Augmentation Mastopexy: A Five-step Standardized Strategy Approach

Abstract

Introduction: Planning a combined procedure requires ensuring an optimal fill of the reduced breast skin envelope, which in turn requires a system to quantify skin excess to ensure that the selected implant achieves that optimal fill. This has led us to develop a five-step approach that a surgical team can use to assess patients scheduled to undergo an augmentation mastopexy and arrive at an optimal surgical strategy. Methods: This retrospective study included 50 consecutive cases where layered mastopexies combined with augmentation mammaplasties were performed. Step 1 entailed a preoperative examination and evaluation of the breasts. In step 2, the breast volume was assessed. The pocket plane was determined in step 3. The choice of which surgical technique to use was done in step 4, and in step 5, the horizontal skin excess was assessed. Results: The average implant size was 300 cm3(range: 170-350 cm3). The overall revision rate was 4%: on average, revision surgeries were performed 24 months after the first surgery. The average implant size was 300 cm3(range: 170-350 cm3). Conclusions: Early results of single-stage augmentation with mastopexy have shown that the design of this systematic five-step approach demonstrates a great potential for producing reliable results with minimal risk. Using this five-step approach will improve patient and surgeon satisfaction and help to replace the old concept of "fill and re-drape" with a new one of "plan, reduce, fill, and re-drape.".