Category Archives: Breast Augmentation

mastopexy breast lift faq

Most Commonly Asked Questions about Mastopexy/Breast Lift Surgery

Breast Augmentation, Chest Questions

Mastopexy, which is also known as a breast lift, is one of the most common forms of breast augmentation surgery available today. This surgical procedure is designed to help raise and reshape sagging breasts and reinforce skin stretch. If necessary, a mastopexy can also reduce the size of your areolas.

Overall, a mastopexy is designed to help restore sagging breasts back to their original level of perkiness. It does not, however, add volume or size to your breasts. The only way to accomplish that would be to add implants or fat injections to the breasts.

There are many reasons why a woman may opt to have a breast lift, or mastopexy, but it’s always important to talk with your surgeon first. They will be able to advise you on whether a mastopexy will give you the results you’re looking for, or if you’ll have to go a different route.

Remember, not everyone is created equal and just because someone you know had a breast lift and it looks amazing, it may not give you the same results. This is why it’s extremely important to talk with a professional before making any decisions.

But before you talk with a doctor about mastopexy surgery, here are some of the most commonly asked questions about breast lifts.

Frequently Asked Questions About Breast Lift Surgery

How Much Does a Mastopexy Cost?

The cost of surgical procedures like mastopexy are going to vary depending on your location, the doctor you’re going to see, and the overall nature of the surgery. Because of this, it’s hard to outline an exact price, but we can give you a price range that a typical mastopexy procedure should fall under.

The average cost of a mastopexy in the United States is around $5,000. Keep in mind that this price is only for the surgery itself, it does not include things like testing, hospital fees, anesthesia, prescriptions, etc.

Depending on where you’re at in the country, and which doctor you go to, you may find prices as low as $2,000 or as high as $12,000. Another thing to keep in mind is that breast lift surgery is considered cosmetic surgery and most health insurance providers will not cover this procedure.

Can You Breast Feed After a Breast Lift?

When it comes to breast augmentation surgeries, like mastopexy, as long as you have a skilled doctor who knows what they’re doing, you should have no problem breastfeeding after the procedure.

If you had trouble breastfeeding before you had the surgery, this procedure will not help with that, but you can rest assured that the mammary glands are typically not disturbed during a procedure like this, so there should be no change to your ability to breastfeed.

How Long Does it Take For a Breast Lift To Heal?

Everyone’s body is different, so the healing process of any surgery is going to vary. Typically when we perform breast lift procedures we see patients back to everyday activities within 2-weeks. This doesn’t mean that you can run out and start exercising and doing sports again, but you should be able to go about your normal daily routine.

Swelling and bruising will be noticeable for about 3 weeks, but this can be easily managed with pain medication and shouldn’t cause too much discomfort if you’re not overexerting yourself.

For up to six weeks after the surgery you may notice some strange sensations around your nipple area. This can include burning feeling and numbness. Rest assured though these sensations typically go away after about six weeks and are very rarely permanent.

After about eight weeks post-op you should be able to resume more high-impact exercises and get back to your regular exercise schedule.

The last thing to heal is going to be your scars. Scars from breast lift surgery tend to change a lot during the first six months so don’t be surprised if they seem fairly noticeable during this time. The incisions themselves should be hidden when you are wearing clothing, even a bathing suit, and will continue to fade as time goes on.

If you wish to help keep the scars from being noticeable, there are scar fading creams on the market that tend to help, but the best thing you can do is keep the scars out of direct sunlight for a while.

If you’re concerned about scarring after the procedure talk with your doctor and they will be able to give you more tips on how to prevent discoloration of the scars.

A breast lift is a great way to return your breasts to their youthful, perkiness, while also helping to boost self-esteem. A skilled, professional, doctor will be able to answer all your questions regarding mastopexy surgery and the results you can expect from it, but it’s always good to go into the office knowing a little bit about the procedure.

Dr. Adams Plastic Surgery in Dallas, Texas is highly skilled in performing breast lift surgery as well as other breast augmentation procedures. Please contact us today to setup a consultation, or if you have any questions about the procedures we offer.

breast augmentation scars

Breast Implant Scars – What You Need to Know

Breast Augmentation

One of the biggest concerns we get when it comes to breast related plastic surgery clients is scarring. Many patients are concerned that the scars related to procedures like breast augmentation and breast lifts are going to be highly noticeable and unsightly.

This is a valid concern considering it is a surgical procedure that requires incisions to be made in the skin, so unfortunately scarring is a part of that process. That being said though, there are things that the surgeon can do to help minimize scarring and there are things you can do, post-op, to help reduce the visible scars.

