Breast lift / mastopexy surgery is performed as a day procedure within a hospital facility, under general anaesthesia. The procedure takes between 1½ and 3 hours.

The type of technique employed during a breast lift procedure depends upon the size of your breasts and how much they sag. The breast lift procedure basically involves removing skin from around the areola and possibly also from the lower half of the breast, and then shifting the remaining skin to firm up the breast. Often an implant will be inserted during the procedure to add volume and improve the overall contour.

There are two general categories of breast lift surgery. The concentric (or “doughnut”) breast lift surgery is best performed on women with smaller breasts, and the more common anchor-shaped breast lift surgery works best for women with extensive drooping. The surgeon will discuss with you all your options and recommend the one that is best for you.

Concentric Breast Lift. This procedure involves drawing concentric circles around the areola and then removing this doughnut-shaped piece of skin. As the nipple and areola are moved upwards, the outer skin is pulled in and then sutured into place.

Anchor-shaped Breast Lift. The first step involves creating an anchor-shaped incision that follows the contour of your breast. A keyhole shape incision is then made around the nipple and areola, defining a new, higher location for the nipple. The excess skin below the incision will be removed along with any excess breast tissue. The surgeon will then move the nipple and areola up into the keyhole area and suture around the areola, down to the chest and along the sides of the breast.