Before and after post-weight loss mastopexy and augmentation with liposuction of the axillary rolls in a 43-year-old woman. After losing 125 pounds, her breasts had lost all their volume and hung downwards on her chest, with her nipples at the lowest point on the breast – this is called “Grade III ptosis”.
Her goal was to restore her former breast volume and roundness. Smooth round silicone gel breast implants were placed on top of the muscle, in the subglandular position. Excess skin was removed from the lower pole of her breasts, and a skin-only mastopexy lifted the nipples and reduced her areolar diameter.
The last image in this before-and-after series shows the surgical markings and an intraoperative view of surgery after one breast has been operated on. The implant is sitting up high in the pocket because the mastopexy causes the breast to swell and displace the implant upward in the pocket. As post-surgical swelling called edema subsides over several weeks, the implants will “drop” into a more normal position behind the nipple and areola.
Liposuction removed fat from her armpits and bra rolls. Follow up photos are shown 6 weeks after surgery. Since she is right-handed, she still has visible swelling of her right dominant side that will gradually resolve by three months.
*All photos are actual patient photographs and are for illustrative purposes only. Individual results may vary.
