Women who are searching for breast lift surgery in Virginia Beach, they choose Dr. Hubbard for his caring nature and highly individualized approach. He personalizes each breast lift procedure and uses several advanced techniques to create a natural-looking result while minimizing the risk of scarring and complications. Many breast lifts can be done with little or no horizontal scar beneath the breast.
Virginia Beach breast lift surgery or mastopexy can help to reshape and sculpt the breasts, restoring them to their youthful, perky position. Based on the patient's desires, Dr. Hubbard can use this procedure to reposition only the nipple, just the breast, or both. Also, he offers a variety of options to improve different degrees of breast sagging, as well as various lifting techniques.
An experienced breast surgeon like Dr. Hubbard can help determine which breast lift approach is appropriate for you. Request a consultation online or contact our office by calling (757) 600-6227 to discuss your options.
Breast Lift Before & After Photos
Keep in mind that each patient is unique and your results may vary.
Case #277
This 23-year-old Norfolk resident was unhappy with the shape of her breasts following multiple pregnancies. Learn More
Case #565
This Virginia Beach woman in her mid forties was concerned about the size and sag of her breast. Learn More
Case #382
This 45-year-old patient from Suffolk had breast augmentation with another surgeon 17 years ago and has been quite pleased except for changes to her breasts over the last few years. Learn More
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Learn MoreAm I a Candidate for a Breast Lift?
Women who are bothered by the shape of their breasts or who feel that their breasts are sagging may benefit from a breast lift. Our breast lift in Virginia Beach can also be a good option for women who have enlarged areolas or who want younger-looking breasts with less width and better projection.
What Can I Expect During my Breast Lift Procedure?
This procedure is typically done on an outpatient basis under general anesthesia. The design of the surgical incisions and thus the scars vary with the type of lift. For lesser amounts of sag, an incision may be placed along the upper border of the areola only. In other instances, the incision may run all the way around the areola. For heavy or large breasts and more significant sag, a vertical incision from beneath the areola to the breast fold will often provide the most lift. Most women will have either a very short horizontal scar along the breast crease or no scar in the fold at all.
What Can I Expect from Healing after Surgery?
- A wrap-around dressing is placed on the breasts overnight.
- Pain is usually minimal and oral medication is prescribed for comfort.
- Most sutures dissolve on their own, and the rest are removed in 1 week.
- Most women can return to work in 5 to 7 days.
Am I a Candidate for a Complete Makeover?
A breast lift is sometimes combined with breast augmentation or breast reduction to improve the size and symmetry of the breasts. Many women also choose liposuction or a tummy tuck in addition to breast surgery for overall body reshaping benefits; a procedure often called a mommy makeover.
You May Also Need to Know
- Breast sagging is often the result of too much skin and too little breast tissue.
- For some women who have undergone pregnancy or weight loss, the breast ligaments may also be stretched.
- In women with less sag, breast implants can sometimes be used alone to replace lost volume.
Will a Vertical Lift Correct Excess Skin?
Women who thoroughly research the most advanced techniques of breast surgery learn the advantages of the vertical breast lift. The total length of scar is less, but the real advantage is a better shape and more effective, long-lasting lift. This approach involves excising the skin within a particular pattern to shape the breasts in such a way that the breast tissue is used to support the breast, with much less reliance on the skin. By performing this type of breast lift, Dr. Hubbard can minimize or avoid the scar in the fold beneath the breast. Breasts that sag become wide and flat. Only the vertical lift both narrows and projects. There are a variety of other techniques Dr. Hubbard uses, depending on the amount of breast sag, skin quality, age, and individual goals.
At Hubbard Plastic Surgery, Dr. Hubbard takes the time to listen to your concerns, answer your questions, and develop a treatment plan that is personalized to you. He is committed to excellence at each step of the cosmetic surgery experience.
What Causes Breasts to Sag?
- The descent of all or part of the breast tissue down the chest is a normal part of aging in many women.
- It can be caused by pregnancy, weight gain, or just inherited poor elasticity of the skin in all age groups.
- Specific shapes or maldevelopment of the breast can lead to sag very early in life. An example is a "constricted breast" – a breast that is so narrow that it can't support its weight on the chest wall, so sag or ptosis develops early.
How does the Relationship between the Nipple and the Fold Cause Breast Sag?
One of the primary gauges of sag is the relationship between the nipple and the fold beneath the breast (inframammary fold/IMF). Breast sag is progressively worse as the nipple to IMF relationship falls from above the fold (a), at the fold (b), and to below the fold (c,d). Sag is at its worst when the nipple is not only well below the fold but is also the lowest part of the breast (d).
There is another type of sag in which the nipple doesn't fall but stays above the fold, and the entire breast and IMF move downward like a paint drop on a wall (e).
Finally, some forms of sag are related to the poor development of the breast, especially if the breast never developed adequate width. These are "constricted breasts" mentioned above, also known as "tuberous breasts" or the "snoopy deformity." We have to consider the various types of sag in our decision-making.
Can I Treat my Breast Sag with Breast Implants?
- In any discussion of surgical solutions for breast sag, breast implants should be mentioned.
- They sometimes are used instead of or along with a breast lift.
- It is safe to say, implants only help sag a small amount at best. Placing larger implants to help sag is usually a bad decision. Women are often disappointed because their result is larger breasts than they anticipated and still minimal improvement with sag.
- Certain lifts should be used only with breast implants.
For more information on this topic, please refer to the Breast Augmentation section of the Hubbard Plastic Surgery website.
How Does Dr. Hubbard Treat Breast Sag with Surgery?
Probably the most common surgical approach to correcting sag involves the lollipop scar line pattern. With newer techniques, some patients do not require a horizontal scar in the fold or a shorter one. This general approach provides the surgeon with a variety of options. Sometimes the nipple is not raised, but the overall breast tightened, lifted and shaped. More often the nipple is raised, the areola (pigmented skin) made smaller and the breast raised, tightened and shaped.
A better shape is accomplished by also removing some breast tissue. There are many options with how much is removed from minimal to considerable in those women that choose to be smaller. Often the choice is made to extract more on one side for better symmetry.
Overall, the shaping action in this surgery brings out the true artistic abilities of a plastic surgeon. Dr. Hubbard places the patient in a semi-sitting position in the operating room and progressively sculpt the breast by sequentially tightening in multiple directions. With quite significant sag, patients gladly accept the scar lines as a tradeoff for a great improvement in shape.
Meet Dr. Hubbard
Learn why men and women in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, VA trust the surgical expertise of board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Thomas Hubbard.
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How does Dr. Hubbard Minimize Scars?
State-of-the-art breast lift surgery has accomplished another step forward by eliminating a large portion of the scar. Excellent improvement in shape can now be achieved with no horizontal scar beneath the breast in many patients. Surprisingly, these techniques can lead to more long-lasting improvement in shape as well. This is quite an advance for many patients since often the most troublesome part of the scar is that which extends far out beneath the arm or to the middle of the chest. In most cases, these aspects can be eliminated.
Please visit our photo gallery page to see examples of breast lift procedures from our patients in Norfolk, VA, Chesapeake, Virginia Beach and North Carolina.
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