Breast Lift vs. California Breast Lift®: What’s the Difference?

Age, pregnancy, and other factors can lead to drooping breasts. If you feel like yours have lost their youthful appearance, a breast lift can help. At Pacific Center for Plastic Surgery in Newport Beach, we offer several forms of breast enhancement to help you achieve your desired results. 

What is a Breast Lift?

A traditional breast lift is a surgical correction of drooping or sagging breasts. It removes excess fat and skin, creating lifted, more shapely breasts. We also offer the California Breast Lift®, a form of breast augmentation with fat transfer. It adds subtle lift and enhancement by utilizing your own fat, transferred from other areas of your body. By taking unwanted fat from areas like the tummy or thighs, we can improve your breasts and enhance your overall body shape. Only a consultation with our experienced board-certified plastic surgeons can determine which type of breast procedure will work best for each situation. 

*Individual Results May Vary

Breast Lift vs. California Breast Lift®: What’s the Difference?

Many consider a breast lift a surgical procedure only for significantly drooping breasts. However, many women experience mild to moderate volume loss that causes a sagging appearance. A California Breast Lift® uses fat harvested from a donor area on your body with liposuction to add volume and shape to your breasts. 

Major differences between the two procedures include:

• Different people make good candidates
• Procedures suit different lifestyles
• Helps people achieve different goals
• Significant differences in recovery time
• Addresses different problems
• Differences in scarring

Your surgeon will discuss your concerns and goals to determine which breast procedure will give you the more lifted, youthful results you want. A California Breast Lift® in Newport Beach makes an excellent option for the right candidate. 

How is a Breast Lift Performed?

A standard breast lift takes place under general anesthesia. Incisions may run along the edge of the areola, underneath the areola to the crease, or along the crease. The type of incision depends on how much loose skin and fat your surgeon needs to remove. We offer WonderLIFT™ technology, which includes an implanted support material. Your body replaces the support material with collagen over time for long-lasting, beautiful results.

How is a California Breast Lift® Performed?

A California Breast Lift® is a form of fat transfer breast enhancement. Your surgeon performs this procedure by using liposuction to collect fat cells from another area of your body. The stomach, hips, and thighs are common areas for this. After purifying and separating, this fat is strategically injected into your breasts. Your surgeon uses the fat to sculpt and shape your increased volume, adding more where you need it to give the appearance of fullness and lift with minimal discomfort and recovery time. 

What is Recovery Like After a Breast Lift?

Your recovery after a breast lift depends on the details of your procedure. Most people need at least one week to return to work after a traditional breast lift. However, with the increased number of work-from-home jobs, a full week may not be needed. On the other hand, those with jobs that require significant physical activity may need two weeks or more. Be sure to discuss your lifestyle with your surgical team so that they can help you determine the best recovery guidelines. 

Recovery after a California Breast Lift® is less than a traditional breast lift. You may have some soreness and bruising in the area where your surgeon harvested fat and around the injection areas. This should resolve within a few days, allowing you to return to your usual activities. 

What Results Will I See With a California Breast Lift®?

A traditional breast lift is often your best option if you have drooping breasts with stretched skin. After a breast lift, you will see fuller, perkier, and more shapely breasts. Your full results can take six months or more to develop as your breasts heal. 

A California Breast Lift® provides subtle, strategic boosts in volume that add enhancement where it matters, such as in the upper part of the breasts. This procedure can provide the appearance of more lifted breasts by rebalancing breast volume that has shifted downward. The transferred fat cells will settle into their new location and stay there permanently. 

Am I a Good Candidate for a Breast Lift?

Good candidates for a traditional breast lift have drooping breasts and want to restore them to a more shapely position. Ideal candidates for a California Breast Lift® have mild drooping and can benefit from subtle shaping and lift. In both cases, it is important to be in good health and to have reasonable expectations. The California Breast Lift® is ideal for those seeking natural enhancement. Since it requires minimal recovery time, it fits into almost any busy lifestyle.