BREAST LIFT

– NEWPORT BEACH, CA –

For a lot of women, nothing warms the heart more than being a mom and taking care of their precious little ones.

Unfortunately, it comes with a steep price tag — particularly in your bust area.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding make your breasts naturally look bigger and fuller. But once you give birth and stop breastfeeding, your breasts will not only look smaller, but saggy as well. 

In fact, it isn’t uncommon for women to drop a cup size after breastfeeding. And the more babies you have, the more your breasts tend to droop.

Of course, choosing the right bra can make your breasts look better. But at the end of the day, the sagging breasts and enlarged nipples and areolae can punch a huge blow in your confidence and self-esteem.

Breast Lift Newport Beach

You might feel insecure wearing revealing clothing. You might feel too self-conscious with your naked body. You might even feel less attractive despite the fact that your breasts are fully hidden beneath your clothes.

Wouldn’t it feel nice to wear that sexy V-neck dress after having babies?


If you want to have a more youthful breast shape with your nipples and areolae sized just right, then a Newport Beach breast lift by Dr. Siamak Agha, one of SoCal’s top plastic surgeons, is all you need to achieve that.

Not only does it give you perkier and natural-looking breasts, but it also corrects the size of your areola to give you a more youthful and uplifted profile.

Whether you’ve recently been pregnant, lost a lot of weight, or simply got saggy breasts, a breast lift can do wonders for your figure. 

Continue reading this article to learn more about this popular surgery.

Breast Lift Newport Beach
Breast Lift Newport Beach
Breast Lift Newport Beach
Breast Lift Newport Beach
Breast Lift Newport Beach
Breast Lift Newport Beach

What Causes Your Breasts to Sag?

The reality is, women’s bodies go through a lot as they age.

Women’s breasts are normally located over the second to sixth ribs. The nipple and parenchyma — the glandular tissues and fats that make up the breasts — should normally be sitting above the crease of the breast, known as the inframammary fold.

The breast is made up of breast fat and breast glands. These are held in place on the chest via many suspensory ligaments that extend from the breast skin to the chest muscle. 

But over time, the breasts experience various changes that lead to breast ptosis or sagging, which occurs as a result of the loosening of skin and ligaments within the breast tissue. It is characterized by an enlarged areola and nipple that points downwards.

Breast Lift Newport Beach
Breast Lift Newport Beach


According to the Regnault Classification, breast ptosis can be classified into three grades:

  • Grade 1 – characterized by mild sagging as the nipple lies at the level of the inframammary fold and the parenchyma below it
  • Grade 2 – characterized by moderate sagging as the nipple lies below the level of the inframammary fold but above the lowest hanging part of the parenchyma
  • Grade 3 – characterized by severe sagging as the nipple lies way below the level of the inframammary fold at the lowest hanging part of the parenchyma

But what makes your breasts sag? Here are the most common reasons:

  • Aging – As you grow older, the connective tissue ligaments within your breast tissues and skin become lax, meaning they loosen up due to the force of gravity.
  • Pregnancy and breastfeeding – During pregnancy, your breasts enlarge to prepare for nursing. After childbirth, the glands return to their usual pre-pregnancy size. But the stretched skin and loose ligaments don’t always return to their normal size and proportions, leading to breast sagging.
  • Weight gain and loss – Gaining a significant amount of weight can increase your breast volume and weight, resulting in sagging. Weight gain may also increase the stress on the suspensory ligaments. It also causes the collagen within your skin to tear and develop striae or stretch marks. Thus, when you lose weight after pregnancy or bariatric surgery, the skin and ligaments might fail to retract and hold the shape of your breasts. The loss of fatty tissue also leaves your breasts looking deflated.
  • Macromastia – Pertaining to very large breasts, macromastia is often accompanied by breast drooping as a result of excess breast weight. It can also cause discomfort and look unpleasant due to sagging.
  • Breast augmentation – Large breast implants can cause excessive stretching of your breast skin and suspensory ligaments. This is further exacerbated as you age.
  • Heredity – Your genes may play a factor in breast sagging as well, resulting in teenage breast drooping. Family members often may have similar issues.

