Breast reduction medically known as reduction mammaplasty is a plastic surgical procedure aiming to reduce large breasts size to re-establish a suitable shape and size that fits the woman’s body.
This procedure takes place by removing excess fats, breast tissue, and loose skin from the breasts.
The impact of getting rid of large breasts is removing discomfort, improving your appearance and self-image, and increasing physical exercise tolerance.
Problems associated with large breasts
Large breasts that are disproportionate to the woman’s body are usually associated with:
- Chronic back, and shoulder pain.
- Chronic skin irritation, rash, or recurrent infections under the breasts.
- Nerve pain.
- Exercise intolerance and lose the ability to perform a lot of activities.
- Poor self-esteem due to large breasts that unfit your body.
- Difficulty in finding fit bras or clothing.
Candidates for breast reduction surgery
No cut-off point for the breast size determining whether or not you are eligible for performing breast reduction, generally you are a candidate if you are suffering from:
- Too big Breasts unproportional to body shape.
- Dropped and sagged breast.
- Neck, back, or shoulder pain due to your breast size.
- Shoulder grooves caused by bra straps.
- Curved posture due to the breast size.
- Unsymmetric breast shape or size.
Reasons might drive you to postpone your breast reduction surgery
Almost everyone are candidate for breast reduction surgery at any age even in some cases teenagers, but in some cases it might be better to postpone the procedure, from these reasons:
- If you are a heavy smoker you must postpone your procedure and stop smoking at least six weeks before and after your surgery.
- If you are very obese or planning for weight loss, you have to postpone breast reduction surgery until you stabilize your weight since weight loss often results in changes in breast size and shape.
- If you are planning to get pregnant since pregnancy and lactation change breast’s size and shape.
Critical consideration with breast reduction
Most surgeons clearly know that it’s critical to keep the tissue viability of the nipple-areola complex (NAC), to ensure the functionality, sensitivity, and lactational capability of your breasts.
To know what NAC area is, let me illustrate to you some clear, simple words regarding your breast anatomy.
The nipple-areola complex (NAC)
The nipple is a raised region on the surface of your breast, while the Areola is the pigmented area surrounding the nipple with a different histology from the rest of your breast tissue.
The mature human female nipple and Areola have several small arranged openings that simply Serve the lactation process, in addition to a huge number of nerve endings in this area that keep your breast functioning.
Steps of breast reduction procedure
Let’s simply illustrate to you the steps to achieve ideal breast size and shape.
The preparation step
When you are planning for breast reduction surgery, your surgeon would:
- Review your medical history and assess your overall health, chronic diseases, and all your current medications.
- Examine your breasts and in some cases your doctor might order for a mammogram.
- Simply discuss to you what size is considered ideally for your breasts and how your breast looks after the surgery.
- Describe to you the procedure and its risks and benefits, and explain to you the type of anesthesia used during surgery and The duration of the recovery period.
- Your surgeon will order you to stop smoking, and stop aspirin, anti-inflammatory drugs and herbal supplements or any other medications that affect bleeding.
The procedure step
Reducing your breast size and reshaping it take place through number of incisions around the nipple-areola complex and down each breast through which excess breast tissue, fat and skin is removed
finally resets the nipple and area around it, for very large breasts, the surgeon might need to remove them and add on a new nipple to fit the breast’s new size and shape but in most cases, nipple and the areola stay attached to the breast.
Post procedure step
Immediately after finishing the surgery
- Your breasts are covered with surgical bandages and a surgical bra to hold them in an upright position.
- A drainage is placed under each arm to drain any extra blood or fluid
- The pain you feel is controlled by painkillers managed by and you might receive prophylactic medication against infection and blood clots risks.
Recovery period
Breast reduction considered a major surgery that takes one or two months to full recover, your plastic surgeon likely advice you:
- A surgical bra is worn up to one week to support the breasts position.
- You will probably feel your breasts tender, swollen, bruised and pain that is controlled up to one week.
- Limit physical activity for 4 to 6 weeks to ensure breast’s complete healing.
- Wearing a bra at all times to allow the breasts to heal and reduce swelling.
Breast reduction results
Successful breast reduction surgery results in:
- Relieve the upper back, neck and shoulders pain.
- Better self-image and increased ability to perform physical activities.
- No struggling with shoulder movement and better posture.
- Scars left after incision closure fades over time.
- The final results generally are long lasting only in selected cases aging, pregnancy and other factors might change breast shape and size
Is breast reduction surgery risky?
All surgeries carry risks of complications that surgeons clearly know and take all recommendations to minimize these risks. However, breast reduction surgery itself is typically very safe with minimum risks.
What is the best age to perform breast reduction surgery?
Breast reduction should only be performed for a fully developed breast. Regardless the woman’s age, in selected cases Breast reduction surgery is performed on teenagers. But in these cases second surgery later in life might be needed since breasts are not fully grown.
Which is better to perform breast reduction before or after having kids?
Pregnancy and lactation changes breast’s size and shape, so it’s better to postpone Breast reduction after having kids and it’s helpful to tell your surgeon about the possibility of becoming pregnant after the surgery.
If you are a candidate for breast reduction, it’s the time for feeling no pain while performing daily tasks, feeling no struggle while moving your shoulders, a well-proportioned body and better hygiene.
