As the breast ages, the volume of the breast often decreases and the skin envelope enclosing the breast tissue stretches. The appearance following this ageing process leads to a breast that narrows, looses its projection and descends. The same also happens in breasts that have lost their volume due to weight loss.
A Mastopexy procedure is one that reduces and tightens the skin envelope but maintains the breast tissue. This causes the breast to increase in its projection, maintain an elevated position and give a more youthful breast.
Mastopexy procedures can involve incisions around the areolar only or incisions around the areolar and the base of the breast. Mr Potter uses the latter incisions this allows him to gain access to the breast tissue and by having control of the breast tissue he can elevate the breast tissue on the chest to a greater degree than he can achieve through a peri-areolar incision.
This operation takes approximately 3-4 hours under general anaesthetic. We sometimes place drains within the surgical site which we use to remove any excess blood from the operative site. We commonly remove them the following day after the procedure. Once we remove the drains and you have recovered you should be fine to leave hospital. The average stay for this procedure is a single post operative night.
There will be no dressings covering the wounds only skin coloured tape which you can get wet under a shower head the day after the procedure. The sutures used are mostly absorbable however a small amount of sutures will need to be removed from the areolar area 10 days after the procedure.
We will review you at ten days following the operation for a wound check to make sure that all is healing well and for the removal of some sutures. Mr Potter will review you at three weeks to be sure that all is progressing well and will review you a further three months later to review your result. If at any point in your post operative course you have any concerns we will arrange an appointment for you at the next available clinic.