Breast Lift With Mesh Reinforcement

Breast lift with mesh reinforcement is a surgical procedure to correct sagging breasts. The use of mesh in breast lift surgery is becoming increasingly popular, at least in the United States. This is because it has been found to provide better results than traditional methods that do not involve mesh.

The procedure involves removing excess skin and fat from your breasts, reshaping them, reattaching them to your chest wall, and then reinforcing the area with a material called “mesh.” The final step in the process is placing dissolvable stitches around the incision site and closing it up.

The purpose of this type of procedure is to reduce the appearance of sagging breasts. If having saggy breasts for many years has affected your posture, it can also help reduce back pain.

In this exposition, we’ll also consider BREAST LIFT WITH MESH FOR BREAST LIFT ONLY, BREAST LIFT VS. BREAST LIFT WITH MESH, and A Better Kind of Breast Lift with GalaFLEX Mesh.

WHAT IS A BREAST LIFT WITH MESH?

A breast lift with mesh is a fairly new procedure aimed at those patients who have severe ptosis or droop in their breasts as well as weak breast tissue. The mesh works as a means of extra support; some refer to it as an “internal bra.” With a traditional breast lift, the plastic surgeon is lifting the sagging skin off the breast and reshaping the breast tissue. This action is what creates a perkier, more youthful-looking breast mound.

What a breast lift does not change is the quality of the breast tissue. In patients who have weak breast tissue, meaning that there is not enough firmness to hold things in place, Dr. Epstein will add a sheet of GalaFLEX mesh for additional support.

BREAST LIFT WITH MESH FOR BREAST LIFT ONLY

Most breast lifts rely on the skin brassiere alone to provide support for the newly lifted breast. However, this strategy doesn’t work in patients where the skin brassiere itself is weak. In the breast lift with mesh procedure, the skin brassiere is really “a passive participant in the lifting process,” says Epstein. It’s the mesh along with the suture reconfiguration inside the breast that is doing all the work here.

A breast lift with mesh is for patients who only want a lift. Due to the technical nature of this procedure, Dr. Epstein does not perform a breast augmentation at the same time. In fact, the vast majority of these patients have enough native breast tissue, so volume is not a problem. However, if there is a patient who does want an augmentation as well, he will perform one a few months later in a staged fashion. Separating the breast lift and the breast implant procedures is only necessary in these patients who are going to need the additional support of a mesh. For the patient with mild to moderate sagging, it is perfectly acceptable to perform a breast lift and a breast augmentation at the same time.

BREAST LIFT VS. BREAST LIFT WITH MESH

In a standard breast lift, Dr. Epstein typically uses a circumareolar approach. This entails placing incisions:

• around the nipple
• vertically down the front of the breast

If there is any lower scar beneath the breast, it is very minimal. However, in the breast lift with mesh procedure, it is necessary to use what’s called a wise pattern incision.

The wise pattern incision entails the above plus an incision all the way along the lower portion of the breast in the crease. This is really the only way to excise the extra skin to give the lift that patients need and give the surgeon the necessary access to place the mesh in the proper position. The results, however, are quite dramatic.

A Better Kind of Breast Lift with GalaFLEX Mesh

GalaFLEX Mesh is a knitted surgical implant that supports breast tissue during a breast lift to provide extra strength to the tissue. This implant is FDA-approved and made out of a biocompatible polymer that eventually is safely reabsorbed by the body. Galatea, a Massachusetts-based company, produces this innovative medical device that has helped over a million patients in just the last two decades.

Those who remember the myth of Pygmalion and Galatea will recall that Pygmalion, a sculptor, was so enamored with one of his statues that the goddess Aphrodite allowed it to come to life. The goddess of love, Aphrodite, then united Pygmalion and Galatea in marriage. The GalaFLEX Mesh allows plastic surgeons to sculpt lifted breasts with divine results!

How Does GalaFLEX Mesh Work?

Consider surgical scaffolds similar to an internal brassiere. Dr. Tehrani inserts a GalaFlex mesh under the skin to support the breast mass.

High-strength, reabsorbable P4HB monofilament fibers make up the GalaFLEX Mesh implant. P4HB belongs to a naturally occurring class of biopolymers whose forerunners were synthesized by scientists at MIT. Fibers made from this material are uniquely strong and flexible. Even more importantly, they are biocompatible. This means that the body accepts them, and there is no risk of rejection or allergic reaction. GAlaFLEX mesh is a knit textile that utilizes the same knit technology as your favorite T-shirt. They can elevate, reinforce, and repair soft tissue. The loose knit of GalaFLEX allows new tissues to grow in and around its weave, much like the way ivy grows along a garden lattice. This new tissue is able to rapidly vascularize, developing a healthy blood supply; it eventually becomes fully integrated into the breast tissue as the mesh fibers are resorbed.

The result is a healthy new layer of tissue to provide strong and lasting support to the breasts.

Conclusion

A breast lift is an ideal procedure for eliminating ptosis, or drooping in the breasts. It will lift the breasts to a higher point on the chest wall, excising excess skin and tightening the breast mound. However, it can’t alter the actual quality of your breast tissue.