Pregnancy, childbirth, age, gravity, and illnesses each take a role in the health and appearance of your breasts. Clothes do not fit well, and certain styles are out of the question. Perhaps you have a defect that caused one breast to grow, but the other remained flat.
The breast lift surgeon will look at your anatomy. They will consider the size of your breasts and will speak of the motivation you have for the surgery. Here are some of the questions that you should be able to answer, for you own sake:
- Who are you doing this for?
- Are you trying to roll back the hands of time because your life-partner is looking to someone else?
- Do you think losing a few pounds and having a breast lift is all you need to pull your partner back to you?
- Are you shocked at what childbirth and pregnancy did to your body?
- Are you planning to have more child?
Things your doctor will look at
- Are your breasts misshapen?
- Do your nipples point downward?
- Do you get rashes and skin irritations under your breasts?
- Do you have back and neck pain?
- Are there indentations on your shoulders from your bra straps?
- Are you unable to do things you usually enjoy because of your breasts?
The answers to these questions will let the surgeon know if you are a good candidate to undergo this surgery.
If you clear of thought and a physically a good candidate and the doctor may proceed.
Will Insurance Cover a Breast Lift?
Some insurance companies will cover the expense of a breast lift surgery, and others do not. Many times, it falls on the way the doctor presents the case to the insurance company. For example, if he or she marks it as a breast lift, they are going to automatically put it down as cosmetic surgery and usually they will not pay. But, if he or she takes the above information into account and lists it as a breast reduction to help other health matters, they usually will pay. Discuss this with your doctor.
How long will it take?
All patients are different. So, it is hard to determine how long your particular surgery will take. However, the standard surgery takes 2-3 hours, and then you will spend another hour or so in recovery. You will be wrapped in compression bandages or a compression bra to reduce swelling for comfort. Sometimes there will be a small drain of any leakage or fluids.
Recovery time
Note: below are standard instructions for uneventful surgeries. Always follow the advice of your own doctor. They know you personally, and they can guide you safely.
You need someone to assist you for the first two weeks. You are advised to take off work a week, but in some cases, you can return early if you have a sedentary job and you feel up to it. You should avoid sexual activity and anything that requires physical exertion for the first two weeks.
After 2 weeks, you can slowly begin to merge your normal activities back into your life. Strenuous activity can begin after 6 weeks.