Skip to main content
Dr. Michaels' Blog

Breast Lift, Do You Need It?

You’re not happy with your breasts, but not sure if you need an augmentation or a lift, or both. The rule of thumb to determine if you need a breast lift is pretty simple.  You know the place under your breast where it meets the chest?  That intersection is called the inframammary fold.  If your nipple is above the fold, you don’t need a breast lift.  If the nipple is below the fold, you probably do.  When your nipple is at the same level as the fold, it’s a grey area.

Why would a nipple be below the fold? All breasts sag with time, and the larger they are, the lower they fall. Some breasts start off that way.  A tubular breast, for example, is shaped like an inverted triangle with the nipple at the bottom, pointing downwards. And some breasts are just naturally big.  With age, they sag too.

Sometimes the nipple is above the fold but the breast still looks very droopy. That condition is called pseudoptosis or false droop and is caused by deflation of the breast, not drooping. Pseudoptosis is a good reason to have a breast augmentation to replace the lost volume. It’s common for this breast augmentation candidate to have had much larger breasts, either with pregnancy or obesity, that appear fallen with the loss of the extra weight.

Read my other blogs on breast augmentation for more information.