How a Skilled Surgeon Helps to Reduce Scars

If you’re considering a breast lift or breast augmentation, one of the most important things you can do is to trust your doctor. Finding a reputable doctor that is active in the plastic surgery community, understands what they are doing, has good reviews and referrals, is always the first place to start.

A good surgeon will listen to, and understand, your needs when it comes to minimal scarring, and will explain exactly how they go about ensuring that the scars are as invisible as they can be after healing.

In most cases, the doctor will place the incisions in areas that are normally concealed by clothing and bathing suits so that you won’t have to worry about an unsightly scar while at the beach. By placing the scars around the areola or in the creases of the breast, your surgeon will be able to hide the incisions in areas that 99% of people will never see.

Avoiding Sunlight and Using Creams

In regard to post-op care to help minimize the scars, or the color of the scars, there are a number of things you can do.

While it shouldn’t be too hard to do after your surgical procedure, we always must tell patients to remain out of the sun to avoid causing your scars to become darker. If you can’t avoid being in the sun, or just love the sun in general, be sure to put on a high SPF sunscreen to help protect your scars from the UV rays.

There are also creams available to help lighten up scars and reduce their appearance but making sure you keep your healing incision clean and properly cared for is another great way to help minimize scarring.

Using anti-bacterial cream and cleaning the incision on a regular basis will help keep any foreign germs out of the area and will allow for better healing. The smoother the healing process, the less likely for scarring complications.

Once the healing process has finished, you can use things like softening creams or silicone treatments, which both help to keep the scarring area hydrated and flexible. This will help the scar tissue appear more normal, as scar tissue itself is relatively hard compared to normal skin.

Will The Scar Ever Go Away?

Unfortunately, that scar tissue is there to stay, but over time they will be less and less noticeable. If you’re really uncomfortable with the way the incisions have healed, there are medical options to available to help reduce the look of the scars.

Laser treatments and scar revision procedures are designed to help the scar tissue blend in with the skin around it, making it less visible. It won’t completely erase the scar, but it can help to make it less noticeable to the naked eye.

Scarring is a natural part of the human body and when an incision is made in the skin there’s no getting around it. Thankfully Dr. Adams is an extremely skilled surgeon, with years of experience, that can help minimize your scarring after breast augmentation surgery.

If you’re looking for more information about scarring or want to setup a consultation to talk to Dr. Adams about breast augmentation or a breast lift, please contact Dr. William Adams Plastic Surgery in Dallas, TX today!

breast augmentation swimming

Can I Swim After Having Breast Augmentation?

Breast Augmentation

We get asked a lot of questions regarding breast augmentation recovery and what you can and can’t do after surgery. Many of these questions revolve around physical activity and how soon one can return to sports and exercise.

Recovery from breast augmentation used to keep you in bed, or resting, for up to two weeks before you could comfortably, and safely, return to day-to-day activities. And when it came to more physical activity, it could be a month before you could return to 100%.

In recent years Dr. Adams has perfected his breast augmentation technique to allow for less recovery time. His 24-hour fast track recovery breast augmentation has revolutionized the industry and has allowed for people to return to normal lives faster than ever before.

While this fast-track recovery will allow you to get back to your daily routine quicker than normal, will it allow for you to get back into the swimming pool?

Breast Augmentation and Swimming

When we talk about swimming, as opposed to an activity like weightlifting or working out, the main thing we must worry about is infection.

Because of the method that Dr. Adams uses in his breast augmentation procedures, the chest muscles under the skin will begin to heal up faster than after a typical breast augmentation, but because there are still surgical incisions made, the visible healing will still take time.

When it comes to swimming after breast augmentation surgery there are a couple things that you should be careful of.

The first thing is the physical movement that comes with swimming laps. The muscles and implants themselves need time to heal and setting into your chest, so you will need to wait before you can fully exert yourself in the pool.

Different swimming strokes could potentially overexert your chest muscles and put strain on your incisions, which could lead to complications. A typical breast augmentation would require around 3-6 weeks before you can resume physical activity, but if you’re just looking to take a leisurely dip in the pool, you need only wait 2 weeks.

In addition to being careful about physical strain on your chest muscles, you need to be careful of your incisions.

Water, both pool water and ocean water, contains microbes that can get into your incisions and cause infection if you’re not careful.

If you plan to go into the water before 6-weeks have passed, there are a few things we recommend.

First of all, don’t stay in the water too long. If you’re incisions haven’t completely healed up, the longer you are submerged in water, the better the chance is for infection.

In addition to that, once you do get out of the water, be sure to dry off the area around your incisions. You don’t want your incisions to sit and soak in the water.

