Breast Lift – What is a Crescent Lift Mastopexy?

Posted on | Modified on | by Dr. Ricardo L. Rodriguez

A Crescent Mastopexy is a small Breast lift that has two principal virtues:

  1. It is technically simple
  2. It has a very well disguised scar

The Crescent Mastopexy is perfect for situations where only a small breast lift is needed. As I have become  familiar with the technique, I use it exclusively for small breast lifts. There is no need for a lot of scars when a well disguised scar will do. The Crescent Mastopexy gives me the flexibility to get the breast implant and the nipple areolar complex placed exactly where I want.

Let’s take the case where the breasts hang just a little.Before the Crescent lift technique was available, plastic surgeons had the choice of either:

  • doing a full breast lift with a lot of scarring or
  • placing the implant lower on the chest wall

Doing a full breast lift with a lot of scars is not desirable for a patient who only needs a small lift. Likewise, placing the implant lower on the chest wall results in little upper pole fullness (top of the breast) and less lifting of the breast as a whole. If the patient wants more upper pole fullness, the surgeon can place the implant higher, but if the nipple stays in the same location, the nipple will look low in relation to the implant, the opposite of perky. This is referred to as the snoopy dog look after the famous cartoon dog’s nose. Another solution is to use a larger implant to achieve upper pole fullness, but the patient may not be comfortable with a large implant if all she wanted was a perky breast with upper pole fullness.

The Crescent breast lift allows me to get perkiness, upper pole fullness, and the size of implant the patient wants. It is a great breast lifting procedure and I use it a lot, especially on women who have breastfed.

Another area where the Crescent breast lift has improved my results is in cases of mild asymmetry. Whereas before I used to tell patients to accept a mild asymmetry, now I can offer the patient a much better result by using the Crescent lift mastopexy. The video above illustrates these concepts much better than words can.

By Dr. Ricardo L. Rodriguez MD Board Certified Plastic Surgeon Cosmeticsurg Baltimore, Maryland Ricardo L. Rodriguez on American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

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10 thoughts on “Breast Lift – What is a Crescent Lift Mastopexy?”

  • Jocelyn says:

    I am curious the total cost of this form the mastopexy, just a lift no implants, including all medications and what not in the range of cost. I am wanting to have a light lift done, maybe loose and inch or inch and a half or two cut off and my nipples moved up. Please can you tell me an idea of the range of cost

    • Dr. Ricardo L Rodriguez says:

      Jocelyn: I will have Kelly at kelly@cosmeticsurg.net contact you about pricing and options.

  • natalie says:

    I'm a complicated one. I am interested in having a breast lift with, like any woman, minimal scarring. Im hoping that the Crescent Mastopexy is right for me. Ive always had drooping breasts but after breast feeding, now I can go ahead and invest in something Ive always wanted. My issue is that I have larger than "normal" areolas and I wouldn't want to change that. Also, Ive seen that with augmentation, there is less scarring. I am a C cup and don't think I would be comfortable being larger than that. I do know thats the best option to get the lift and firmness I desire. So my question is what would be best in my situation??? thanks so much!

    • Dr. Ricardo L Rodriguez says:

      Natalie: Thanks for writing. The choice of wether to get mastopexy or augmentation, or both, depends on a lot of things. 1)Size- If you do not want to be larger than what you are now, then just a lift will do 2)Firmness- Only an implant will give you firmness. Tightening the skin will work for a while, but then the skin eventually relaxes. 3)Scarring- Crescent versus periareolar scarring depends on how much lift you need. In order to get an answer that is appropriate for you, I would really need to see pictures. If you are interested, email Kelly at kelly@cosmeticsurg.net We'd love to hear from you!

  • Christina Thompson says:

    Can you tell me what kind of payment plans you have available for a crescent lift/breast augmentation procedure?

    • Dr. Ricardo L Rodriguez says:

      Christina: contact Kelly at kelly@cosmeticsurg.net, she'll be glad to help you out.

  • Diana Wozniak says:

    Will a crescent breast lift result in pleating of the skin around the areola? If so, is this temporary or permanent in your experience? Thank you.

  • Cosmetic Guru says:

    I think one interesting thing with implants is the proposed stem cell treatment that has been taking place in Japan lately. I wonder what will happen next with implant development.

  • Jen says:

    Very informative. Where exactly do the scars appear with the crescent lift? Do they go around the nipple or around the border of the aerola? And about how long might it take till they fade completely?

    • Dr. Ricardo L Rodriguez says:

      Please read my previous blog post on this and other scars. The scar forms the new upper border of the areola. It will never fade completely, scars never disappear, but the scar is camouflaged as the transition line between breast skin and areola.