Unlike a breast reduction or augmentation (implant), Dean says a lift doesn’t change the size of the breast, it just changes its shape and position on the body.
“The advantage is that it’s still your tissue, there’s no foreign material there. That definitely appeals to a lot of women,” says Dean, noting a slight shift away from implants due to growing fears about potential long-term risks such as hardening, tightness and silicone leakage.
However, lifts are still a relatively important procedure, says Australasian Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons vice-president Dr Amira Sanki.
“The operation takes about two hours and requires full general anesthesia,” he said. “It results in a scar that runs around the pink part of the areola, under the lower pole of the breast and sometimes also into the breast crease.”
How common is it in Australia?
Sanki says her practice would typically perform 400 to 500 procedures a year, 200 of which are breast-related. Of those 200, about 25 percent are breast lifts.
“About a third are young patients, who may have been born with very weak skin or breast tissue. About two-thirds are mothers who have finished breastfeeding, hoping to get their bodies back to the way they were before having children.”
Sanki says the procedure generally costs between $10,000 and $20,000. In most cases, facelifts are considered an elective, cosmetic surgery, meaning they must be self-funded.
Breastfeeding mothers may notice that their breasts become looser over time.Credit: iStock
However, private health insurance and Medicare occasionally offer discounts to those who can demonstrate that their breasts were seriously affecting their daily life, such as extreme rashes or back pain.
Before committing to a lift, Dean says people should consider whether they plan to breastfeed in the future, as the feeding process can change the pattern of breast tissue. He also notes that the risk of complications during surgery is increased for smokers and diabetics.
Motherhood and body image
For 35-year-old Sarah Plant, her breast lift and reduction, which she underwent in November, was “life-changing”. “My breasts could basically have a conversation with my belly button,” she says. “I always felt very heavy and ended up with terrible neck and back pain… After I decided to stop breastfeeding my daughter, they started to hang even lower and were even bigger. They caused a lot of mental and physical problems.”
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Although Plant has been open with her friends and family about her process throughout the process, she says many others choose to keep it private for fear of what others might think.
“Talking about women’s health is still quite taboo. We were taught not to talk about these personal things growing up,” she says. “Since it is a cosmetic procedure, people may worry that others will judge them. But for reductions and lifts, it’s often related to health, not just cosmetics.”
Body image researcher Dr Sarah Bonell says much of the judgment against mothers who choose to have a breast lift probably stems from outdated misogynistic beliefs that place women primarily as caregivers.
“It’s almost like if you’re vain enough and you care about getting your breasts done afterwards, that means you don’t care enough about your baby. The priorities should be motherhood, not vanity,” says Bonell.
While comments from high-profile celebrities like Rihanna can help normalize conversations around women’s bodies – particularly postpartum bodies – and their freedom to do whatever they want with them, it can also push unhealthy narratives such as the ‘tasty mummy body’.
“There is no right for the body to change and shift,” says Bonell. “Bodies [after pregnancy] they are treated almost like a deformity – the saggy stomach and saggy breasts. There’s nowhere for mothers to go and hear that whatever they look like is normal and they don’t need to be ashamed.”
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