Breast Augmentation During Swim Season

The most important thing to remember after getting breast augmentation surgery is that you’re going to need to take it easy for a period of time. Your doctor will give you exact instructions on how long you’ll need to rest for and how long you need to wait before resuming everyday activities and exercise.

In addition to avoiding the water and swimming, you’ll need to be careful about what you wear to the beach or pool, as well as how long you stay out in the sun.

During the recovery period, you’re going to want to avoid bikinis and underwear that contains an underwire. We usually recommend a soft sports bra that can support your breasts while not pushing up on them.

Depending on where your surgeon makes the incisions for the implants, an underwire bra could irritate them and cause more discomfort than necessary.

It’s also important that if you’re going to be out in the sun for an extended period of time to use sunscreen. Scar tissue on the skin does not have the same general make-up as your normal skin and can become darker and unsightly. Be sure to get the ok from your doctor on when you can apply sunscreen to your incisions/scars, you don’t want to be applying it to incisions that haven’t quite healed yet.

Swimming is a great low-impact activity that is both physically beneficial and mentally relaxing, but it’s important to make sure your body is fully healed before you begin these types of activities.

Your doctor will be able to give you suggested timeframes for recovery depending on how they performed the surgery.

Always listen to your doctor. In most cases they’ve done hundreds, if not thousands, of these procedures and know what’s best for you when it comes to making a full recovery.

breast lift non-surgical

Is a Non-Surgical Breast Lift Possible?

Beautiful Breasts, Breast Augmentation, Non-Surgical

With breast augmentation surgery being one of the most popular forms of plastic surgery in the world these days, it should come as no surprise that people are looking for an easy, less invasive, way to achieve similar results.

Non-surgical procedures have come a long way since the introduction of things like botox and injectable fillers, with various non-surgical options now available for skin tightening, hair loss treatments, and even fat reduction. However, breast augmentation has always been fairly limited to traditional surgical methods to achieve the results that most people want.

While a breast lift procedure is not the same as receiving breast implants, it still requires surgery in order to contour the breasts and remove excess skin in order to lift the breasts in a way that makes the patient happy.

Can a Breast Lift Be Performed Non-Surgically

As stated above, technology has advanced over the years and has allowed for certain non-surgical procedures to be much more effective than they once were. But this does not mean that we’re at the point where CoolSculpting or Thermi-Tight, or things of that nature, will give you the same results that you would get out of a surgical procedure.

When it comes to breast lift procedures, most patients come into the office looking to turn their sagging breasts into perkier, more rounded, breasts, which can’t really be accomplished with non-surgical procedures alone.

In some cases, where the sagging isn’t as severe, things like Thermi-Tight, which uses radio frequencies to help tighten the skin, can provide some benefit to sagging breasts. However, most patients that come through the door don’t just have a minor case of sagging breasts. Most patients are seeing the effects of weight fluctuation, either through pregnancy or lifestyle changes, as well as the effects of aging and gravity.

Once you’re breasts begin to sag and you start to get to the point where you want to correct them, it’s usually too late to see the results you want from a non-surgical procedure.

This doesn’t mean that it’s not possible to get some enhancement from these various types of skin tightening procedures, but in general, most patients that desire a breast lift are going to require a surgical procedure in order to achieve the results they want.

Can a Breast Lift Be Done Without Scars?

One of the biggest reasons that women are looking for non-surgical breast lift options is that they don’t want to deal with scars.

Scars are an unfortunate side effect of any plastic surgery procedure, but skilled surgeons are able to perform these surgeries in a way that minimizes the visibility of these scars. There are ways to hide the scars in the folds of the breast or around the areola so that minimal scarring will be visible only when the breasts are exposed, and scars will be hidden when wearing things like a bikini.

Unfortunately, if a surgical breast lift is required, there are going to be scars. It’s just part of the process. A non-surgical breast lift would, in theory, allow for a breast lift to be performed without any visible scarring, but with the technology where it is right now, this just isn’t possible to the degree that most women need.

If you’re looking to repair or rejuvenate your sagging breasts, you will achieve the optimal results through a surgical breast lift procedure. Non-surgical breast enhancements are available in varying degrees, but cannot replicate what can be done surgically.

Skin tightening, PRP treatments, and collagen-stimulating procedures can definitely help with minor sagging, but will not give you that roundness along the top of the breast that most women are looking for.

If you’re looking into breast lift options, it’s always important to talk with your doctor about what you’re looking to get out of the procedure. They will be able to sit down and discuss all of the various options, surgical and non-surgical, depending on what the end goal is.

