Breast Lift in Turkey: Mastopexy for Sagging Breasts

What is a breast lift?

Mastopexy is performed when the skin envelope has become too large for the tissue inside it. With time the skin loses elasticity, the supporting ligaments stretch and the breast slides downwards, taking the nipple below the fold under the breast. Surgery removes the excess skin, lifts and reshapes the tissue on itself and, where needed, reduces an enlarged areola.

Sagging (ptosis) is graded by where the nipple sits relative to the inframammary fold:

• Grade 1 (mild): nipple level with the fold.
• Grade 2 (moderate): nipple below the fold but above the lowest point of the breast.
• Grade 3 (severe): nipple at the lowest point, pointing downwards.
• Pseudoptosis: nipple in position, but most of the tissue hangs below the fold.

The higher the grade, the longer the scar. Our breast surgery page compares a lift with augmentation and reduction.

Who is a candidate?

A breast lift suits healthy adults whose nipples point downwards or sit below the fold, whose upper breast has emptied and whose skin has loosened. Typical groups include:

• Mothers whose breasts have deflated and dropped after pregnancy and breastfeeding
• Patients left with excess skin after significant weight loss
• Patients whose skin has lost elasticity with age
• Those with marked asymmetry or different sagging on each side
• Those with stretched areolas who would like them reduced

If your weight fluctuates, you plan a pregnancy soon or you cannot stop smoking, the timing is reconsidered, and active breast disease or uncontrolled illness must be treated first. Understanding that the goal is better shape, not larger breasts, is the best predictor of satisfaction.

Techniques and options

Periareolar (Benelli) lift

A single ring-shaped incision around the areola, suited to mild sagging and to reducing the areola. The nipple can be raised only a short distance, and over-tightening can widen the scar. Often combined with a small implant.

Vertical (lollipop) lift

The areolar incision continues straight down to the fold. The most common technique for moderate sagging: the tissue is gathered internally, giving projection and fullness, and the vertical scar fades over time.

Inverted-T (anchor) lift

A horizontal incision along the fold is added. For severe sagging, large breasts and considerable excess skin it gives the most reliable reshaping, at the cost of the longest scar.

Lift with implants (augmentation-mastopexy)

When sagging comes with an empty upper pole, a lift and an implant can be combined. Reducing skin while adding volume makes this one of the most demanding breast operations to plan; depending on tissue thickness, Dr. Esmer may recommend a single operation or a two-stage plan with the implant a few months after the lift.

Lift after weight loss or pregnancy

After major weight loss there is a lot of loose skin and little elasticity; an inverted-T pattern is usually needed, sometimes with the patient's own lower breast tissue moved upwards (auto-augmentation) to restore fullness. After pregnancy, a lift is often combined with a tummy tuck as a mommy makeover.

First consultation and planning

For international patients, planning usually starts with an online photo assessment. Front and side photographs allow a preliminary view of the grade of ptosis, areola size and asymmetry, and a first opinion on technique and whether an implant would help.

At the in-person examination we measure the distances from the nipple to the fold and to the base of the neck, the base width of the breast and skin quality, and compare the breasts sitting and standing. We ask about breastfeeding history, pregnancy plans, previous breast surgery and family history. Patients over forty, or with a family history of breast disease, have a mammogram before surgery; in younger patients an ultrasound is usually sufficient.

By the end you know which scar pattern is needed, whether an implant is advisable and what a realistic result looks like.

Before surgery

To protect skin circulation and wound healing, we ask for the following:

• Smoking and nicotine: stop at least 4 weeks beforehand and throughout recovery; nicotine impairs blood flow to the nipple and skin.
• Blood thinners and aspirin: aspirin, ibuprofen-type painkillers and anticoagulants are stopped 7–10 days before surgery, in agreement with the prescribing doctor.
• Supplements: vitamin E, omega-3, garlic, ginkgo and similar products are paused.
• Alcohol: none in the week before surgery.
• Fasting: no solid food for 8 hours and no clear fluids for 2 hours before the operation.
• Surgical bra: a front-opening, wire-free bra in the size decided at examination.
• Weight and hormones: be close to your target weight and tell us about any hormone preparations.

On the morning of surgery, blood tests, an ECG and the anaesthetic review are completed and the incisions are drawn with you standing.

