Breast Augmentation with Lift

Breast Augmentation with Lift

Get Comprehensive Breast Enhancement Results with a Combined Procedure for Chicago and Winnetka

Life events—such as losing significant weight or having children—often take a toll on the body, leading patients to feel unhappy about changes that develop specifically in the size, shape, and position of their breasts. Often, the solution for this situation is a combined breast augmentation with lift. At the Chicago area’s Whole Beauty^® Institute, a breast augmentation with lift can help you get the most from your surgery.

For more advice about the advantages of a breast augmentation with lift in Chicago or Winnetka, contact Whole Beauty^® Institute. Call 312-751-2112 or send a message online to request a consultation.

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A Guide to Breast Augmentation with Lift in 2024

What Causes Sagging Breasts?

Many patients come to Dr. John Q. Cook for restoration of a more youthful breast structure and form. The breasts may have settled to a low position on the body, lost volume, or both. They may appear less full or hang lower due to a process of settling or drooping of the breast structure, referred to as “ptosis.”

Except for patients with very small breasts, almost everyone will eventually experience a loss of breast tone and structure, so that a portion of the breast will overhang the natural fold under the breast, making a breast augmentation with lift necessary.

In addition to lifting the breasts and improving their perkiness, some patients would also like to increase their breast size and fullness at the same time, in order to give their breasts a more youthful appearance. This can be achieved by having a breast augmentation with lift.

What Is a Breast Augmentation with Lift?

People often wonder, “Can you get a breast augmentation and lift at the same time?” or “How does a breast augmentation with lift work?”

The main benefits of a breast augmentation with lift are that the procedure can improve the shape and position of the breasts while restoring the position of the nipple and areola and increasing size and fullness based on individual preferences.

Breast Augmentation with Lift: How Do Breast Augmentation and Breast Lift Surgery Compare?

“Can a breast augmentation be enough to lift your breasts?” This is one of the most common questions from patients who are thinking of a breast augmentation with lift.

There are some patients who require a restoration of breast volume and just need a minor lift. In this case, implants alone can be helpful, as opposed to a breast augmentation with lift. If a patient has a reasonable amount of natural breast structure in the upper part of the breast, implants can be placed under the breast and above the pectoral muscle. By filling out the breast, implants will produce a minor degree of lifting. If a patient has relatively little upper breast structure, Dr. Cook can place the implants behind the pectoral muscle and reposition the muscle so that the implant fills and rounds out the lower portion of the breast.

Although implants can produce a minor degree of lifting, it is a mistake to try to use large implants to lift a more settled breast instead of a breast augmentation with lift. The result is a breast that does not look or feel natural and whose position and shape will deteriorate over time. It is much better for the patient to select a breast augmentation with lift, as this procedure will provide good quality long-term results.

Who Is an Ideal Candidate for Breast Augmentation with Lift?

You might be asking yourself, “Am I a good candidate for breast augmentation with lift?” The best candidates for breast augmentation with lift will be those who are in good physical health and maintain a stable weight. Usually, the ideal breast augmentation with lift candidates will be those with concerns such as drooping or sagging of the breasts, stretched skin, downward-pointing nipples that fall below the breast crease, and a desire for fuller, shapelier breasts.

The first question you should ask if you are thinking of a breast augmentation with lift is, “Am I happy with my breasts when they are supported in a bra, or do I desire more volume as well?” If you are happy with your breasts when they are supported by a well-structured, non-padded bra, you may not need breast augmentation with lift. The structural breast lift, a technique Dr. Cook has developed, is often a good solution, in that it allows for a redistribution of breast volume to the upper portion of the breast.

On the other hand, if you feel that your breasts look under-filled or deflated, even when supported with a bra, the combination of a breast augmentation with lift will probably be best suited to your needs. It’s important that patients choosing breast augmentation with lift have realistic expectations about what they can achieve with this procedure.

Here is a simple test you can perform on yourself to see if you need breast augmentation with lift.
Place a pencil so that it sits up against the fold under the breast and look at your breast in the mirror.

If your nipple sits below the level of the pencil, you should combine a breast augmentation with lift. If the degree of overhang is milder, you may still need a lift if you want a relatively “perky” breast structure. If there is just a little bit of overhang—for example less than one inch in a larger breast— implants alone may produce enough of a lift to achieve a nice breast shape.
Please bear in mind that these are general guidelines. They will vary with your personal circumstances, but they will hopefully point you in the right direction. In any case, it is important to seek the opinion of a highly experienced plastic surgeon who performs a significant number of advanced breast surgeries, such as breast augmentation with lift.

