metamorphosis of breast tissue. As a part of natural breast changes, there may be a change in the direction of the nipples. This means that they point downward instead of outward, exacerbating the saggy appearance that has developed.

Schedule a Consultation

Breasts that have changed position, shape, and direction may not need extra volume. To learn more about breast lift surgery, contact our office at 513.985.0850 to schedule a consultation.