You have succeeded in losing weight, only to find an unexpected side effect --- your breasts have become saggier than before. The sagging of your breast tissue has much to do with the makeup of your breasts. Knowing how and why this has occurred can help you to determine the right treatment option.
Components
To understand why the breasts sag, it is important to understand how their components affect their appearance. The breast tissue consists of three fibers or proteins, according to Go Ask Alice, a health resource from Columbia University. The first is fat, which gives the breast their shape and size. Younger women have less fat in the breast tissue and more glands. These glands or lobules represent the second component. The glands produce milk and shrink and expand due to hormones. Over time, these glands constrict, causing breast tissue to become fattier. The final component is connective tissue, which provide support to the breasts.
Function
The chief component of breast tissue involved in sagging when you lose weight is the connective tissue, according to Go Ask Alice. Think of the connective tissue as an elastic band. When you weighed more, the band was stretched. After losing the weight, the band will become smaller, but will be slightly loosened. For this reason, you do not maintain the breast firmness.
Identification
Also known as ptosis, sagging breasts are defined as those whose breasts may appear flat and/or elongated, according to Online Surgery, a general education health website reviewed by physician medical advisors. If the nipple area dips below the breast crease, this is identified as markedly sagging breast volume that can occur if you have lost a significant amount of weight.
Surgical Options
When breast tissue begins to sag, it is difficult to reclaim lost tissue using lifestyle or at-home treatments, such as exercises or cream applications, Go Ask Alice explains. In this instance, surgery may be the only option to improve shape and/or volume, plastic surgeon Dr. Paul C. Zwiebel writes for the RealSelf website. This may include a breast lift to reduce breast tissue sagging. Depending upon the amount of weight you have lost, your physician may recommend breast implants that restore breast volume after losing fat.
Warning
If you select a breast lift surgical procedure to remedy breast sagging due to weight loss, keep in mind that gravity can ultimately take effect, Go Ask Alice advises. Surgery is "only a stopgap measure --- 'lifted' breasts once again respond to the call of gravity as the skin and ligament are gradually stretched over time," according to Mother Nature, a health and wellness website that focuses on finding natural health solutions to medical problems. Continuing to wear supportive clothing can help to reduce the effects of gravity's pull.
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