Mastopexy in Istanbul
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Results of MAYCLINIK patients after a breast lift, with and without implants, photographed once the breasts had settled.
Results vary from person to person. Photos are shared with patient consent.
2–3 hours
Operation time
longer with implants
1 night
Hospital stay
longer if combined
About 7 days
Total stay in Istanbul
After 1–2 weeks
Back to desk work
After about 6 weeks
Exercise & lifting
3–6 months
Final result
scars fade over 12–18 months
A breast uplift (mastopexy) raises breasts that have dropped and gives them a firmer, rounder shape. The surgeon tightens the loose skin, shapes the breast tissue into a higher cone and moves the nipple and areola up to a more youthful position. Most women who come to us for a breast uplift in Turkey have noticed the change after pregnancy, breastfeeding, weight loss or simply with time.
Surgeons describe drooping (ptosis) by where the nipple sits compared with the fold under the breast. When it is level with the fold, the drooping is mild; when it sits below the fold or points downwards, it is moderate or severe. The more the breast has dropped, the more skin has to be removed, and the longer the scar.
A lift changes position and shape, not size. Breasts that have also lost volume can still look empty at the top after a lift alone, which is why some women choose to add an implant or use their own tissue to fill the upper part in the same operation.
The technique is chosen by how far your breasts have dropped, how much loose skin there is and whether you want more volume. The aim is always the shortest scar that will give you the shape you want.
A ring of skin is removed around the areola and the edge is stitched closed. The nipple moves up only a little, so this is a small correction rather than a full lift. The scar sits at the edge of the areola.
Best for: Mild drooping, or areolas that are large and stretched
Presentable after: About 1 week
A scar around the areola and a straight line down to the fold. The lower part of the breast is narrowed and the tissue reshaped, which gives good projection. There is no scar along the fold.
Best for: Moderate drooping, with the nipple just below the fold
Presentable after: About 10–14 days
Adds a scar along the fold under the breast to the lollipop pattern. It removes the most skin and allows the largest change in nipple position. The extra scar is hidden in the crease and by most bras.
Best for: Severe drooping and loose skin after major weight loss
Presentable after: About 2 weeks
An implant fills the upper part of the breast while the lift tightens the skin and raises the nipple, usually in one operation.
Best for: Breasts that have both dropped and lost their volume
Presentable after: About 2 weeks
Breast Augmentation in TurkeyKnown as auto-augmentation. Tissue from the lower part of the breast, which would otherwise be removed, is folded upwards to fill the top. No implant is used, so the gain in fullness is modest.
Best for: Women who want more upper fullness without an implant
Presentable after: About 2 weeks
If your breasts are also larger than you would like, tissue is removed during the lift: a breast reduction always includes a lift.
Best for: Breasts that are heavy as well as low on the chest
Presentable after: About 2 weeks
Breast Reduction in TurkeyThe scar pattern follows the amount of correction you need. Your surgeon shows you where your scars will be before you decide.
Scars
Drooping
Nipple raised by
Reshaping of the breast
Implant possible
Presentable after
Typical values. Your surgeon recommends a technique after examining you.
Most women are between their late 20s and 60s. Good general health, a steady weight and realistic expectations about scars matter more than age.
Your operation takes place in a JCI-accredited partner hospital; the rest of your stay is spent recovering in a 5-star hotel, both included in your package.
JCI-accredited partner hospital
Modern operating theatres, private rooms and intensive-care backup, with specialist nursing care after your operation.
5-star hotel & VIP transfers
Comfortable recovery close to the hospital. Private transfers take you to every appointment and your coordinator checks in with you every day.
You know who will operate on you before you book. You meet your surgeon on video first to talk through the shape you want and where the scars will be.
Four commitments that cover your care from the first video call to long after you fly home.
Before surgery
Surgeons are not interchangeable. Each of ours performs certain operations far more often than others, so you are matched to the one whose routine work is your operation. You meet on video before you travel, and the plan is agreed there, not on arrival.
MAYContourIn Istanbul
From the moment you land to the moment you fly home, one team is responsible for you: airport transfers, your hotel stay, hospital admission, a doctor and nurse who visit you at the hotel, and a check on how you are every day, in your own language.
MAYCare+Back home
The hardest part of recovery happens after you get home. For twelve months your aftercare nurse stays with you, reviewing how you are healing, telling you what is normal and what is not, and answering questions through our London and Stuttgart offices.
MAYCheckIf anything changes
Healing is not always a straight line, and a final result can take up to a year to settle. MAYCover is how we handle it, with your surgeon, if something does need revisiting. Ask your coordinator what it covers, before you book, rather than after.
MAYCoverThe price depends mainly on the technique and on whether implants or another operation are added. You receive a fixed, written quote after your consultation, before you book anything.
A typical plan for a breast uplift, with or without implants. If it is combined with a tummy tuck, you stay a little longer. Your coordinator fits the plan around your flights.
Day 1
VIP transfer to your hotel. You meet your surgeon in person, agree the plan together and, if you are having implants, try on sizers.
