Breast Reduction

When breasts are too large, women have trouble getting clothes to fit properly, especially dresses and bathing suits. They either accept a poor fit or resort to alterations and different-sized tops and bottoms.

 

These women often feel self-conscious and have a poor body image. Minimizer bras and camouflage clothing techniques such as oversize tops and layering may help, but the problem can be corrected permanently by breast reduction surgery.

 

When the breasts are reduced so they are proportionate to the rest of the body and of the desired size, a woman has an improved body image and self-esteem. She can confidently wear clothing styles that were not possible when her breasts were too large. This is why women who have had a breast reduction are among the happiest plastic surgery patients.

 

Some may consider breast reduction because they have physical symptoms related to their large breast size. This may include back, neck, and shoulder pain, or grooving of the shoulders from bra straps. Occasionally, women may have rashes in the skin folds. Studies have shown that breast reduction surgery usually relieves these physical symptoms. Nevertheless, health plans today only cover reductions of breasts that are enormous in size. Therefore, many women now must regard this procedure as cosmetic, like breast enlargement or breast uplift.

 

 

How is breast reduction surgery performed?

 

When the breasts are stretched and sagging, a breast uplift is included in the procedure. In addition to removing excessive breast tissue and skin, the nipple and areola (the pigmented area around the nipple) are raised to a higher position, as determined by careful measurements before surgery.

 

 

How is the nipple moved?

 

The nipple and areola are left attached to the deeper portion of the breast tissue so that some of the ducts, blood supply, and sensation can be preserved. Think of it like unbuttoning a button on your blouse, leaving it attached to one side, and moving it up to a new buttonhole. This is the same way that the nipple and areola are left attached to the deeper portion of the breast tissue and brought higher through a new buttonhole.

 

After the nipple and areola are repositioned, the extra lower breast tissue and skin is removed, usually following a pattern marked before surgery. The breast is then reshaped and sutured back together.

 

 

Where are the incisions?

 

Breast reduction has an incision around the areola, which is the new buttonhole, and a vertical incision from the areola down to the fold. Sometimes an incision along the fold is necessary as well for adequate tissue removal and contouring. The length of these incisions is determined by the amount of breast droop and the amount of breast tissue removed.

 

 

How do the incisions look?

 

The incisions from breast reduction usually fade quite well by one year and even more by two years. The type of scars a woman gets is determined by many factors, including healing, genetics, suture technique, and tension on the incisions. Most women view breast reduction scars as a reasonable trade-off for changing large, drooping breasts into smaller breasts that have a more youthful position and contour.

 

 

What happens after surgery?

 

Sutures are placed on the inside and are absorbable, so there are no sutures to remove. Drain tubes are not used. After a few days, the dressings are removed so you may begin showering. A protective bra is normally worn for about two weeks.

 

Since breast reduction does not involve the muscles of the chest wall, pain is mild. Following breast reduction, most women can return to light activities such as a desk job within three days, and to full athletics without restriction by two weeks.

 

Even with the swelling from surgery, the breasts will be smaller. Most swelling is gone by four weeks, though there will be even further resolution and improvement of the breast contour for up to six months. Some areas of bruising may last between two and four weeks.

 

 

What are the risks of breast reduction?

 

Some of the risks include infection, bleeding, asymmetry, scarring, and altered sensation. Detailed information is provided during the consultation.

 

 

Will sensation or nursing be affected?

 

While sensation of the nipple or breast skin may be altered, many women retain some or all of their sensation after breast reduction surgery. At least some ducts are left attached to the nipple, so breast-feeding may be possible, but cannot be guaranteed.

 

 

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