Pictured is a patient who presented complaining of pre-axillary and lateral chest wall fat accumulation as well as breast ptosis. She wanted to remove the excess fat and to have larger, perkier breasts. Wise pattern mastopexy, also known in lay terms as anchor or inverted T breast lift, is a procedure to lift the breasts. A patient has the option of having implants placed at the same time to increase upper pole fullness and size of the breasts. This is an accurate procedure for especially enlarged or pendulous breasts.
It requires incisions around the areola, vertical, and in the inframammary fold. All three incisions are necessary for the most precise and pleasing result. Since the tension is placed on the breast tissue itself, the areola remain small and the vertical scar almost always heals so well that over time it becomes inconspicuous. The scar in the inframammary fold fades as well and is also covered by the position of the breast. In this patient’s case, she also had liposuction of the lateral chest and pre-axillary area. This helped to remove the excess fat and smooth the contour of the chest. It is safe and effective to combine breast surgery with liposuction. For the recovery, patients generally have a drain in place for a few days and need pain medications. The patient is generally back to work in 7-10 days.