Day 2
Blood tests and anaesthetic check in the morning. Your breasts are marked while you stand, then surgery and one night in hospital.
Day 3
Your surgeon checks the dressings, any drains are removed and your support bra is fitted before a transfer takes you back to the hotel.
Days 4–5
Tightness and swelling ease. Walk a little several times a day; keep your arms below shoulder height and do not lift anything heavy.
Day 6
Your surgeon checks the wounds and the position of the nipples and changes the dressings. Keep the support bra on day and night.
Day 7
Once your surgeon is happy, you fly home in your support bra. Aftercare continues with our teams in London and the Stuttgart region.
A breast uplift is usually less painful than women expect. Most describe tightness and tenderness for a few days, then a steady improvement.
Days 1–3
The breasts are swollen and bruised. Pain is moderate and controlled with tablets. You sleep on your back.
Weeks 1–2
Light daily tasks are fine. Most women return to desk work after 1–2 weeks. Stitches are usually dissolvable.
Weeks 2–6
Swelling goes down and the scars close fully. Keep wearing the support bra and avoid lifting, swimming and upper-body exercise.
Week 6
Most exercise, including upper-body training, can usually be resumed. Underwired bras are fine from now if your surgeon agrees.
Months 3–18
The breasts soften and settle into their final shape over 3–6 months. The scars fade from pink to pale lines over 12–18 months.
Mastopexy is a well-established operation. Serious complications are uncommon, and these are the risks your surgeon will go through with you.
Every lift leaves scars. They usually fade to pale lines, but some widen or become thick and raised. Silicone gel, sun protection and, if needed, treatment help.
The nipples can feel numb or more sensitive at first. Sensation usually returns over several months; permanent change is possible but uncommon.
Small areas of slow healing, most often where the vertical and fold scars meet, can occur and usually heal with dressings. Smoking makes this far more likely.
Breasts are rarely identical before surgery and will not be afterwards. A clear difference in shape or nipple height can be corrected with a minor revision.
Gravity, pregnancy and weight change continue after surgery, so some sagging can return over the years. A stable weight helps the result last longer.
If an implant is added: capsular contracture, rupture and the possibility of replacing it one day. Your surgeon explains the implant chosen.
Plan about 7 days: one night in hospital, then a few days at the hotel. Your surgeon checks the wounds before you fly. If the lift is combined with a tummy tuck, allow a few days more.
It depends on whether the problem is position or volume. If your nipples sit at or below the fold under the breast, an implant alone will not raise them and you need a lift. If your breasts sit high but look empty, an implant may be enough. If both apply, you can have a lift with implants.
Yes, most women have both in the same operation. In a small number of cases, for example with very loose skin or a large implant, the surgeon may advise doing them in two stages a few months apart.
Not much. Your breasts may look fuller because the tissue sits higher, but the volume stays roughly the same. Some women find their bra band size stays the same and the cup is a little smaller, because loose skin has been removed.
Always around the areola. Depending on the technique, there is also a vertical scar to the fold and sometimes a scar along the fold. They are covered by most bras and bikini tops and fade over 12–18 months.
Many women can. In most lifts the nipple stays attached to the breast tissue beneath it, which keeps the milk ducts and nerves connected. It cannot be guaranteed, so let your surgeon know if you hope to breastfeed.
Usually many years. The breasts still age, and pregnancy or a large change in weight can stretch them again. Keeping a stable weight and wearing a supportive bra help the result last.
It is usually better to. Pregnancy and breastfeeding can undo part of the lift. If you go ahead first, a lift does not stop you having children, but you may want a second operation later.
Yes, once your weight has been stable for 6–12 months. After large weight loss the skin is often looser and thinner, so an anchor lift, sometimes with an implant or auto-augmentation, is commonly needed.
Yes. A lift or lift with implants combined with a tummy tuck, often with liposuction, is known as a mommy makeover. You recover once instead of twice, but the operation and your stay are longer.
It can be. Check that the clinic is licensed by the Turkish Ministry of Health, that you know the name and qualifications of your surgeon, that the operation takes place in an accredited hospital and that the plan leaves enough time before you fly. MAYCLINIK holds licence AK-0086 and operates in JCI-accredited hospitals.
Medically reviewed guides that answer the questions patients ask most about this treatment.
A mommy makeover combines several operations, so planning matters. What it includes, the limits surgeons work within, the main risks and how your stay in Istanbul is organised.
6 min readRead article Plastic surgeryWhy skin does not always shrink back after major weight loss, what you can and cannot prevent, and how a body lift, arm lift, thigh lift or breast lift is planned.
6 min readRead article Plastic surgeryWhat the first days feel like, when you can go back to work, which bra to wear, how to sleep and when you can exercise again after breast augmentation.
7 min readRead articleContact
Send us a few photos and tell us what you would like to change. A surgeon reviews them and you receive a personal plan, including the likely scar pattern, and a written price within 24 hours.
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