The most requested and performed surgeries in the aesthetic field are undoubtedly breast surgeries, encompassing three main types: Breast Augmentation, Breast Lift, and Breast Reduction. Here, I aim to highlight the differences to help answer the question: Breast Augmentation or Breast Lift – which surgery is right for me?
Breast Augmentation or Augmentation:
The name reveals much about this surgery, which aims to increase breast volume.
Three methods are commonly used:
The most common is using implants, an external aid that can be inserted in three different positions:
Behind the mammary gland, retro-glandular technique, suitable for women with well-developed breasts and preferably a certain amount of adipose tissue to mask the implant.
Submuscular technique, where the implant is placed in a deeper layer behind the pectoralis major muscle. This allows the choice for leaner women.
Dual plane, a technique combining the two previous ones, intending not only to conceal the implant better but also to make it more natural. The implant is hidden in the upper part by the muscle, while in the lower part, it is left free to settle without continuous muscle pressure.
Autologous fat, where new volume is created using fat harvested from the woman's own donor area and reinjected into the breasts.
A technique often requested for its perceived naturalness, but it has limitations, leading me to use it only in conjunction with implants.
Allows a minimal increase in volume, never more than one size. For a larger volume, multiple staged procedures need to be scheduled.
Requires a simultaneous second surgery, liposuction, as it's not possible to obtain the necessary fat in another way.
Fat and implants together: then we talk about Hybrid or Composite Breast Augmentation.
Combining the use of implants, with the possible placements seen earlier, with an additional layer of fat.
The result is more natural due to better coverage of the implant.
It can also be smaller and thus lighter and less noticeable because the lower volume is compensated by the transfer of adipose tissue.
This surgery is suitable for women born with small or nonexistent breasts and those who have seen a reduction due to diet or pregnancy without accompanying sagging, as discussed in the next paragraph.
Breast Lift:
Unlike Breast Augmentation, here the central issue is not the size of the breasts but their shape and position. It is a surgery that aims to lift and proportion them.
Two types exist: with and without implants, with the variant with implants often being the most performed.
Breasts sag mainly for two reasons: skin sagging often combined with an unsustainable weight, especially from already stressed skin.
The surgeon must eliminate excess skin and recreate the breast envelope in proportion to its actual volume.
Natural volume can be increased using an implant. However, this step represents a risk and limitation for this surgery. Even if excess skin is removed, the remaining part cannot be regenerated or strengthened in any way. It remains weak and inelastic. Adding weight (the implant) in such conditions would be additional stress on skin that is already poorly equipped to handle it.
This surgery is suitable for women with sagging breasts, where the mass is concentrated in the lower part, a condition known as breast ptosis, which can have various degrees.
Usually recommended after one or more pregnancies, especially if followed by natural breastfeeding. Or in case of significant weight loss, regardless of the patient's age, for those who have stressed their skin with significant and sudden changes in volume.
This aesthetic issue can also be due to the simple passage of time, inevitably affecting our entire body. Gravity and the decrease in skin hydration and elasticity are the main culprits.
Breast Lift or Breast Augmentation?
The question itself does not make sense because we are talking about two surgeries with different therapeutic indications. Even though the goal of both is to give the patient a lifted and firm breast, the starting needs are different. A volume never had for Breast Augmentation. A lift and a new shape for Breast Lift. By clearly understanding the starting problem, you can easily choose between Breast Lift or Breast Augmentation.
If you can't decide which one is right for you, request a consultation, and I will provide you with the right answer.
