Breast Lift vs. Breast Reduction: What's the Difference?

This is an excellent question, and I haven't answered it for a while. From the outside, a breast lift and a breast reduction can look like the same operation. In one important way, they are.

With both a breast reduction and a breast lift, you've probably noticed that the incisions are identical.

In my practice, I do mostly vertical pattern reductions and lifts. That's the lollipop pattern incision: around the areola and straight down. (Which lift pattern you get depends on your anatomy, and I've explained why I avoid the smaller-scar shortcuts.)

So you can't tell which of the two operations someone had by looking at the scars. (Here's what to expect from them.)

Here's the main difference between the two procedures:

• With a breast lift, you're keeping all of your volume and just moving it higher, into a perkier, more youthful-appearing breast.
• With a breast reduction, you're doing the same thing, but you're also removing tissue and making things smaller.

That's the whole distinction. A reduction is a lift, plus tissue removal.

This is the part worth remembering when you're looking at a quote:

You can't do a breast reduction without the lift as well. The lift is part of the operation, not an upgrade. If a quote lists a reduction and then adds a separate charge for a lift, ask what you're being charged for.

The same is true when insurance is paying: a covered breast reduction includes its lift.

Since the scars are the same, the question to answer before a consultation is really about size:

• If you like your volume and want it sitting higher, you're describing a lift. Here's how long a lift lasts and how I decide whether someone needs one.
• If you want to be smaller, you're describing a reduction, and the lift is built in. Here's how small a reduction can go.

A breast lift and a breast reduction use identical incisions, and in my practice that's usually the lollipop pattern.

The difference is what happens to the tissue: a lift keeps all of your volume and moves it higher, while a reduction does the same and also removes tissue.

Because every reduction includes a lift, the lift should never be an extra charge on a reduction.