The breast lift, known in medical terms as mastopexy, is used to correct the position of the breasts on the chest wall by re-centering the mammary gland and eliminating the excess skin present on the breasts. Breast ptosis can be caused by many different factors and, as such, the sagginess of the breasts can occur at different times in different patients. We can have teenage patients with breast ptosis caused by the excessive size of the breasts, women in their 20s and 30s with breast ptosis caused by multiple pregnancies and/or massive weight loss, and women over 40 or 50 years old who are struggling with breast ptosis due to the natural aging process. The skin gets old together with the rest of the body, and the skin on the breasts being so delicate can be affected even sooner than the skin in other areas of the body.
Patients who want to resort to the breast lift to correct the sagginess of the breasts are often wondering if there is an ideal age to undergo a breast lift. This is a good question and has multiple aspects we need to discuss.
First, we need to keep in mind that the factors that have caused the breast sagginess in the first place can continue to affect the breasts after the procedure. This means that if you are getting a breast lift in your 30s but have an ulterior pregnancy or considerable weight loss, the breasts can become saggy again and the results of the procedure can be altered.
The natural passing of time will also affect the breasts again, so in one or two decades, the breasts might lose some of that perkiness that was so impressive after the procedure. At this point, you might ask yourself whether it would be better to wait until later in life before undergoing the breast lift. But again, we need to think about the scarring which is dependent on how severe the breast ptosis is.
The more severe your breast sagginess, the more incisions you will need, and hence more scars will be left on your breasts. This is not desirable, so the recommendation would be to undergo the breast lift at the first signs of breast ptosis before it gets too severe.
The ideal age to undergo the breast lift is different for each patient as it is not necessarily about the age but other factors. Generally speaking, if you plan to have more children in the future or your weight is not stable and close to normal, the recommendation is to wait a little longer before getting a breast lift.