Breast Reduction - Do Not Wait to Improve Your Quality of Life

Breast reduction surgery is one of the most common procedures I perform and becoming more popular over a wide range of patient ages.

Historically referrals from family doctors was poor as the potential surgical gains from the symptoms of large breasts were poorly understood. Patients with large breasts (also known as mammary hypertrophy or mammary hyperplasia) suffer from a constellation of symptoms and concerns. Physically patients can experience neck and/or back pain, breast pain, rashes under the breasts, bra shoulder strap grooves, and may need to wear their bra to bed for support.

Exercise is often difficult or impossible due to the breast mass being poorly supported or due to tight fitting swimming or gym gear. Patients also suffer socially due to the attention their chest gets when wearing fitted clothing, consequently they tend to wear loose clothing several sizes larger than their lower body and slump their shoulders forward to hide their breast size.

Emotionally the prolonged psychological weight of having large breasts can be as bad as the physical symptoms. The key things are knowing that if you have large breasts your symptoms are typical, you are not alone and surgery is a very good option to consider.

What you should expect to gain from breast reduction surgery are breasts that are smaller (shorter, narrower and less full), lighter, perkier and generally more youthful. You will also gain a new self-confidence and be able to wear normal bras, shirts, dresses, swimming and gym gear. Exercise will be achievable and your neck, back and breast pain should improve as will your posture. You will appear proportionate to your friends and family as well as appearing slighter in frame as your heavy upper body has been treated.

Patients who present for breast reduction surgery generally come in two age brackets, those that are 18-30 years before having a family and those 35+ years following a family. A small age difference I know but there are a couple of issues that patients need to be aware of. Like all plastic surgery procedures the post-operative result of breast reduction can be affected by a number of life factors from the day of surgery onwards.

Pregnancy and breast feeding can affect the breast size, shape and gland density. So, in theory the result of breast reduction can be affected by pregnancy and breast feeding. However, I believe the overall the gains of having a breast reduction before having a family are immense and exceed any potential pregnancy changes.

The second group of patients are post family and typically have been thinking about having a breast reduction for many years, almost universally my patients in this group comment following surgery that they wish they gone and had their breasts reduced years ago. Surgery can be performed as a day procedure, or with a single night in hospital, as the post operative pain is usually quite mild. Recovery is faster than most patients expect and a commonly I need to tell patients to slow down their activities in the early days after surgery.

I would expect that most patients are back to work or study and driving by 1 week after surgery.  The sense of physical and emotional improvement is immense making breast reduction one of the most satisfying plastic surgery procedures for patients and plastic surgeons alike. If you have any specific requests regarding cosmetic surgery topics that you would like discussed on this blog, please feel free to email me: chris@breast-body.co.nz