At Dr. Adams Plastic Surgery in Dallas, TX we specialize in breast augmentation procedures and would be happy to help discuss all of the various options available when it comes to breast lifts. Please contact us today for more information.

breast reduction surgery

5 Things to Know About Breast Reduction Surgery

Breast Augmentation, Plastic Surgery

When it comes to breast augmentation surgery, the vast majority of conversations revolve around breast enlargements or implants, not a lot of people talk about breast reduction surgery.

In most cases, when we’re talking about breast reduction surgery, we’re talking about women who have naturally large breasts that are causing them other health issues, and not usually implant recipients that want to have their implants removed. These women have been dealing with large breasts for a long period of time and due to the strain they can sometimes put on the body, they have developed other physical health problems that need to be resolved.

The most common ailment associated with large breasts is neck and back pain, but there are other issues that can arise throughout the years. It can influence self-esteem and confidence as well, which is why it’s an important conversation to have even though it’s not always what we think about when talking about breast augmentation.

Regardless of what your reasoning might be for seeking out information on breast reduction surgery, the main thing is to do what’s best for your body. Be sure to discuss options and concerns with your doctor and listen to what they have to say. It’s your body and you should be in control of what happens to it. If you’re having physical pain or issues with the way your large breasts look, don’t let someone else convince you to not get the surgery. You’re the one that has to live with it.

If you’re thinking about undergoing breast reduction surgery, here are some things you may not know about the procedure.

Interesting Facts About Breast Reduction Surgery

1. Breast Reduction Will Leave Scars

As with most surgical procedures, incisions will be made in the body. In the case of breast reduction surgery, different surgeons use different methods, but in almost all methods the goal is to hide the surgical scars as best as possible.

Unfortunately it’s almost impossible to hide them completely, but most surgeons will make sure that the scars are easily covered by clothing or when wearing a bathing suit. Typically the incisions are made around the nipple area and then down to the folds under your breasts. This allows for the scar to be hidden in most cases unless the breasts are fully exposed.

If you’re worried about the visible scars, be sure to communicate that to your doctor so that they can show you example photos of fully healed incisions on patients they’ve performed the surgery on.

2. Breast Reduction Surgery is More Common Than You May Think

The most popular form of plastic surgery is breast enlargement or augmentation, but you never really hear about people undergoing breast reduction surgery. There’s this stigma around the fact that enlarging your breasts is seemingly ok, but making them smaller isn’t. And there shouldn’t be.

In fact, more women than you think have undergone breast reduction surgery throughout their lives. Breast sizes can change for a number of reasons and sometimes women just don’t like the feeling of having larger breasts, or aren’t comfortable with the way they cause the rest of their body to feel.

If you’re considering breast reduction surgery, know that there are a lot of women out there that undergo the same procedure every year and there’s nothing to be worried about. Do what’s best for you.

3. Breast Reduction Surgery May Also Include a Breast Lift

While breast reduction surgery and breast lift surgery are two entirely different procedures, in most cases doctors will perform a breast lift while you are undergoing a breast reduction. By doing a breast lift while doing a reduction, doctors are able to better shape the breasts, and the skin around the breast, to fit the new shape.

In the case of a breast lift, only excess skin is removed to help enhance and reshape sagging breasts, whereas in a breast reduction, excess fat and breast tissue is removed as well to help reduce the shape. By performing both of these procedures at once, you know you’re going to get the best looking and feeling breasts possible.

4. Breast Feeding and Nipple Sensitivity Can Be Affected

When undergoing any procedure having to do with your breasts, there is always a chance that you could be left with less sensation in your nipples. This also pertains to breast reduction surgery, so it’s important to understand the risks involved. If you’re concerned about nipple sensitivity after your surgery, talk with your doctor before the procedure as there are some techniques that can be applied during the surgery to help minimize any nipple numbness you may experience.

In addition to nipple sensitivity, about half of women who undergo a breast reduction procedure experience difficulty in breast feeding. This doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to breast feed, it just means that some women find it more difficult. Unfortunately, there’s no way to predict who may suffer from these issues until the time comes.

5. Men Can Receive Breast Reduction Surgery

We’ve been talking a lot about women undergoing breast reduction surgery, but did you know that men can do it too? Known as Gynecomastia, male breast reduction surgery is more common than you may think. With reduced testosterone in the body, sometimes male breasts can grow larger than you may want. In most cases they aren’t causing physical problems like they do in females, but they can make a lot of men feel self-conscious or uncomfortable.

If you’re interested in breast reduction surgery, please contact us today! Our team of experts can help answer any questions may have regarding this surgery and Dr. Adams is one of the best surgeons in the business.