Young women from across the US are flocking to a New York City clinic to get bigger and more lifted breasts, all without going under the knife.
Cleavage Clinic, based in Midtown Manhattan, claims to give women natural-looking breast enhancements with no surgery.
For up to $7,000, the clinic injects breasts with a filler to plump the chest or uses micro needling to lift the breasts and firm the skin over two to four appointments.
It says the treatments are ‘little to no risk’ and have little downtime, while women say the results have given them fuller breasts and more confidence.
But plastic surgeons have warned that the methods could interfere with breast cancer screenings and force patients to undergo further mammograms and biopsies to prove that any unusual changes to breast tissue are not cancerous.
Among the clinic’s clients is Michaela ‘MJ’ Hedderman, 27, who told her Instagram followers she had been unhappy with her chest since her teens.
She said: ‘I have been a part of the itty bitty t**** committee since I hit puberty. I mean, my breasts have literally been the same size since I was 13.
‘I’ve always wanted bigger boobs, that’s something I literally used to pray about at night when I was a kid. And I really wanted something subtle, so I decided to go to the Cleavage Clinic.’
Above shows a before (left) and after of a patient at the Cleavage Clinic
In another case, Aspyn Ovard, 29, traveled to New York from Utah to enlarge her breasts after they ‘literally disappeared’ when she breastfed and dieted.
She said on Instagram: ‘I breastfed three babies and I just want my boobs to be back to how they were, which is a little bit bigger than they are now.’
Speaking about the results, she added: ‘I have the tiniest bit of cleavage in the world. I didn’t have that before. Like, there was literally no volume on top at all. I’m very happy about it because all I wanted was to get back to what I had before.’
Katrina Schollenberger, 31, who visited earlier this month for her first appointment for a non-surgical breast lift, told Daily Mail she wanted to look into the procedure so she could wear a sleek, square neckline dress at her wedding.
She said: ‘I just want my breasts to be more lifted for the big day, so I could feel more confident in the silhouette of my gown.’
She has undergone the first of three sessions so far, and says she already notices a difference and is pleased with the results.
The Cleavage Clinic offers eight non-surgical procedures, but two are the most popular: Non-surgical breast enhancement and non-surgical breast lift.
For the enhancement, Sculptra filler is used to make the breasts up to one cup size larger. It is a collagen stimulator and is injected into the breasts to trigger the growth of collagen, which boosts firmness in the skin and leads to perkier, smoother, more lifted and larger-looking breasts.
The above shows a woman receiving a Morpheus8 treatment on her breasts (left) and a separate woman receiving a Sculptra injection into her breasts
The above image shows part of the interior of Cleavage Clinic in Midtown Manhattan
Sculptra is typically injected into the face to stimulate the body to produce more collagen, reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
Women have Sculptra injected in two sessions, four to six weeks apart, and are told to expect best results in three to six months. Its effects last up to two years on average.
The procedure costs about $6,800, and has no downtime. Clinic staff say that patients can return in two years for another procedure to once again lift their breasts.
For comparison, a breast augmentation with implants can increase breast size by one to three cups or more.
It can cost anywhere from $6,000 to more than $15,000 depending on the size sought, and requires invasive surgery.
Patients need to spend one to two weeks at home after surgery to recover and it will take about four weeks overall before patients can resume their normal activities. Patients are told to have their implants changed every 10 to 20 years.
At the Cleavage Clinic, the second treatment is the non-surgical breast lift using a Morpheus8 skin-tightening machine.
This is a minimally invasive cosmetic treatment that uses a small machine that pierces the skin with microneedles and uses radiofrequency to stimulate skin repair and new collagen, prompting each breast to take on a more lifted and perkier appearance.
Morpheus8 is typically used on the face to stimulate the growth of collagen and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
The Cleavage Clinic posted about influencer Cassidy Condie’s experience with Sculptra at the clinic on its TikTok
Shown above is influencer Aspyn Ovard who received a breast enhancement at the Cleavage Clinic. She is pictured before, left,and after her procedure
The lift costs about $4,000 and is carried out in three to four sessions over four months. Staff say the results are permanent.
In both procedures, the breasts are numbed to reduce pain. Patients must also first attend a consultation to ensure they are a good candidate for the treatments and sign forms making them aware of potential risks of the treatments, such as infections, swelling and the risk of scarring.
The clinic said it does not offer treatments to any women with a higher risk of breast cancer, such as those with a strong family history of the condition.
Both Morpheus8 and Sculptra are FDA-approved for tightening skin and correcting fine lines and wrinkles, respectively, but neither has gone through rigorous safety trials to show they are safe and effective for the breasts.
Speaking to Daily Mail, plastic surgeons raised concerns over non-surgical breast enhancements, specifically that women who receive the breast augmentation may have to go through extra tests later to confirm that any lumps that may be a result of filler injection in their breasts are not cancerous.
The above shows a patient before a non-surgical breast lift (left) and after the procedure has been carried out on one breast
Dr Norman Rowe, a plastic surgeon specializing in breasts in New Jersey, told Daily Mail: ‘Whenever you put filler into the breast, you run the risk of abnormalities that show up on mammograms that say, “Hey, is this cancer?”
‘One issue I always have with Sculptra is that if it is injected into someone’s butt, one of the downsides is that it can cause cysts or granulomas [bumps] because it can cause reactions in the body, especially in the fat.
‘If someone gets a granuloma in the butt, no big deal. But if it is in the breast, it has to be proven not to be cancer. It will be assumed to be cancer until proven otherwise.’
Dr Smita Ramanadham, a plastic surgeon in New Jersey who also specializes in breasts, added: ‘I’d be very hesitant to inject anything into the breast that is a foreign body. This includes all types of fillers we have on the market.’
She told the Daily Mail: ‘We do not have enough scientific evidence to assess the safety of these treatments and the sensitivity of breast mammograms in these instances.’
To prove a lump on the breast is not cancerous, patients may need to undergo scans including a mammogram, CT scan and MRI. They may also need a biopsy. These can cost thousands and may not be covered by health insurance.
Additionally, the extra scans can risk someone being exposed to a higher dose of potentially cancer-causing radiation.
The above shows a Cleavage Clinic patient before (left) and after she received a non-surgical breast enhancement
While the Sculptra filler could be mistaken for a cancerous lump during a physical breast exam or on imaging, there is limited research on its safety in the breast and any potential association with breast cancer.
Noelle Villella, a nurse at Cleavage Clinic, told Daily Mail that the Sculptra is injected into the fatty tissue and that before the procedure all patients are made aware that it could cause lumps in the breasts.
To help avoid lumps, patients are asked to follow the five-five-five rule, which is to massage the breasts for five minutes, five times a day for five days following the injection.
She said that out of the more than 500 patients who have received the injections at the Cleavage Clinic so far, none have reported suffering from nodules.
For the lifting treatment that uses Morpheus8, the surgeons did not raise concerns, saying studies suggested it would be safe to use.
Dr Ramanadham said: ‘This is a skin-only treatment that can alter the appearance of the skin and result in a mild elevation of the nipple position/tightening of the skin.
‘It does not affect the underlying breast tissue, minimizing any adverse effects or breast cancer screening issues.’
