If you are looking to reposition, reduce and/or reshape your natural breasts without the use of implants then you may be starting to look at possible Breast Reduction or Breast Lift procedures.

What’s the difference between a breast reduction and a breast lift?

Breast Reduction and Breast Uplift procedures are actually fairly similar. In many cases, they both require similar incisions known as the anchor. The anchor pattern is when the incision goes around the areola and then runs from the bottom portion of the areola to the fold under the breast known as the inframammary fold.

A breast reduction is designed to remove excess weight and volume from your breast to achieve a smaller overall breast size.

The aim of a breast uplift is to remove excess sagging to achieve a more uplifted appearance.

This means that your breast size is likely to change more significantly with a breast reduction procedure than it is with a breast uplift procedure.

Aside from this, the two procedures are similar in nature. Both procedures have a similar downtime of around 2 weeks and 6 weeks before you are able to return to the majority of your normal everyday activities such as exercise and strenuous lifting.

Do I need a breast reduction or breast lift?

The choice of which procedure comes down to the appearance of your breasts along with what you wish to achieve from surgery. For breasts that are not excessively heavy in weight but have excess skin causing drooping, a breast uplift would likely be the best option.

For breasts that feel overly large and out of proportion to the rest of your frame, then a breast reduction is going to be the best procedure.

What is a breast reduction?

A breast reduction is when excess fat and tissue are removed from your breast. This is often performed to give patients permanent relief from the discomfort caused by having large breasts. The procedure can also be performed to correct large sagging breasts too.
The result of a breast reduction is smaller, lifted breasts.

See more Breast Reduction before and after results here.

How do I know if breast reduction is for me?

When it comes to deciding if breast reduction is suitable for you, ask yourself the following questions;

• Are my breasts limiting my physical activity?
• Am I unhappy with having breasts that are too large?
• Do I experience irritation underneath my breasts?
• Are my breasts causing me neck, back and/or shoulder pain?

If you find yourself answering yes to at least one of the questions then a breast reduction is likely to be the best choice for you.

What is a breast uplift?

Breast uplift, also known as a lift or mastopexy is a procedure designed to improve the shape of your natural breasts if they are sagging. The procedure can also be performed to correct breast asymmetry, tuberous breasts and the position of your nipples.

The volume of your breast should remain unchanged in a breast uplift procedure however they may appear smaller due to the change in position. Only the breast skin tissue is removed rather than the breast fat and your end result should be a perkier bust.

See more breast uplift before and after results here.

How do I know if breast uplift is for me?

When it comes to deciding if breast uplift/mastopexy procedure is suitable for you, ask yourself the following questions;

• Does one of my breasts droop lower than the other?
• Do my breasts have a long shape?
• Do my areolas or nipples point downwards?
• Do my nipples drop lower than my breast crease?

If you find yourself answering yes to at least one of the questions then breast uplift is likely to be the best choice for you.

Summary

The decision as to whether you require breast reduction surgery or breast uplift surgery can be difficult to make. The best advice we can provide is to make a consultation to speak to one of our expert consultant plastic surgeons. This way you can share your concerns and let us know what your end goal for surgery is. This will enable us to determine which surgical procedure/s would be best suited for you.

Breast Surgery at The Private Clinic

• We offer top UK consultant plastic surgeons for breast reduction, who have accumulated decades of experience
• 40 years of medical cosmetic expertise and experience
• 24-hour patient helpline to ensure you are always in the best of hands.
• Comprehensive Breast Reduction Patient Guide.
• Outstanding hospital facilities.
• 5 Star Trustpilot Rating
• 96% of patients would recommend us to friends and family
• As many post-operative care and appointments with your surgeon and nursing team as required.
• Our clinics are located in London, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, and Northampton.

Helpful Links

• See our selection of Breast Reduction Before and After Photos.
• Read our extensive Breast Reduction FAQs.
• Hear from previous patients in our Breast Reduction Patient Stories.
• See our selection of Breast Uplift Before and After photos.
• Read our extensive selection of Breast Uplift FAQs.
• Hear from previous patients in our Breast Uplift Patient Stories.

Breast Reduction & Uplift Surgeons at The Private Clinic

Some of the UK’s most talented and experienced Plastic Surgeons work with us to bring you effective results.

• Mr Navid Jallali BSc MB ChB (Hons) MD FRCS (Plast) – GMC Number: 4404969
• Mr Dario Rochira BS, MD – GMC Number: 6130664
• Mr Maisam Fazel  MA(Cantab) MB BChir MSEd FRCS – GMC Number: 4767420
• Mr Adrian Richards, MBBS, MSc, FRCS (Plast.) – GMC Number: 3286812
• Mr Adel Fattah, FRCS (Plast.) – GMC Number: 4764599
• Mr William Van Niekerk, MB ChB, MSc, MRCS, FCMI, FRCS (Plast.), RAF (qs) – GMC Number: 4362791
• Ms Helena Antoniadou, MBBS, MD & Surg (Hons), FRCS (Plast) – GMC Number: 3700956
• Professor Sandip Hinocha, MD, MPhil, MBChB, MRCS, BTEC (Laser), MFFLM, FRCS (Plast). GMC Number: 6122218
• Mr Giuseppe Di Taranto, MD. GMC Number: 7614248

Book a consultation

To find out more about breast reduction or breast uplift procedures or to book a consultation at a clinic near you, please call 0333 920 2471 or use our online contact form.