That is why it is almost inevitable for the breasts to lose their youthful shape, position, and firmness, leading to breast drooping.

Fortunately, there is something you can do about it.

What is a Breast Lift?

Medically known as mastopexy, a breast lift is a procedure that uplifts your breasts to a more natural position on your chest. It can restore the firmness and shape of your breasts, resulting in a perkier bust.

According to the 2019 Plastic Surgery Statistics Report by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, breast lift remains to be one of the five most popular cosmetic surgeries among women aged 20 to 54.

In general, a breast lift works by advancing the internal breast tissues to a higher location on the chest wall, then removing excess skin. Sometimes, the nipple-areola complexes are also reduced and repositioned for a more aesthetically pleasing appearance.

With a breast lift, you can rejuvenate your figure with an uplifted and youthful breast profile.

Breast Lift Newport Beach

Do You Need a Breast Lift?

Are you thinking of getting a breast lift? Try to answer the following questions to know if a breast lift would work well for you.

  • Do your breasts sag when you’re not wearing a bra?
  • Do your breasts appear disproportional to your body?
  • Do your breasts have a flattened and elongated shape?
  • Do your nipples and areolas point downward?
  • Does your breast skin appear stretched and your areolas enlarged?
  • Do you feel self-conscious wearing cleavage-revealing clothes because your breasts won’t hold up?
If you answered YES to any of these questions, then you might be a good candidate for breast lift surgery.

… But Can You Get a Breast Lift?

You also have to take note of several factors that might affect the results of your breast lift, such as the following:

While breasts of any size can undergo a breast lift, take note that the results may not last as long if you have large and heavy boobs. Gravity may counter the effects of a breast lift, so you may want to consider pairing the surgery with a breast reduction.

Having good physical health with no severe pre-existing conditions is important for every plastic surgery, breast lift included. Otherwise, it might make your surgery too risky.

Discuss with your plastic surgeon the reasons why you want to get a breast lift, as well as the results you’re expecting. You can bring in photos of another person to show your desired outcome, especially if that person has some features in common with you.

What are the Main Breast Lift Techniques Offered by Dr. Agha?

There are multiple breast lift techniques, but the following are the most common ones that plastic surgeons use.

Benelli Donut or Periareolar Mastopexy

Even women with a small degree of breast ptosis can have their nipple and areola migrate to the lower pole of the breast, thus losing its youthful appearance. 

Perfect for women with minimal breast drooping, the Benelli donut mastopexy involves an incision around the nipple-areola complex. Through this incision, the excess breast skin is excised as a “donut” around the areola, hence its name. The outer incision is then cinched around the smaller areola.

In this manner, the nipple and areola are lifted and repositioned at the center of the breast. You only get an inconspicuous scar around the areola.

The Benelli donut lift is best performed together with breast implants or breast fat transfer in women who lost breast volume after nursing. Breast augmentation via implants or fat not only increases breast size but also uplifts the breast tissue to some degree. 

Vertical Incision or Lollipop Breast Lift

As the breast ptosis becomes more profound, the breast tissue loses its perkiness, becoming flatter and more pointed. With this degree of moderate sagging, the nipple-areola complex also droops more on the breast.

More complex than the donut mastopexy, the vertical incision breast lift involves a lollipop incision that starts around the nipple-areola complex and descends toward the inframammary fold.

Through this incision, Dr. Agha remodels the breast tissue into a rounder shape with upper breast fullness. The vertical incision of this breast lift is necessary for a more substantial lift of the nipple-areola complex and breast tissue. It also turns a flattened breast into a rounder one.

Wise Pattern or Anchor Breast Lift

The anchor breast lift is the recommended technique by most plastic surgeons for women with moderate to severe breast ptosis. 

In such cases, the breast tissues are sagging, while the nipple-areola complexes drift toward the lower pole of the breasts. The breasts droop down over the abdomen and become wide and flat.  There is often too much breast skin both vertically and horizontally.  

The anchor breast lift incision offers removal of all the excess skin of the droopy breasts. The incision starts at the nipple-areola complex, going vertically down the breast, and culminating with a horizontal incision at the crease under the breasts — similar to an anchor. 

