Breast Lift Santa Cruz, CA

Breast Lift

breast lift Santa Cruz CA - woman with hands on bandaged breastsIf your breasts have lost shape or volume over the years, you may consider getting a breast lift in Santa Cruz, CA. During the procedure, a plastic surgeon such as Kirk A. Churukian, MD, FACS will remove excess skin and reshape breast tissue, giving your breasts a lifted and younger appearance. With that being said, here are some common myths about breast lifts that you should not believe.

A Breast Lift Will Enhance the Size of Your Breasts

A breast lift can’t actually increase the size of your breasts. Instead, the procedure removes excess tissue to make the breasts higher and firmer. If you want to increase the size of your breasts, you will also have to undergo breast augmentation. 

After a Breast Lift, You Can’t Breastfeed

Some women may be reluctant to get a breast lift because they assume they can’t breastfeed their children. Luckily, this is not true. Getting a breast lift will not stop you from being able to breastfeed.

A Breast Lift Will Leave You with Huge Scars

Another reason why some women avoid getting a breast lift is because they do not want unsightly scars. Well, you will be relieved to know that scarring after a breast lift is minimal and should fade over time. Your plastic surgeon may recommend certain scar-reducing creams to speed up the process.

Exercise Can Lift Your Breasts

You have probably heard before that performing certain exercises can make your breasts perkier. The reality is that these exercises just build muscles in your chest. They won’t be able to lift your breasts. If you wish to lift your breasts, getting a breast lift in Santa Cruz, CA is your best option.

A Breast Lift Lasts Forever

While it would be nice if this was true, it is not realistic. A breast lift can remove excess skin, but that skin that still remains may start to sag in the future too. It is just the natural aging process. 

Combining a Breast Lift and Breast Augmentation Is Risky

It is actually perfectly safe to combine a breast lift with breast augmentation. In fact, many women do this and love the final results. If you have small, saggy breasts, you may be the perfect candidate for these two surgeries.

Breast Lift Procedure

Once you have made the decision to have surgery for a breast lift Santa Cruz CA clients recommend, you will likely have questions about the procedure and the healing process.

In most cases, the procedure is considered an outpatient one and is performed under general anesthesia. The surgery itself takes between one to two hours.

Many patients express concern about the incision that will be done during the surgery. Your breast lift doctor can explain what type they will use since every case depends on how much of a lift will be done and whether or not you have chosen to have implants placed during the procedure. If you are having implants placed, your doctor will place these right under your pectoralis muscles.

Another concern that some patients have is the placement of the areola and nipple, but you can be assured that your Santa Cruz breast lift doctor will place them in a location that is both proportionate and natural.

Breast Lift Recovery

Every patient’s recovery is different and this includes how long a breast lift recovery takes. Some of the factors that play into the recovery include what type of surgical approach was taken and if the patient had any other procedures done at the same time.

In most cases, patients can resume their normal activities within a short period of time (your doctor will let you know), however, strenuous exercise and other heavy activities may be prohibited for several months after the procedure in order to ensure proper and correct healing.

In order to help facilitate healing, the following tips are important to keep in mind:

  • Make sure to follow all of your doctor’s instructions. Even if you are feeling better, ignoring them could cause complications, including wearing the proper supportive clothing and sleeping on your back.
  • Make sure to keep all of your follow-up doctor appointments. These appointments are critical for your doctor to be able to monitor your recovery and healing, as well as discover any possible complications. These appointments are also where suture removal from your Santa Cruz breast lift or any other important post-surgical procedures will be done.  
  • Make sure to ask for help from others when needed. It is important to the healing process and success of the surgery that you avoid any heavy lifting, driving, or other restricted activities. This is really important if you have young children at home.
  • Make sure you get plenty of rest. Even if you are feeling great within a day or two after the surgery, your body still needs the time to heal. Take this time to rest at home.
  • Make sure to eat healthy foods. While this is important at any time, it is also another critical component of proper healing. Also, make sure to drink plenty of water.
  • Make sure not to go rush your recovery. Many people find it difficult to not be busy all the time, but you need to make sure to take the appropriate time to heal and recover. Remember, even if you’re feeling good, you have just had major surgery, and rushing to resume your regular schedule could lead to complications after your Santa Cruz breast lift.

Breast Lift vs. Breast Augmentation

For many people, any time they hear about breast enhancement surgery, they usually automatically think of breast augmentation. Breast augmentation increases the size of the breasts. This is done surgically, by placing implants in the breasts. The implants are usually made of saline or silicone and come in different sizes so the patient can choose the size they want their breast. However, breast augmentation surgery does not prevent the patient’s breasts from sagging. This is where a breast lift reduction Santa Cruz CA patients recommend comes in.

Purpose of a Breast Lift

A patient may choose to get a breast lift alone or choose to also undergo breast augmentation at the same time. Many women begin to develop sagging breasts over time. This usually happens with age, but can also occur because of pregnancy, breastfeeding, and weight loss.

A breast lift procedure helps bring back that youthful appearance of the breast, sculpting and actually lifting. A Santa Cruz breast lift surgeon will also reposition the areola and nipple to help enhance that more natural look. There are several techniques that can be used for a breast lift, including some skin removal.

Breast Lift Process

As mentioned above, the breast lift procedure itself usually takes anywhere between one to two hours, depending on the patient’s own particular circumstances. It is also performed while the patient is under general anesthesia and on an outpatient basis.

During the procedure, the doctor will make a very careful and precise incision on the breast, removes any excess skin, and then closes the incision with sutures. The doctor will also make any necessary adjustments to the areola and nipple, including repositioning and/or alterations, in order to ensure this area is correctly positioned in a natural way.

Breast Lift Scarring

Because every patient is different, so too will the type of incision the surgeon makes during the procedure. Some of the factors that will affect the size of the scar that may be left include how much skin removal is necessary and whether the patient is also undergoing breast augmentation at the same time.

A Santa Cruz breast lift surgeon has several different types of incisions they may make. The most popular types are an anchor incision, an inverted T incision, or a lollipop incision. No matter what type of incision is made, the patient will have some type of visible scar left.

In order to minimize that scarring, it is important to have an experienced and skilled surgeon performing your breast lift, like Kirk A. Churukian, MD, FACS. Dr. Churukian uses the most advanced techniques, along with the most advanced tools, that are available for breast lift surgery. He also concentrates on placing any incisions in areas where they can be camouflaged or concealed by the natural contours of your breasts and body. All of these things help ensure complete healing takes place, along with the fading of your scars, and minimum visibility.

If you are thinking about getting a breast lift in Santa Cruz, CA, schedule a consultation with plastic surgeon, Kirk A. Churukian, MD, FACS as soon as possible.

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