Breasts in women consist of soft glandular tissues of mammary glands, milk ducts, adipose tissue and Cooper’s ligaments. Ptosis breasts is a natural sagging process of breasts and it develops in women due to several factors.Generally, a woman starts to lose the fatty tissues of her breast when she reaches an age of 30.
The loss of the fatty tissues diminishes the size and richness of the breast. The movement of the areola towards the lower end of the breast indicates the sagging process. When a woman grows with age, her body produces a reduced rate of estrogen that hampers the elasticity of her skin that results in breast sagging or breast ptosis.
Why does Ptosis of Breast Occur?
Cigarette Smoking
The elasticity of our skin is generated by a protein called elastin. When you indulge in smoking, the protein elastin breaks down and lessen the elasticity of the skin, thereby leading to Ptosis breasts.
Occurrence of Pregnancy
The ovaries and placenta produces estrogen and progesterone at the time of pregnancy. These hormones further inspire the milk secreting glands of about 15 to 20 lobes to develop the breasts. Repeated pregnancies allow a woman’s breast to differ in size. Thus, breast sagging come into existence.
Body Mass
If a woman becomes overweight or loses weight, the breast ligaments and tissues expands and makes the breast to bulge outward.
Post-Menopausal Stage
During the menopausal stage of a woman production of estrogen decreases which further reduces the breast bulk and fullness.
The rigorousness of the ptosis depends on the position of the nipple in connection to the inframammary fold where the lower portion of the breast is attached to the chest wall. The plastic surgeons and physicians diagnose ptosis with the help of ptosis scale to evaluate the degree of breast sagging. The Regnault ptosis scale is the most popularly used scale for this purpose. The divisions include:
- Mild Ptosis (Grade I): The nipple and the inframammary crease are positioned at the same level.
- Moderate Ptosis (Grade II): The nipple is located below the inframammary crease. However, the lower tissue of the breast falls below the nipple.
- Advanced Ptosis (Grade III): The nipple is located below the inframammary crease and in level with the breast projection region.
- Severe Ptosis: The nipple is positioned much lower the inframammary crease and levelled to the breast projected area.
How can Breast Ptosis be Prevented?
Heredity and ageing aspects that cause breast ptosis are difficult to control. However factors such as smoking and gaining of weight are possible to resist. Steps to prevent breast ptosis can be considered as follows:
Quit Smoking
Giving up smoking and decreasing exposure to second-hand smoke enable control on sagging of breasts.
Follow a Balanced Diet
Avoid eating junks and choose to have a healthy and balanced diet to maintain your body weight. If you tend to gain weight, then you should include a low calorie diet in your daily routine.
Exercise Regularly
Practice regular exercises wearing the appropriate outfits meant exclusive for drills.
Breast ptosis is one of the most common situations handled by plastic surgeons. Regnault classification determines the severity of the sagging condition of breasts in women.