Through these incisions, all of the excess breast skin is removed below the nipple, areola, and lower breast. Plastic surgeons then elevate the upper breast skin off of the breast tissue. Then, they move the breast tissue with the nipple-areola attached to it to a higher position, while redraping the upper breast skin over it.

The breast incisions are then closed in multiple layers and the nipple-areola complex is brought out through an opening made in the center of the newly lifted breast.  

The Wise pattern breast lift is the most commonly performed breast lift in the USA. However, many patients experience flattening of their breasts and bottoming out of breast tissue within 6 to 12 months after the procedure.  

This is why Dr. Agha does not do this procedure anymore. Instead, he performs a dermal bra suspension breast lift for all his patients.

Dermal Bra Suspension Breast Lift (Internal Bra Mastopexy)

Pioneered by Dr. Agha and Dr. Peter Rubin in 2005, the dermal bra suspension breast lift is one of the most comprehensive mastopexy techniques out there. In fact, this three-dimensional technique has been published in several plastic surgery textbooks.

It involves an anchor-type incision similar to the Wise pattern breast lift, wherein excess breast skin below the nipple-areola complex is removed. Afterward, the upper breast skin is lifted off of the breast tissue and glands, similar to the Wise pattern breast lift.

At this juncture, Dr. Agha elevates the breast tissue in a specific fashion, then sutures the tissue to the chest muscle and chest cage at a higher position. He then creates an internal bra to hold the breast tissue in place while reshaping it into a breast mound with internal suturing.  

The recreated breast mound is then sutured again multiple times to the chest muscle at its higher position. Finally, the breast skin is draped over the lifted breast mound.

Unlike the Wise pattern breast lift, the dermal bra suspension mastopexy includes internal breast suturing to the ribcage at multiple points, giving it a more long-lasting result than the former. 

You also don’t have to worry about reducing your breast size in the dermal bra suspension breast lift, compared to the anchor-type that typically results in some degree of breast reduction.

Plus, the Wise pattern technique only offers a two-dimensional correction of the breast width and height, while the dermal bra suspension technique is three-dimensional, in a sense that it offers the creation of form and breast projection.

When it comes to healing, this technique’s incisions heal much better than the incisions of the Wise pattern mastopexy. That is because there is no internal pressure on the incisions from the lifted breast tissue as is seen with the other breast lift techniques.

The dermal bra suspension breast lift is one of the most comprehensive breast lift techniques available, resulting in breasts that are round, perky, and natural-looking. 

Due to its complexity, the dermal bra suspension breast lift typically takes one hour longer than the Wise pattern breast lift.  

Breast Lift with Reduction

If your breasts are too large, it’s likely that the volume of the breasts is the main cause of drooping. In such cases, a breast lift with reduction might be desired. 
breast reduction can also be planned with a dermal bra suspension breast lift.
Dr. Agha first reduces the breast and then elevates the remaining breast, creating a smaller breast mound that is sutured at a higher position.

Breast Lift with Implants

Breast augmentation with both saline and silicone implants can be combined with all breast lift techniques to augment the breast size, enhance breast projection, lift the breasts, and make them rounder.

The ideal candidate for this is someone with an A to C cup who wishes to have an augmented, perkier breast.

Discover more about breast lift with implants in this post.

Breast Reduction and Lift with Breast Implants

If you have large but droopy breasts, you might want to get a dermal bra suspension breast lift with minor breast reduction to achieve natural-looking, lifted breasts.

But with many patients aiming for an “augmented breast look” nowadays, the best option may be a breast reduction and lift with breast implants. This combination of procedures makes the breasts smaller first, then lifts them up and then augments them with implants to achieve permanent fullness and projection.

While breast implants do not sag, breast tissues succumb to gravity and slowly droop over time.  Thus, by removing a good portion of the excess breast tissue, this technique avoids future breast sagging over implants, resulting in a long-lasting augmented breast look.

Correction of Low-Lying Breasts on Your Chest

As previously mentioned, a woman’s breasts are normally located over the second to sixth ribs. But in some women, their breasts are not only sagging, but they are also located way too low on the ribcage — over the 6th to 12th ribs.

In such circumstances, Dr. Agha has pioneered a combined breast lift and breast repositioning technique to correct low-lying breasts. 

