Options to Correct Breast Droop

Types of Breast Lift

On this page, Dr. Loftus explains why and how the degree of breast droop determines the extent of surgery required to resolve the breasts.

Because the cause of breast droop is loose skin, the treatment is to tighten skin by removing excess skin. The remaining tighter skin then holds the breast in a higher position. The greater the droop, the more skin must be removed–and the more extensive will be the scars. This operation also reduces nipple size for those who have undesirably large nipples.

Because droop is improved at the cost of new scars, breast lift involves trading one cosmetic problem for another. Because of this, many women are unwilling to consider this operation unless their droop is moderate or advanced.

The following are general guidelines. Ask your plastic surgeon which procedure is most appropriate in your case. Often your degree of droop will guide the recommendations of your plastic surgeon.

Mild Droop

Correction of mild droop may involve only removal of skin around the nipple, which leaves a scar around the areola. If it heals well, the scar may be relatively well-hidden.

Moderate Droop

Surgeons can correct moderate droop by removing skin both around and below the nipple, resulting in scars in both areas. It may also involve a scar along the crease.

Advanced Droop (Severe Droop)

Correction of advanced droop usually involves skin removal and scars in three areas: around the nipple, below the nipple, and along the inframammary crease.

Purse-String Breast Lift

Another alternative is a purse-string mastopexy, in which a donut of skin is removed from around the nipple, regardless of the extent of droop. This limits the scar to the area around the nipple, but there are drawbacks such as flattening of the breasts, widening of the areola, (the pigmented skin around the nipple), development of stretch marks, and bunching of skin around the areola. Because the most visible scar following a lift is the scar around the areola, this technique offers little aesthetic advantage over the other types of lift. further, if this type of lift is performed, it sacrifices shape and later this may be difficult or impossible to correct. For all of these reasons, Dr. Loftus advocates against this type of breast lift.