The operation day

A breast lift is performed in a fully equipped hospital under general anaesthesia and takes about 2–3 hours, or 3–4 hours with an implant. The nipple is moved upwards on a stalk of tissue (pedicle) that keeps its own blood vessels and nerves, which is how sensation and the ability to breastfeed are preserved as far as possible.

Incisions are closed with dissolving sutures and covered with fine tapes and the surgical bra. Most patients do not need drains; when an implant is placed or a large amount of tissue is moved, a thin drain may be left overnight. You stay one night in hospital; discomfort is moderate and well controlled with regular painkillers, and you are discharged the next day after a check.

Recovery and aftercare

• Surgical bra: day and night for 4–6 weeks; underwired bras after 2–3 months.
• Drains and dressings: any drain is removed within 1–2 days; tapes are renewed at the first check and sutures dissolve.
• Sleeping: on your back, slightly propped up, for 2–3 weeks.
• Showering: usually after 48 hours with waterproof dressings; baths, pools and the sea wait 4 weeks.
• Exercise: walking from day one; raising the arms and heavy lifting wait 3 weeks, running and upper-body training 6 weeks.
• Scar care: silicone gel or tape for 3–6 months once the wounds have closed, and sun protection for a year. Scars are red and firm for about 3 months, pale by 6–12 months and mature at 12–18 months.

Swelling settles within 2–3 weeks. Early on the breast may look higher and more boxy than the final shape; it softens into its natural form over 3–6 months.

Risks and how they are minimised

Like any operation, mastopexy carries risks; most can be reduced by careful planning and technique.

• Changes in nipple sensation: reduced or heightened sensitivity is common early on and settles within 6–12 months in most patients. Preserving the pedicle lowers the chance of permanent numbness.
• Breastfeeding: because the milk ducts travel with the nipple, many patients can breastfeed after a lift, but this cannot be guaranteed. Completing your family first is the ideal timing.
• Scar quality: in patients prone to hypertrophic or keloid scars, tension-free closure, silicone therapy and, if needed, early injections keep scars under control.
• Delayed wound healing: most often where the vertical and horizontal incisions meet; prevented by a strict no-smoking rule and close follow-up.
• Asymmetry and change over time: skin can loosen again; a stable weight and supportive bras protect the result.
• Bleeding, infection, seroma, nipple circulation problems: uncommon; kept low by sterile technique, antibiotics, early review and careful tissue planning.

For international patients

A stay of 5–7 days in Istanbul is sufficient. Surgery is usually scheduled for the day after you arrive; you spend one night in hospital and have two check-ups after discharge, the last of which clears you to fly. Compression stockings and a short walk every hour are recommended during the flight.

Once home, follow-up continues over WhatsApp with photographs and, when needed, video calls at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months. Airport transfers, accommodation close to the hospital and an English-speaking patient coordinator are arranged by our team, and an interpreter can be requested for other languages. See our international patients page for details.

How the price is determined

Turkish regulations prohibit advertising the prices of medical services, so no prices appear on this website. A personalised written quote follows your assessment. The main factors are:

• The grade of ptosis and the technique chosen
• Whether an implant is added, and its type
• Additional procedures in the same session (asymmetry correction, fat transfer, tummy tuck)
• Operating time, anaesthesia and length of hospital stay
• Package services such as accommodation, transfers and an interpreter

The quote states what is included: follow-up visits, the surgical bra, medication and the conditions for any revision.

Why Dr. Göktuğ Esmer

Dr. Göktuğ Esmer is a board-certified plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgeon and a member of ISAPS. Rather than relying on one technique, he plans each lift around the grade of sagging, tissue quality and the patient's own priorities, whether that is the least possible scarring or a fuller upper pole.

You are told plainly which scars are needed, whether an implant makes sense and how long the result can be expected to last; if expectations and what surgery can deliver do not match, surgery is not recommended. Every patient is examined personally by Dr. Esmer before and after the operation, and remote follow-up is handled by the surgeon himself.

Recovery Timeline

The timeline below shows a typical course; healing speed varies between patients.

Before / After

Results shared with patient consent. See more on Instagram: @doctorg.official

Frequently Asked Questions – Breast Lift in Turkey: Mastopexy for Sagging Breasts

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