He first elevates the breast on the chest by reconstructing the inframammary crease at a higher position. He then performs a breast lift from this higher location. 

It produces a double lift effect as your breasts are placed higher on the chest and lifted from that endpoint.

Internal Breast Lift After Implant Removal

Dr. Agha has developed this signature yet still unpublished technique for patients who want to have their breast implants removed but would need a breast lift and reshaping.

In a nutshell, it involves lifting the breast tissue internally to a higher position using sutures, thus creating upper breast fullness and cleavage.

Breast Lift Newport Beach

How Does Dr. Agha Do a Breast Lift?

Depending on the chosen technique and extent of the procedure, breast lift surgery may take anywhere from one to four hours. It is performed as an outpatient procedure in an ambulatory surgery center.

The cornerstone of Dr. Agha’s approach is to customize the breast lift to your specific needs and circumstances and ensure that you have a clear understanding of the procedure so that you can make a fully informed decision.

Here is a rundown of Dr. Agha’s breast lift process.

Preparation

Dr. Agha will conduct a thorough examination of your breasts, assessing multiple factors such as breast symmetry, volume, form, shape, inframammary fold position, degree of sagging, skin quality, skin excess, and internal support.

Afterward, you will then have to decide if you want to keep your breast volume and size the same, or you want to increase or reduce it. This will dictate any additional procedures you may need, such as breast augmentation for lost breast volume or breast reduction for large and sagging breasts.

Anesthesia

After your anesthesiologist administers general anesthesia, Dr. Agha will inject a solution of local anesthetics at the surgical site, consisting of a combination of lidocaine, marcaine, and epinephrine.

The lidocaine and marcaine will numb your surgical site and decrease your sensation of postoperative pain, while the epinephrine will constrict your blood vessels to reduce the risk of bruising and bleeding.

Incision

Breast lift incisions seek to accomplish three things: remove excess breast skin, lift the nipple-areola complex with breast tissue, and reshape the breast tissue via internal stitches. 

The skin incision pattern for mastopexy depends on the amount of excess skin, elasticity, and degree of lift needed.

Enlarged nipple-areola complexes may also need to be reduced through skin excision at the perimeter, as necessary.

Here are some of the incision variations commonly used for a breast lift.

Peri-areolar Incision

Also known as the Benelli donut incision, the peri-areolar incision is characterized by a full circle around the nipple-areola complex. This incision only removes a donut patch of excess breast skin around the nipple and areola.

Lollipop Incision

It is characterized by a full circle around the nipple-areola complex, with a vertical line extending down from the lowest aspect of the areola towards the inframammary crease.  

This incision type removes a triangular skin patch under the nipple-areola complex, narrowing the breast width.

Anchor Incision

Pretty similar to the vertical mastopexy, the anchor type incision has an additional horizontal incision along the crease under the breast.  

This incision type excises both lower breast skin with a triangular skin patch, like the lollipop incision. It offers both narrowing of the breast width and breast length.

Post-Surgery

Dr. Agha closes the incisions with absorbable sutures to minimize scarring. He applies a sterile dressing over the incisions and instructs you to wear a soft surgical bra to support your new bust.

It is now four weeks since my surgery and my new breasts are beautiful! I was confident Dr. Agha would do an amazing job going into the surgery, but he has exceeded all of my expectations.

Krista R.

Why Should You Choose Dr. Agha for Your Breast Lift?

Like all body parts, the breasts have a three-dimensional shape in space. In their ideal youthful form, they are hemisphere-shaped on the rib cage.

As they sag, the breast tissue descends, making the breast wider and longer. In terms of projection, the breasts become flat and point downwards.  

Most standard plastic surgery procedures have been developed to correct height and width issues. Unfortunately, these are two-dimensional corrections, offering little adjustment to the third dimension: breast projection.  

Appreciation of this limitation of standard plastic surgery procedures has formed the basis for Dr. Agha’s practice and innovation of techniques that not only emphasize definition but also projection. 

In the past 15 years, Dr. Agha has developed signature procedures that create natural-looking body parts that do not appear flat, whether it is the contoured facelift™ or the high-definition tummy tuck™.  

