What is breast reduction?

Breast reduction surgery or a reduction mammoplasty is a surgical procedure that removes excess breast fat, tissue, and skin to reduce overly large breasts and make them proportional with the rest of a woman’s body. A breast reduction will alleviate the discomfort, self-consciousness, and medical issues that overly large breasts can cause. A breast reduction will not only reduce the volume of the breasts but also changes the configuration of the breasts, reduces the size of the areola, and lifts them.

Am I a candidate for breast reduction?

You may be considered a good candidate if your answer is yes to any of the following questions:

• Do you experience back pain, neck pain, rounded shoulders, shoulder strain, stooped posture, or a humped back caused by the weight of your breasts?
• Are you bothered by the appearance of your breasts?
• Do your breasts limit your physical activity?
• Do you have skin irritation beneath your breast crease?
• Do you have shoulder grooving from your bra?

What are the results?

The breast reduction procedure provides immediate results for smaller and lifted breast. The procedure does leave visible scars, but women who have had the surgery are happy to exchange their cumbersome, heavy breasts for smaller, well-shaped, beautifully contoured, perkier breasts that have some scars. Many woman need not wear a bra!

What can I expect?

The procedure takes 3-5 hours to perform depending on the size of the breasts, but the result is dramatic. Most patients take off a week from work but resuming physical activity and heavy lifting may take up to six weeks.

What are my breast reduction options?

The biggest option is paying out of pocket for a breast reduction or having medical insurance cover the procedure. Deciding what size the breasts should be post procedure may depend on the type of insurance a patient has and what the insurance criteria for surgery entails. This discussion will occur at the time of consultation.

“If you have not experienced having very large breasts, you can not truly understand—the discomfort and pain, the clothes that never fit right, the sports and leisure-time activities you just can’t do, the stares and the cruel remarks. But the wonderful thing is, a breast reduction surgery lasting just a few hours can change your life forever and take away the pain….”