If you would like to bring your breasts back to the higher position they once occupied and increase their volume, the breast augmentation with lift combination can be helpful. We offer several versions of the breast augmentation with lift, the choice of which is based upon your goals and your breast structure.

What Types of Techniques Are Used for a Breast Augmentation with Lift?

There is no “one-size-fits all” procedure for every breast augmentation with lift patient. Dr. John Q. Cook and the Whole Beauty® Institute team combine a careful consideration of your goals with a detailed analysis of your individual breast structure in order to develop a surgical strategy for a breast augmentation with lift that suits your needs.

Dr. Cook offers his patients an extensive portfolio of options for a breast augmentation with lift. The specific approach to breast augmentation with lift is based upon each patient’s goals, lifestyle, and physical structure.

Options for breast augmentation with lift include structural mastopexy with implants; augmentation combined with periareolar mastopexy to correct a pointed breast shape or asymmetry of the nipples, areola, or breasts; vertical mastopexy with implants; and a classic (anchor) lift combined with augmentation.

Breast Augmentation with Lift: Structural Mastopexy with Implants

The development and refinement of the structural lift and other forms of structural breast surgery have been a major focus of Dr. Cook’s creative work in the field over the last seven years. In his opinion, the structural lift has significant advantages over many other breast lifting techniques.
These advantages include a restructuring of the breast tissue to replenish missing volume in the upper part of the breast, deep multi-level anchoring of the breast to help maintain the lift, and more limited scars than a traditional lift.

The structural breast lift with implants is his preferred technique for breast augmentation with lift patients who need a greater amount of lifting than can be accomplished with a periareolar lift and who also need additional breast volume.

Breast Augmentation with Lift: Augmentation Combined with Periareolar Mastopexy

If your breasts have settled beyond where they can be “lifted” with implants, but not to the extent that the nipples lie below the level of the fold under the breast, a combined periareolar lift with breast implants for your breast augmentation with lift may work well for you.

A periareolar lift combined with silicone gel implants for a breast augmentation with lift worked nicely for this patient. She did not require an aggressive breast augmentation with lift, and the breasts have achieved a nice, natural shape. Click the image to see it in the photo gallery.

Breast augmentation with lift before and after.

Dr. Cook often uses this breast augmentation with lift combination for patients who have lost tone and volume in their breasts after pregnancy and breastfeeding, and sometimes for patients who have lost significant weight but who haven’t experienced severe breast settling.

The basic concept of this breast augmentation with lift surgery is simple. Dr. Cook makes a circular incision around the border of the areola or within the areola if it has been stretched out by pregnancy. Another oval-shaped incision is made farther out in the skin of the breast, and the skin between the circle and the oval is removed. As the outer oval is brought to the inner circle with stitches, the breast is tightened and lifted. There are a number of technical embellishments to this breast augmentation with lift technique, but this describes the basic concept of this breast augmentation with lift surgery.

The periareolar lift was developed several decades ago, but it never caught on for one simple reason: The tension that resulted from bringing the outer oval to the inner circle often caused the resulting scar to spread. Dr. Louis Benelli, a French surgeon, made a significant contribution when he developed the “blocking suture” technique. Also called a “purse string” suture, the blocking suture is placed under the skin at the edge of the outer oval so that it runs around the entire margin. When the suture is tightened and secured, this reduces the oval to the size of the inner circle and removes the tension that would otherwise cause the scar to spread. Dr. Cook learned this breast augmentation with lift technique from Dr. Benelli in one of his courses and has found it to be helpful and effective in the right breast augmentation with lift patients.

Breast Augmentation with Lift: Periareolar Mastopexy with Augmentation to Correct a Pointed Breast Shape

Many of the patients who see Dr. Cook in consultation for breast augmentation with lift have significant concerns, such as a pointed breast, which tends to over-project in the area beneath the areola. Some breast augmentation with lift patients are very self-conscious about this particular breast shape.

The periareolar mastopexy can be a great friend to breast augmentation with lift patients with pointed breasts, since it “de-projects” the pointed area of the breast right in the area where this is needed. Dr. Cook often combines other advanced breast augmentation with lift techniques under these circumstances to help his patients achieve the shape they desire.

The combination of the periareolar lift with silicone gel implants helped this breast augmentation with lift patient obtain a pleasing breast shape. Click the image to view in photo gallery.