When it comes to the breasts, Dr. Agha is able to create breasts that are rounder, lifted, and well-projected using only your own tissue.

In other words, a breast lift by Dr. Agha does not need an implant to make the breasts round, perky, defined, and appropriately projected.

How Do You Recover from a Breast Lift?

Expect to feel sore for the first few days after your surgery. You can easily manage this with painkillers prescribed to you. Also, the pain should be manageable enough to allow you to walk around after 24 hours.

Avoid wearing a bra with underwire. You also have the option of not wearing a bra and just using an ACE bandage over your dressings.

You might notice that the skin of your breasts might become shiny. It happens as a result of the swelling that typically occurs after any surgery and will subside after three to five weeks.

You might also experience a burning sensation in your nipples for about two weeks, but it will also subside as bruising fades.

As your sensory nerves regenerate, you’ll often feel a tingling, burning sensation or shooting pain. Your nipples may even become hypersensitive. Gently massaging the area helps.

Sleep on your back during the first week post-op to reduce any discomfort.

You may return to work 7 to 10  days after your mastopexy, as long as you feel comfortable and your activities aren’t strenuous.

Your scars will become firm and pink in about six weeks but expect to wait at least nine months before your scars lighten in color and become as flat as the rest of your skin. Make sure to protect it from the sun by using sunscreen.

Keep in mind that it’s normal for your two breasts to heal differently. Don’t worry because once your healing is completed, your breasts should look similar and natural. 

Make sure that you continue doing routine mammograms after your breast lift.

Here’s an estimated recovery timeline of your breast lift without any complications.

TimelineActivity
24 hoursWalking encouraged
5 daysFollow-up visit with Dr. Agha
7-10 daysReturn to work
14 daysDriving allowed
2 to 3 weeksLight cardiovascular exercises (e.g., riding a stationary bike, brisk walking) allowed
6 to 8 weeksHeavy lifting, contact sports, and jogging allowed

What Results Can You Expect from a Breast Lift?


Getting a breast lift gives you the following results:

  • Improved breast shape and size
  • Elevated, fuller, and more youthful breast contour
  • More symmetrical breasts
  • Perkier breast projection
  • Higher, more natural position of the nipples and areolas
  • Increased confidence and self-esteem

In case you are considering getting pregnant in the future, know that your breast lift results may get affected and diminish your results. 

Discuss your pregnancy plans with Dr. Agha so that he can advise you on the preferred course of action and timing.

What are the Possible Risks and Complications?

Breast lift is not without its potential risks, even though it has been deemed safe for the majority of women who underwent it.

Some of the risks are infection, hematoma, adverse anesthesia reactions, abnormal scarring, breast asymmetry, altered sensation, and breastfeeding problems.

You might also encounter breast implant problems if you pair breast lift with breast augmentation.

Get into detail about the possible complications of breast surgeries in this post.

How Much Does a Breast Lift Cost?

A typical breast lift in Orange County costs anywhere from $7,500 to $12,000, including surgical costs, operating room facilities, and anesthesiologist fees. The final cost still depends on a case-by-case basis.

Some of the things that can affect the total cost include the presence of implants and other additional procedures, like breast augmentation or breast reduction.

As a cosmetic procedure, a breast lift is rarely covered by insurance companies. However, Dr. Agha offers several financing solutions that allow you to make affordable monthly payments. 

Some of The Aesthetic Centers’ partners include Care Credit, Alphaeon Credit, and Prosper Healthcare Lending.

Don’t hesitate to contact our patient coordinator to explore these financing options.


Get Your Breast Lift Done in Newport Beach, Orange County

Natural-looking breasts don’t have to look saggy and lifeless. Even without breast implants, you can enjoy perky and bouncy boobs with a Newport Beach breast lift.

But to ensure the best results, you need to find a board-certified, reputable, and highly-skilled plastic surgeon who already has a string of successful breast lift surgeries and happy patients under his belt. 

Dr. Agha of The Aesthetic Centers definitely fits the bill, thanks to his 18 years of plastic surgery experience and countless satisfied breast lift patients. He has even developed his signature breast lift techniques, owing to his extensive practice in the art of breast surgeries.