First Consultation

The first plastic surgeon I had visited told me he would not do Breast Augmentation unless I had a breast lift (mastopexy). He said I had slight sagging (ptosis) breasts and would be at risk of developing double bubble if I didn’t have a mastopexy.

Double bubble is the non-clinical terminology for when the implant looks separate from the breast tissue which hangs below it. This may occur if the breast implant is placed under the pectoralis muscle (submuscular) in a woman with ptosis. It is possible that the implant, which is placed high on the chest under the pectoralis muscle, will look separate from the breast tissue which hangs below it – causing the double bubble effect. For this reason, many women who want submuscular placement will opt for a mastopexy to avoid the double bubble.

An alternative to a mastopexy, which in many cases can cause unacceptable scarring, is to place a larger implant above the muscle (subglandular) to fill out the sagging skin and tissue. In such cases, the entire breast may be slightly saggy but will appear filled out.

I was not keen on a breast lift as I did not want too much scarring so the anchor mastopexy this surgeon was suggesting was out of the question for me. Anchor mastopexy involves an incision around the areola, vertical line extending downwards from the nipple area, and along the crease below the breast. It cost me £125 for him to tell me this in a 15 minute consultation and he was not up for any negotiation, for example, doughnut (or concentric) breast lift. This would involve less scarring as the incision is made around the areola only. He was not willing to consider what I wanted and I left feeling more miserable and depressed…

Not one for being defeated, I decided I needed a second opinion and booked a consultation with another plastic surgeon at Transform and this was free!!!