If you would like to learn more about the techniques Dr. John Q. Cook uses for his approach to breast augmentation with lift, you can send a message online to request a consultation, or call today at 312-751-2112 or 847-446-7562.

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Breast Augmentation with Lift: Periareolar Lift Combined with Implants to Correct Nipple and Areolar Asymmetry as Well as Breast Asymmetry

Many breast augmentation with lift patients have breasts that are two different sizes. Dr. Cook can help these patients by placing a larger implant behind the smaller breast and a slightly smaller implant behind the larger breast.

Sometimes the asymmetry of the breasts is accompanied by asymmetry of the areolae, either in position or size. To a degree, it is possible to shift the axis of the breast so that an areola that is pointing too far inward or outward can be oriented in a better direction. Dr. Cook has also used the periareolar lift technique to help breast augmentation with lift patients who have one areola of a larger diameter than the other.

Breast Augmentation with Lift: Vertical Mastopexy with Implants in the Context of Structural Lifting

This breast augmentation with lift procedure was significantly refined by surgeons in France and Brazil, such as Dr. Lasus and Dr. Pitanguy. It took the better part of two decades, however, for this operation to be widely adapted in the United States.

The main appeal of this procedure for a breast augmentation with lift was avoiding creation of a scar that runs along the fold under the breast as happens with the classic breast lift technique— sometimes referred to as an “anchor” lift because of the location of the scars. The vertical technique is often used in a breast augmentation with lift. There are different variations of this type of breast augmentation with lift surgery, some of which just rely on the skin to lift the breast, while others tighten the deeper breast structure.

With the structural lift technique for a breast augmentation with lift, Dr. Cook believes that he can control more aspects of the breast form than he could accomplish with vertical lifts, so he currently performs the latter much less frequently.

Breast Augmentation with Lift: Classic (Anchor) Lift Combined with Augmentation

Many surgeons in the United States still use this as their main technique for a breast augmentation and lift. Those who criticize this breast augmentation with lift operation do so on the basis of the extent of the scars, which run around the areola, straight down from the areola to the fold under the breast, and along much of the fold, both in the inner and outer parts of the breast.
Although scars are important, a more significant disadvantage of the classic lift is that it relies on the skin to do the lifting. For many people, skin lifts don’t last very long, and the lower portions of the breast stretch out.

There is a group of breast augmentation with lift patients for whom Dr. Cook still uses the classic lift combined with implants. These are patients in whom the main stretching out of the breast is along horizontal rather than vertical lines. This is sometimes seen in patients who have lost a very significant amount of weight. Even in these breast augmentation with lift patients, Dr. Cook will often incorporate elements of the structural technique for the deeper parts of the breast, although the pattern of the external scars does not reveal this strategy.

Structural breast lift with implants before and after.

Breast Augmentation with Lift Facts: What Role Do Implants Play in Restoring Volume to the Upper Portion of the Breasts?

There are breast augmentation with lift surgeons who routinely use implants with virtually all of their mastopexies—even for patients who do not desire more breast volume. This is particularly true for surgeons who use techniques that rely on the skin to lift the breast. This strategy makes a certain amount of sense, since with skin-level breast lifts, there will be a significant stretching out of the lower portion of the breast with the passage of time. As this happens, the upper part of the breast will empty out and appear hollow. If an implant is placed, the volume of the device will help to maintain fullness in the upper part of the breast.

Since most of the lifts and breast augmentation with lifts that Dr. Cook performs make use of the structural technique, he finds that he has less need to use implants for the sole purpose of providing upper pole volume than he did in the past. Dr. Cook occasionally sees patients whose breast structure makes this strategy a logical choice, even when combined with a structural lift. For some patients, it is possible to use the fat transfer process to restore breast volume, which does away with the need for implants.

What Can You Expect from the Recovery and Results of a Breast Augmentation with Lift?

One of the advantages of a breast augmentation with lift is that you will spend less time on planning and recovery. The single recovery time will be shorter for a combined breast augmentation with lift compared to having each procedure separately. This is because there is only one breast augmentation with lift surgery, so there is only one recovery period!

Which Aesthetic Treatments Are Available Aside from Breast Augmentation with Lift at Chicago’s Whole Beauty® Institute?

Aside from breast augmentation with lift, there are several other types of surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures for the face and body available at Whole Beauty® Institute. Breast reduction is used to reduce the size of the breasts to provide a more balanced, pleasing appearance or alleviate discomfort associated with large breasts. Breast revision can enhance the appearance of the breasts for a patient who has had previously had another type of breast surgery or address complications.