Patient Details
This patient presented to Dr. Mihail Climov seeking breast rejuvenation as part of her customized Mommy Makeover. Her goal was to improve breast sagging, shape, nipple position, and overall breast proportions while preserving her natural breast volume without implants.
At the time of surgery, she weighed 159 lbs with a BMI of 27.3.
Dr. Climov performed a bilateral mastopexy, commonly known as a breast lift, to reshape and elevate the patient's existing breast tissue. Rather than increasing breast size with implants, the procedure focused on repositioning and reshaping her natural breast tissue to create a more youthful, lifted breast contour.
These before and after photographs were taken only 6 weeks after surgery, so the breasts and surgical scars are still in the early stages of healing.
Procedure Performed
Bilateral Mastopexy (Breast Lift) Without Implants
This patient also underwent 360° power-assisted liposuction, bra-line liposuction, Renuvion of the trunk, and an ultrasound-guided BBL as part of her comprehensive Mommy Makeover.
This gallery focuses specifically on her breast lift before and after results.
What Is a Mastopexy?
A mastopexy, or breast lift, is a surgical procedure designed to reshape and elevate breasts that have developed sagging, medically known as breast ptosis.
Pregnancy, breastfeeding, aging, genetics, gravity, and weight fluctuations can stretch the skin and supporting tissues of the breast. Over time, the breast may sit lower on the chest, lose its youthful shape, and develop a lower nipple position.
A breast lift addresses these changes by removing excess skin and reshaping the existing breast tissue to create a firmer, more elevated breast contour.
The nipple-areolar complex can also be repositioned to a more appropriate location on the newly shaped breast.
What Can a Breast Lift Improve?
A mastopexy may address:
- Sagging or drooping breasts
- Low nipple position
- Stretched breast skin
- Downward-pointing nipples
- Enlarged or stretched areolas
- Loss of youthful breast shape
- Breast asymmetry
- Deflated appearance following pregnancy or weight loss
- Excess skin around the breasts
The objective is not simply to move the nipple upward. A well-planned mastopexy reshapes the entire breast envelope and redistributes the patient's existing breast tissue.
Breast Lift Without Implants
One of the most common misconceptions about breast rejuvenation is that an implant is always necessary to create attractive breast shape.
It isn't.
For women who already have adequate natural breast volume, a breast lift without implants can create significant improvement by reshaping and repositioning the tissue they already have.
This approach is particularly appealing to patients who:
- Are satisfied with their overall breast size
- Do not want breast implants
- Primarily want correction of sagging
- Want their natural breast tissue positioned higher on the chest
- Prefer a natural breast feel
- Want improvement in nipple position and breast shape rather than significant enlargement
For this patient, the goal was lift and reshaping—not additional implant volume.
Breast Lift vs. Breast Augmentation: What's the Difference?
Breast augmentation and breast lift surgery solve fundamentally different problems.
Some patients need only a lift. Others primarily need an augmentation. And women who have both significant sagging and loss of breast volume may benefit from augmentation combined with mastopexy.
The correct operation depends on the patient's anatomy and desired breast size.
Will a Breast Lift Make My Breasts Look Fuller?
A mastopexy can make the breasts appear firmer, rounder, and more youthful because existing tissue is reshaped and repositioned.
However, a breast lift does not add new breast volume.
Patients seeking significant additional fullness—particularly pronounced upper-pole fullness—may require an implant or, in selected cases, fat grafting in addition to the lift.
This distinction is important when choosing between a breast lift alone and a breast lift with augmentation.
Who Is a Good Candidate for Mastopexy?
A breast lift may be appropriate if you:
- Have breasts that sag or sit lower than you would like
- Have nipples that have descended on the breast
- Have stretched breast skin
- Have experienced breast changes after pregnancy or breastfeeding
- Have breast deflation after weight loss
- Have enlarged or stretched areolas
- Have breast asymmetry
- Like your existing breast volume but want a more elevated shape
- Are at a stable, maintainable weight
- Are in good overall health
- Have realistic expectations about surgical scars
A consultation is important because the degree of ptosis determines how much skin needs to be removed and which incision pattern is required.
What Type of Breast Lift Do I Need?
Not every mastopexy uses the same incision.
The appropriate breast lift depends on the degree of sagging, amount of excess skin, nipple position, breast volume, skin quality, and amount of reshaping required.
