Breast reduction and lift surgeries are excellent cosmetic choices for women who want to improve their figure and quality of life. These procedures will refine your body by improving your breasts’ size, shape, and elevation.

Your choice to get plastic surgery depends on your expectations and goals. For example, are your oversized or disproportional breasts causing discomfort, embarrassment, and restricting your clothing choices? Or, do you struggle more with loose, sagging skin that has made your breasts look deflated and caused your nipples to fall below the breast creases?

In this post, we’ll break down information from triple board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Ali Sajjadian. We will explain the differences and similarities breast lift and breast reduction surgeries share, helping you move closer to making an informed decision and picking the appropriate operation.

What Is a Breast Lift?

When performing breast lift surgery, Dr. Sajjadian rejuvenates his patients’ appearance by elevating their breasts and nipples. To begin, Dr. Sajjadian uses one of these incision techniques.

• Keyhole-shaped incisions: This approach involves making a circumferential incision around the areolas, extended vertically downward toward the breast creases.
• Anchor-shaped incisions: These incisions are around the areolas, extended vertically down to the breast creases, then horizontally under the breast creases.
• Doughnut-shaped incisions: Here, Dr. Sajjadian only makes incisions around both areolas.
• Crescent-shaped incisions: This incision pattern involves making a small crescent-shaped cut at the top areola border and removing excess skin. Then, Dr. Sajjadian joins the upper and lower borders, thus elevating the nipple/areola complex.

Through these incisions, Dr. Sajjadian will remove excess tissue and create new breast mounds. He can also reduce your areolas, if necessary. After these modifications, he will close the incisions with sutures and dress them with bandages.

If your breasts are asymmetrical or smaller than you’d like, he can enhance volume by combining your breast lift with an breast augmentation to bring more shape to your figure.

What Is a Breast Reduction?

Breast reduction is an excellent procedure to relieve the challenges of oversized breasts that are too heavy for your body frame. Removing excess breast tissue and bringing your breasts into better proportion with your other features can significantly improve your quality of life.

The best breast reduction candidates deal with significant physical and emotional issues. The operation is not exclusively cosmetic, but can also relieve discomfort. Here are problems many of our breast reduction patients struggle with:

• Back, neck, and shoulder pain due to heavy breast tissue
• Trouble finding clothes that fit
• Embarrassment about oversized breasts
• Daily fatigue from carrying excess breast tissue and weight
• Limited mobility
• Inability to do activities like jogging, swimming, tennis, or golf
• Rashes and irritation at the breast creases or the bra straps
• Enlarged breasts pull your shoulders forward, making it uncomfortable to sit or stand due to poor posture

Some women prefer combining breast reduction surgery with other cosmetic procedures like a mommy makeover or tummy tuck. Others prefer to employ liposuction for their upper arms or back area to complement their new bust size.

Similar Benefits

While different in results and approach, breast lift and breast reduction share many advantages:

• These surgeries are relatively routine and deliver a noticeable outcome instantly.
• Most women report high levels of satisfaction and a boost of confidence with these procedures.
• They can help improve your posture.
• Breastfeeding is possible after either procedure.
• Surgical scars heal discreetly.

Which Procedure Is Right for Me?

The first step in determining if a breast lift or breast reduction is better for you is identifying the specific problems you wish to address. For example, do you only struggle with sagging breast tissue, or is size an issue? Are your breasts too heavy for comfort?

Regarding breast size, here are some simple questions to determine if a breast reduction is a wise choice:

• Are your breasts too large for your frame?
• Do you have postural issues?
• Do you constantly battle with shoulder, neck, or back pain?
• Are there grooves or depressions along your shoulders from wearing a bra?
• Does your breast size limit your ability to move effortlessly?
• Is shopping for clothing challenging due to your large breasts?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, a breast reduction surgery may be worth your consideration.

Regarding breast positioning, here are some questions to help determine if a breast lift is best for you:

• Do your nipples point downward?
• Do your breasts sag and droop?
• Is your breast tissue lax?
• Do your breasts seem deflated?

You may be an excellent candidate for a breast lift if you answered yes to any of these questions.

Why Choose Dr. Sajjadian?

Dr. Sajjadian is an Orange County plastic surgeon with extensive training and more than two decades of experience. He has completed thousands of plastic and cosmetic surgeries with positive impacts on his patients’ lives. If you are considering a breast lift or breast reduction, get in touch with us.

For more information regarding breast lift or breast reduction surgeries, contact our Newport Beach practice online or call (949) 515-0550.