With age, your skin and the ligaments in your breasts become stretched, so the tissue isn’t as well supported. This causes drooping, along with anything that causes changes in breast size such as pregnancy or significant weight loss.

A breast uplift can help by:
Removing extra skin
Lifting and remodelling your breast tissue
Moving your nipples higher up your breasts
Reducing the size of your areola, the coloured part surrounding your nipple
You can also have a breast reduction or enlargement at the same time.


Breast uplift techniques
There are three main techniques. Your surgeon will advise you which is most appropriate for you, depending on your breast size, shape and the look you want. They all result in different scarring patterns, though the scars shouldn’t be visible when you’re wearing a bra or bikini:
Incisions are made around your areola – best for narrow breasts that only need a small amount of lift
Incisions are made around your areola and in a vertical line down to the crease below your breast – best for narrower breasts with mild-to-moderate sagging and only slight nipple movement needed
Incisions are made around your areola, in a vertical line to the crease below your breast, and along the crease in an anchor shape – best for wide breasts with a lot of sagging and more nipple movement needed


Your operation: what to expect
After you’ve been given a general anaesthetic (meaning you’ll be asleep), your surgeon will:
Make incisions (cuts) according to the agreed technique
Remove excess skin from under your breast
Re-shape your breast tissue into a tighter cone shape
Move your nipples to their new position, reducing the size of your areola if agreed beforehand
Close your cuts with stitches, surgical tape or glue
Wrap your breasts in a special supportive dressing or tape

How long does a breast uplift take?
Between two and three hours

Pain after breast uplift surgery
It’s normal to experience some pain, swelling and bruising after the operation and in the following weeks. You’ll be given pain relief medication to help you manage this and it’ll gradually improve.

Your hospital stay
This will usually be for one night, but you can sometimes go home on the same day.