Benelli Breast Lift

A Benelli breast lift is a type of breast enhancement procedure that confines the incision to the edge of the areola border. As a result, the final scar goes to where the dark skin of the areola meets the light skin of the breast. By confining the scar to that location, it is well-concealed and allows the surgeon to tighten up the skin. There are various kinds of breast lifts that can be performed, and the proper choice of breast lift depends on a variety of factors. These include the volume of the breasts, amount of sag, skin elasticity, and the patient’s underlying anatomy.

The Benelli lift can provide nice improvements in cases of mild breast ptosis or sagging. One main advantage of a Benelli lift is that it allows for reduction in the size of the areola. Especially after pregnancies or weight changes, the areola can sometimes become stretched out and disproportionate to the size of the breast. With the Benelli lift, the surgeon is able to reduce the size of the areola.

CANDIDACY

The ideal candidates for a Benelli breast lift are women who are not overly large-breasted, who have mild breast ptosis, and good overlying skin elasticity. If the patient has severe breast ptosis, she will be better served by one of the other types of breast lifts. There is a limitation as to how much of a lifting effect can be achieved with a Benelli lift. There are many women who experience deflation and sagging of their breasts after pregnancy or weight fluctuations. Oftentimes, they are advised to combine a Benelli lift with placement of a breast implant.

TREATMENT COMPARISON

The biggest advantage of the Benelli lift over other breast lift techniques is the scar being confined to the border of the areola. By limiting the scar to that location it can fade quite nicely and is minimally visible.

LIMITATIONS

As mentioned earlier, the main limitation of a Benelli breast lift is the amount of sag that can be managed. If a Benelli lift is done on somebody better served by a more powerful lifting technique, that patient can see some changes in the shape of the breasts that are not so desirable. An example of such a change is the flattening of the breasts.

RISKS

As with any type of breast surgery, there is always the potential to lose sensation in the nipple. That is something that surgeons must discuss with their patient prior to the operation. For breast lifts in particular, one of the main concerns is that the areola could stretch over time. To prevent this, some surgeons who perform a Benelli lift place more permanent sutures to maintain the diameter of the areola so that it will not stretch that much. Doing so creates a much longer lasting result. Most surgeons just use dissolvable stitches and rely on the skin to maintain its shape, however this could cause tension on the skin which is an elastic tissue. The areola can stretch over time and create an overly large areola which is out of proportion with the rest of the breast.

RECOVERY

The recovery time depends on whether the lift was combined with an implant surgery or not. If no implants were placed, the recovery time would be fairly minimal. A breast lift alone is done as an outpatient procedure and patients are allowed to shower a day after the procedure. Most women can be out and about within two to three days. If implants are used, the patient can go back to work within five to seven days. Compared to other breast lift techniques, the Benelli lift does not necessarily have a shorter downtime just because it is relatively less invasive.

RESULTS

It will take a while for the scar to fade and soften. The scar will continue to improve for at least a year, but this does not mean that it looks awful during that time period. The breasts should regain their shape within the first couple of weeks and start to take on a natural slope and appearance. Final results can be seen after about six months, and there will be continuous improvements for up to a year. It is important to note that the results do not last for a lifetime. Over time, the pull of gravity will cause the breasts to sag and that is something that cannot be prevented by any kind of breast lift. However, a breast lift will always make the breasts look a little better than when they started.

REVISION

Revisions can be made if necessary but they are not commonly done. Healing is somewhat unpredictable in some cases. If revisions must be made, it is only to touch up a scar or to slightly modify the shape of the nipple. The revision rate for a Benelli lift is comparable to that of other breast lift techniques.

FINAL THOUGHTS

There are a lot of different breast lifting techniques and the important thing is to match the proper technique to the patient’s anatomy. Everyone’s breasts are different just like everyone’s face is different. It is all about trying to determine what is going to be the most useful technique to achieve results the patient will love.

Written by Cosmetic Town Editorial Team- AA

Based on an exclusive interview with Jeffrey Rockmore, MD in Albany, NY