Aesthetic surgery
Breast lift
It changes position and shape, not size. Trading a lower breast for visible scars is the decision at the centre of this operation.
What this treatment involves
A breast lift — mastopexy — raises the breast by removing excess skin, tightening the remaining envelope and moving the nipple and areola up to a normal position on the breast mound. The gland itself is reshaped and supported; it is not removed.
The scar pattern depends on how much lift is needed. A periareolar lift, scarring only around the areola, suits minor descent. A vertical or "lollipop" lift adds a scar running down to the fold. An anchor or inverted-T lift adds a scar along the fold itself and is used for significant descent. More lift means more scar — that is the trade at the centre of this operation, and it should be explicit before you agree to it.
A lift does not increase size. In fact removing skin and tightening the envelope often makes a breast look slightly smaller, even though almost no volume has been removed. Someone who wants to be both lifted and fuller needs a lift with an implant, which is a longer operation with the risks of both.
Who may be suitable
Considered for adults with breast descent — commonly after pregnancy, breastfeeding, weight loss or with age — whose nipple sits at or below the inframammary fold.
Weight should be stable, and it is generally better to have finished having children: pregnancy and breastfeeding stretch the skin again and can undo the result. That is advice about timing rather than a rule, and it is a decision for the patient.
Smoking is a significant contraindication. The nipple in a lift survives on a pedicle of tissue, and impaired blood supply is what causes the most serious complication of this operation.
Age-appropriate breast screening is arranged before surgery, as with any breast operation.
Why patients choose it
The breast is raised to a higher position on the chest with the nipple returned to a natural place on the mound. Shape improves as well as position, and asymmetry between the two sides can be addressed at the same time.
Practical changes are commonly reported: bras fitting properly, less skin irritation in the fold, and clothes sitting differently.
The result is durable but does not stop the process that caused the descent. Skin quality, gravity, weight change and any future pregnancy continue to act, and some settling downwards over the years is expected rather than a failure of the surgery.
How treatment works
Consultation and measurement
Day 1
Nipple position relative to the fold and the amount of excess skin determine which scar pattern is needed, and whether an implant is required as well to achieve the shape you want.
Planning the scars
Day 1–2
The scar pattern is drawn and discussed. You should leave this conversation knowing exactly where the scars will be before, not after, the operation.
Pre-operative tests and screening
Day 2
Blood tests, ECG and anaesthetic review as indicated, with breast imaging appropriate to your age and history.
Surgery
Day 3
Under general anaesthetic, generally two to three hours, longer if an implant is placed at the same time.
First night and review
Day 3–5
One night in hospital is usual. Dressings checked and the supportive bra fitted.
Fit to fly
Day 7–10
Wound check and confirmation from the surgical team before you travel.
Shape and scars settling
3–18 months
Shape settles by around three months. Scars are at their worst around two to three months and then fade for a year or more.
What happens in Istanbul
Breast surgery requires a stay of seven to ten days. Consultation, examination and pre-operative tests take the first day or two, followed by surgery and usually one night in hospital. You then remain in Istanbul for review, wound checks and removal of any drains before flying. Departure is confirmed by the surgical team rather than by your booking — flying too soon after surgery raises the risk of blood clots.
Recovery
A supportive bra is worn continuously for several weeks. Pain is generally less than patients expect but the breasts are swollen, firm and tender for two to three weeks.
No lifting, no arms above the head, and no strenuous exercise for four to six weeks.
The shape looks high, flat at the top and unnaturally tight in the first weeks. It softens and drops into a natural shape over about three months. Scars are the part that takes longest. They are red, raised and firm at six to twelve weeks — the point at which patients are most likely to regret the operation — and then flatten and fade over twelve to eighteen months. Judging the scars before a year is judging them at their worst.
Typical recovery
Swollen, firm and tender. Pain is generally less than patients expect.
No lifting, no arms above the head, no strenuous exercise.
High, flat-topped and tight at first; softens and drops into a natural shape.
Scars are red, raised and firm — the point at which patients most regret the operation.
Scars flatten and fade. Judging them before a year is judging them at their worst.
A usual course, not a schedule you have been given. Recovery varies considerably between people, and the full recovery information above is what your own plan is based on.
Risks and considerations
General anaesthetic carries its own risks. Specific to mastopexy: scarring is guaranteed, not a risk — the question is only how it settles, and that depends partly on your skin. Scars can widen, thicken or form keloid, and some patients find them more troubling than they expected.
The most serious complication is compromised blood supply to the nipple and areola, which can cause partial or, rarely, complete loss of the nipple. Smoking multiplies this risk substantially.
Changed or lost nipple sensation is common in the early months and can be permanent. The ability to breastfeed can be affected.
Asymmetry in nipple position or breast shape is possible and sometimes requires revision. Wound breakdown, particularly where the scars meet under the breast, is not unusual and heals slowly. The breast can descend again over time, especially with weight change or pregnancy.
This information is general and educational. Whether a procedure is appropriate for you can only be determined by a qualified medical professional after an individual assessment, including your medical history and an examination.
Systems used for this procedure
The manufacturers whose systems are used here, so you can check them yourself rather than take our word for it.
Motiva
A silicone breast implant range made by Establishment Labs, with a smooth surface and an optional identification chip.
Mentor
A long-established breast implant manufacturer, part of Johnson & Johnson MedTech, producing silicone and saline devices.
Naming a manufacturer is not a claim that one system produces a better result than another. Outcomes depend far more on planning, on the surgery itself and on how you heal than on whose system is used. Ask for the make, model and reference number of anything implanted, in writing, before you travel home.
Common questions
Do I need a lift, an implant, or both?
It depends on where your nipple sits relative to the crease under your breast, and that is an examination finding rather than a preference. If the nipple is above the crease and you simply want more volume, an implant alone may be enough. If the nipple has descended to or below the crease, an implant alone will produce a larger breast in the same low position — a lift is needed. If you want to be lifted and fuller than your own tissue allows, both are done together. A consultation that agrees to whichever one you arrived asking for, without measuring, is not planning your operation.
Further reading
Breast lift or breast reduction: what separates them
Both reposition the breast and often leave the same scar pattern. The difference is whether tissue is removed — and a reduction is frequently a functional operation, not a cosmetic one.
Intimate surgery: the questions to ask first
Labiaplasty, vaginoplasty and penile enhancement are three different operations with one thing in common: the most important conversation happens before anyone discusses technique.
Abdominal etching: who it suits, and who it does not
It sculpts shadows over muscle that is already there. It does not build muscle, and on the wrong patient — or after later weight gain — the lines can look drawn on.
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