Should You Choose a Breast Augmentation or Breast Lift? Or Both?

If you have ever felt dissatisfied with your breasts after pregnancy or weight loss, several procedures can restore your body confidence. Both breast lift and breast augmentation procedures can create shapelier breasts, but they do so in different ways and offer other distinct benefits. So, which is right for you: breast augmentation or a breast lift? Our Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Lafayette patients often ask that question, looking for the procedure that will give them volumized, shapely, and perky breasts.

Breast augmentation and breast lift procedures are each geared toward specific breast concerns. Here’s what you need to know about the two surgeries:

Breast Augmentation Can Give You Larger Breasts

If you want to increase the size of your breasts and improve the shape with more volume, breast augmentation is for you. With the help of your surgeon, you will choose your implants’ size, shape, and material. The width of your chest, current breast size, and overall proportions will influence this decision so you will get results that look natural and fit your frame.

Check out some of the great results we have achieved for our breast augmentation patients in this before and after photo gallery.

Breast Augmentation Cannot Lift Your Breasts

Breast augmentation is primarily designed to add volume to your breasts. For women who have smaller breasts, an implant can reduce mild sagging, but this is usually not the case for all women. If you have larger breasts or breasts with significant sagging (ptosis), you may notice increased droopiness after a breast augmentation.

If your main concern is sagging in the breasts and nipples pointing downward, a breast lift is a better option than a breast augmentation.

A Breast Lift Can Tighten and Uplift Sagging Breasts

A breast lift removes excess tissue in the breast area to lift and reshape breasts. Pregnancy, breastfeeding, or weight loss can impact the skin’s elasticity and cause breasts to droop over time. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, a good way to check if you are a good candidate for a breast lift is by using the pencil test. Place a pencil as high as you can under the breast fold. If the pencil holds, you have drooping breasts, and a breast lift will benefit you.

You can see how well a breast lift creates perkier breasts in our patients’ breast lift before and after pictures.

A Breast Lift Cannot Increase the Size of Your Breasts

You should know that a breast lift cannot add significant volume to your breasts and, in some cases, may even cause a slight reduction in breast size. The reduction in size is not due to volume loss but to the change in positioning and removal of excess skin. Women with smaller breasts who may be concerned about a decrease in breast size can opt for a breast augmentation rather than a breast lift.

Can You Combine Breast Augmentation and a Breast Lift?

Women who are looking to increase breast volume as well as improve sagginess are good candidates for a combination of breast augmentation and breast lift. With rounder, larger, and well-positioned breasts, you can achieve that much-coveted youthful silhouette. Our patients’ breast lift and augmentation before and after pictures show how beautifully the two procedures reshape and reposition the breasts.

You can also choose to combine other treatments such as a tummy tuck and liposuction for optimal body contouring. This combination of breast enhancement procedures with body contouring surgery is commonly known as a Mommy Makeover.

However, choosing to combine breast augmentation with a breast lift (or other procedures) is not a simple decision. You will need to consult with an experienced plastic surgeon to see if you are a good candidate, the results you can expect, and the recovery process for this combination of procedures. Read our related blog post to learn more about what to expect from your breast augmentation.

What Is the Recovery Process After Breast Augmentation With a Breast Lift?

A combination of breast augmentation and breast lift takes around 2 to 3 hours to perform. Most women can return to work after a week and resume strenuous activities after about 6 weeks. You will experience some postoperative bruising and swelling that should decrease after a few weeks. It’s important to remember that the appearance of your breasts will change during the recovery period, and you may not see the final results for a few months.

Combining a breast lift with breast augmentation is an effective way to improve your breasts and get the most out of your surgery. It’s important to work with your plastic surgeon and discuss the results you hope to achieve. If you are ready for more youthful and lifted breasts, request a consultation or call us at  (225) 399-0001 to schedule an appointment.