The best candidates for mastopexy are healthy women who are realistic about what the surgery can accomplish. The best results are usually achieved in women with small, sagging breasts. Breasts of any size can be lifted, but the results may not last as long in heavy breasts. Besides reshaping and raising the breasts, mastopexy can also reduce the size of the areola, the darker skin surrounding the nipple.
Over the years, pregnancy, nursing, and the force of gravity take their toll on a woman’s breasts. As the skin loses its elasticity, the breasts often lose their shape and firmness and begin to sag. Breast lift, or mastopexy, is a surgical procedure to raise and reshape sagging breasts–at least for a time. (No surgery can permanently delay the effects of gravity.) If your breasts are small or have lost volume–for example, after pregnancy–breast implants inserted in conjunction with mastopexy can increase both their firmness and their size.