The procedure lasts between 1.5 and 3.5 hours.
Requires admittance to hospital, with release the day after.
After breast surgery it is normal to feel somewhat tired for a few days, but virtually normal life can be resumed after 24 – 48 hours. Most discomfort is well controlled with prescribed medication, although the breasts can feel sore for a couple of weeks. The bandage or dressing will be removed after a few days and substituted by a special bra.
Depending on each particular case, diverse techniques exist to correct sagging breasts. If the breast is empty only, in certain cases the solution can be found in a prosthesis. In other cases, we can opt for inserting a prosthesis and lift up the tissue via an incision around the areola. In other cases where the tissues are more sagging, it may be necessary to make an incision in the form of an anchor or an inverted T, thereby taking advantage of the drooping mammary tissue in order to fill out the cleavage in a kind of “self-implant”.
It’s also possible to combine these procedures with mammary lipofilling if we want to avoid implants. This procedure consists of using the fat taken from the patient herself in order to give the breasts volume without resorting to implants or prostheses.
After the mastopexy it can be normal to feel a reduction in the sensation of the nipples; in general, this situation is temporary, except in some reductions when it can be definitive. The stitches are taken out after 7 to 14 days; the drain doesn´t cease until 3 or 6 weeks.
After the mastopexy you can return to work within a few days, depending on the activity that you perform. Follow the instructions concerning which type of exercise you can undertake; avoid lifting objects above head height for 2 to 3 weeks. The breasts will be more sensitive than normal for 2 to 3 weeks, making it recommendable to avoid excessive physical contact until 3 or 4 weeks. At the beginning, the scars will be pink but their appearance will improve continually from 6 weeks on. Appropriate mammography check-ups can continue to take place for each woman according to her age.