Blog
Breast Augmentation after previous Breast Reduction
In the recent months, I have seen a few patients for breast rejuvenation surgery as part of their mommy makeover, who have had previous breast REDUCTION surgery for enlarged breasts sometime earlier in their lives. This presents an interesting issue for me because large breasts were a problem for them in the past. Most of these women have had children and their breasts have gone through age-related changes. Often these patients are not happy with further loss of volume and eventual droop of their breasts. So what is the best solution ?
The solution depends on the patient’s goal. Typically, these patients are not looking to enlarge their breasts. The key issue for most of these patients is volume loss, which makes the breast look more droopy and without a nice shape. In most patients, the answer lies in using breast implants. Breast implants can be cleverly used to help with both volume and shape, without actually enlarging the breasts. Most patients automatically think that implants only augment breasts, but this is not always the case. This depends on the surgeon’s approach and skill in assessing and then choosing the correct size and profile of the implant and matching it to the patient’s goal. Of course, if the patient’s goal is augmentation, this can easily be done as well.
Because generally these patients are not looking to INCREASE the size of their breasts, choosing the correct solution depends on their goals and the skill of the surgeon. Breast implants can be used to solve this problem for most patients who may have had breast reduction surgery previously.
The photograph shows a recent patient in her 40’s, who underwent a mommy makeover ( extended tummy tuck with lipo-contouring and breast rejuvenation) with precisely the issue described above. She had a breast reduction at a very young age and now at middle age found that her breasts needed rejuvenation. She was not interested in breast enlargement, but wanted to restore a more youthful shape and appearance to her breasts. I used breast implants to help with the volume and performed a revision lift of her breasts around the implants to get the desired shape. Now she has a more balanced and rejuvenated appearance to her breasts without a discernible increase in the size of her breasts.
