John J. Seaberg, MD, FACS - Type Button Name Here

Breast Droop

Breast Lift Surgical Options
After pregnancy, nursing, major weight loss, or just after years of exposure to gravity, the skin covering of the breast may become overly large for the amount of breast tissue left inside it. The breast then sags, producing skin contact between the lower breast skin and the chest wall. The medical term that describes this situation is breast ptosis.

Ptosis (Pronounced "toe\' - sis")(The "P" is silent) is the medical word for sag or droop.

Ptosis is the noun. The adjective form is ptotic.(Pronounced "taw\' - tic")
Breast ptosis is classified by comparing the nipple location on the breast mound to the location of the lower breast skin fold on the chest wall. The degree of ptosis varies from one patient to the next, and is subdivided into 4 grades of severity: pseudoptosis, grade 1 ptosis, grade 2 ptosis, and grade 3 ptosis.

Grade II Ptosis

Grade II ptosis occurs when the nipple is 1 to 3 centimeters below the lower breast skin fold. There are a few different options to correct this degree of ptosis depending on the severity of the ptosis. I can perform a circle nipple lift for some correction, a V-Lift or Lollipop lift for a little more correction and an inverted T-Lift for maximum correction. To see photos of patient's with this degree of ptosis and how they corrected it, click on View Photos.

My favorite treatment for grade 2 ptosis is a vertical breast lift (V-lift), with or without breast augmentation.

The first step in a vertical breast lift is to draw the new location for the nipple. Above the new nipple location, a mosque-dome design is drawn. Below the mosque-dome, a U is drawn. The patient then goes to surgery. After the patient is asleep in surgery, the skin is removed from inside the mosque-dome and the U, leaving the nipple and areola undisturbed.
The skin edges are then sutured together at the junction of the U with the mosque-dome, at the lower edge of the areola.
The sides of the U are then stitched together, and the mosque-dome is sutured to the sides of the areola.
The final result of the vertical breast lift is a cone - shaped breast with the nipple and areola centered at the apex of the cone. Over time, the cone relaxes a little, producing a teardrop-shaped breast profile.

Below are four spreadsheets listing the measurements of patient's with Grade II Ptosis. Each spreadsheet lists patients who were treated with one of the four methods available for treating Grade II Ptosis. Within each treatment category, the patients are arranged from smallest to largest ribcage and shortest to tallest within the same ribcage circumference groups. To find photos to fit your starting situation, measure the circumference above your breasts and find that number on this chart under the ribcage size column, under circ. above. If there are several listed with that circumference, refer to the height section and find your height and then follow that line all the way over to the right and click on see photos to bring you to that patient's photos. Be sure to keep breast shape in mind when considering if those photos are ideal to your starting situation. You can also look at other photos of people with the same circumference but taller or shorter if available.

Grade II Ptosis Treated with Augment Alone

PATIENT DATA				RIBCAGE SIZE			BREAST SIZE				PTOSIS				AROUND BREASTS		BRA SIZE		OP	SIZE		COMMENTS
Age	Preg	Ht	Wt	Circ.	N to MLN		Width		N to IMF		SN to IMF -SN to N		Ct Pt - IMF		Before	After	Before	After		CC
Age	Preg	Ht	Wt	Above	R	L	R	L	R	L	R	L	R	L	Before	After	Before	After		R	L
35	3	66	114	32.5	9.5	8.5	13	13	7.7	8.1	-2.9	-2	3	3	33.5	34.5	34B	36C	IMSG	360	360	See Photos
26	7	66	145	35	11	11	15	15	8	7.1	-1.5	-1.9	3.2	1.8	35.75	40	34C	36D	IMSG	420	450	See Photos
31	2	67	145	36.25	9.1	10	16	15	8	7	-1.8	-1.8	3.5	2.3	35.5	39.5	34B	36D	IMSP	525	525	See Photos
28	0	70	150	37.5	10	10	15	15	7.5	7	-1.6	-0.8	2.1	0.4	37.5	40.75	36B	36D	IMSG	400	400	See Photos

Grade II Ptosis Treated with Circle Nipple Lift

PATIENT DATA				RIBCAGE SIZE			BREAST SIZE				PTOSIS				AROUND BREASTS		BRA SIZE		OP	SIZE		COMMENTS
Age	Preg	Ht	Wt	Circ.	N to MLN		Width		N to IMF		SN to IMF -SN to N		Ct Pt - IMF		Before	After	Before	After		CC
Age	Preg	Ht	Wt	Above	R	L	R	L	R	L	R	L	R	L	Before	After	Before	After		R	L
36	2	63	118	30.25	8.1	8.6	13.7	13.7	7	7	2.5	3.8	0.3	-0.1	31	35	32A	34D	CXSP	400	400	See Photos
32	0	66	112	30.5	10	9.4	14	13	8.2	8.8	-2.6	-0.3	4.5	2.9	32.5	34.75	36B	34D	CXSP	420	420	See Photos
49	2	64	118	31	11	10	13	13	7.6	7	-1.7	-1.2	1.7	2.4	33.5	34	34A	34C	CXSP	360	360	See Photos
21	1	61.5	117	31.5	10	8.4	13	12	6.2	5.8	-1.9	-2.5	1.3	1.7	33	35.25	34C	34C	CXSP	390	390	See Photos
44	3	62	137	36	10	11	15	15	7.1	8.5	-2	-1.4	2.8	3.2	37.5	39.25	36A	36C	CXSP	390	390	See Photos
39	0	63	120	36	10	9.6	13	13	6.3	6	-1.5	-1.8	-	-	36	38.75	36B	36C	CXSG	270	270	See Photos

Grade II Ptosis Treated with V-Lift

PATIENT DATA				RIBCAGE SIZE			BREAST SIZE				PTOSIS				AROUND BREASTS		BRA SIZE		OP	SIZE		COMMENTS
Age	Preg	Ht	Wt	Circ.	N to MLN		Width		N to IMF		SN to IMF -SN to N		Ct Pt - IMF		Before	After	Before	After		CC
Age	Preg	Ht	Wt	Above	R	L	R	L	R	L	R	L	R	L	Before	After	Before	After		R	L
40	2	66	125	33	9.4	9.4	14	14	10.5	11	-1.4	-2.2	2	3	34	39.25	34C	36D	VXSP	425	425	See Photos
41	0	66	137	34.25	10	10	13	13	6.5	6.2	-1.8	-1.3	2.3	1.3	37	38.25	34B	36C	VXSP	420	420	See Photos

Grade II Ptosis Treated with T-Lift

PATIENT DATA

RIBCAGE SIZE

BREAST SIZE

PTOSIS

AROUND BREASTS

BRA SIZE

SIZE

COMMENTS

Age

Preg

Circ.

N to MLN

Width

N to IMF

SN to IMF -SN to N

Ct Pt - IMF

Before

After

Before

After

Above

140

7.7

-2.9

-3.3

2.6

2.9

36.75

41.5

36B

36C

TXSP

390

See Photos