Circumareolar or Donut Lift
The incision is limited to the circumference of the areola.
This approach is generally reserved for carefully selected patients with mild ptosis who require only limited nipple elevation and skin removal.
Vertical or Lollipop Lift
The incision extends around the areola and vertically toward the breast fold.
This provides greater ability to reshape the breast and remove excess skin than a circumareolar lift.
Wise-Pattern or Anchor Lift
The incision extends around the areola, vertically down the breast, and along the inframammary fold.
Although it creates a longer scar, the Wise-pattern approach gives the surgeon substantially greater control when treating moderate-to-severe breast ptosis, significant skin excess, or breasts requiring extensive reshaping.
Is a Shorter Breast Lift Scar Always Better?
Not necessarily.
Most patients understandably prefer the smallest possible scar. However, choosing an incision that is too limited for the amount of sagging present can compromise the breast shape.
The objective is to use the least extensive scar pattern capable of reliably creating the necessary correction.
A patient with mild sagging may achieve an excellent result with a limited incision. A patient with substantial ptosis may achieve a significantly better breast shape with a Wise-pattern mastopexy despite the longer scar.
Dr. Climov selects the technique based on the patient's anatomy rather than scar preference alone.
Breast Lift After Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
Pregnancy can significantly change breast shape.
The breasts enlarge during pregnancy and breastfeeding and may subsequently lose volume. Meanwhile, the skin and supporting tissues that stretched during pregnancy do not always contract completely.
This can leave the breast looking:
- Deflated
- Lower on the chest
- Less firm
- Empty in the upper portion
- Asymmetric
- Stretched around the nipple and areola
For women who still have adequate breast volume, mastopexy can reposition and reshape the existing tissue without requiring an implant.
This makes breast lift surgery a common component of a Mommy Makeover.
Breast Lift Results at 6 Weeks
These before and after photographs were taken approximately 6 weeks after mastopexy.
At this early stage, the patient demonstrates improvement in:
- Breast position
- Breast shape
- Nipple position
- Overall breast symmetry
- Breast contour and proportions
- Relationship between the breasts and newly contoured torso
However, 6 weeks is not the final breast lift result.
Postoperative swelling continues to resolve, the breasts gradually settle into their long-term shape, and surgical scars continue to mature for many months.
Early breast lift scars may appear pink, red, firm, or more noticeable before gradually softening and fading.
How Long Do Breast Lift Results Last?
Breast lift surgery can provide long-lasting improvement, but it cannot permanently stop the effects of gravity, aging, pregnancy, or future weight changes.
Maintaining a relatively stable weight can help preserve the result.
Future pregnancy and breastfeeding may stretch the breast tissues again, which is why patients planning additional pregnancies may choose to postpone mastopexy until childbearing is complete.
Can a Breast Lift Be Part of a Mommy Makeover?
Yes. Mastopexy is frequently combined with body-contouring procedures as part of a Mommy Makeover.
This patient underwent breast lift surgery together with:
- 360° power-assisted liposuction
- Bilateral bra-line liposuction
- Renuvion of the trunk
- Ultrasound-guided Brazilian Butt Lift
This allowed Dr. Climov to address changes in the breasts, waist, torso, back, and buttocks within a coordinated surgical plan.
A Mommy Makeover is always customized. Some women require a breast lift without implants, others benefit from augmentation, and some require a combination of breast augmentation and mastopexy.
Why Choose Dr. Mihail Climov for Breast Lift Surgery?
Dr. Mihail Climov is a fellowship-trained aesthetic plastic surgeon performing breast and body-contouring procedures in the Houston area.
His approach to mastopexy focuses not simply on elevating the nipple, but on reshaping the entire breast to create balanced proportions and a natural-looking contour.
Each surgical plan is customized according to the patient's existing breast volume, degree of ptosis, skin quality, nipple position, asymmetry, desired size, and overall body proportions.
Schedule a Breast Lift Consultation in Houston
If pregnancy, breastfeeding, weight changes, or aging have left your breasts lower or more deflated than you would like, a mastopexy may restore a more elevated and youthful breast contour without necessarily requiring implants.
Schedule a consultation with Dr. Mihail Climov to determine whether a breast lift alone, breast augmentation, or breast augmentation with mastopexy is best suited for your anatomy and goals.
