Breast Reduction
What Is Breast Reduction Surgery?
Full breasts classically enhance the feminine figure, empowering their owner with an attractive body shape. However, if breasts are excessively large, their size and weight may lead to undesirable consequences such as pain or a disproportionate appearance. Breast reduction surgery, or reduction mammaplasty, can remove excess breast tissue and make your breasts not only a more proportionate and comfortable size but also a better shape. Women who undergo breast reduction surgery enjoy improved body image and confidence, reduced pain and discomfort, elimination of certain health symptoms, and a more attractive appearance. Schedule a Breast Reduction consultation with Dr. J. Brian Boyd in South Bay.
Who Can Benefit Breast Reduction?
Naturally Large Breasts
Women with naturally large breasts may suffer from relentless teasing, unwanted attention, chronic back and shoulder pain, rashes, poor self-image, and diminished self-confidence. Such breasts may interfere with sporting activities and even sleeping. Breast reduction surgery reduces the amount of breast tissue to create a more balanced body shape and alleviate the underlying causes of these symptoms.
Sagging, Overstretched Breasts
Some women have sagging, overstretched breasts due to aging, gravity, pregnancy, nursing, or even breast implants. If you have excessive breast tissue, breast reduction surgery can remove it to make your breasts a more attractive size. Since most reductions are accompanied by a lift, this procedure also improves breast placement to help you look more youthful.
Asymmetrical or Disproportionate Breasts
Other women have noticeable breast asymmetries with one breast a ‘normal’ size and the other much larger. In such cases of asymmetry, breast reduction surgery can remove tissue from the larger breast to make the breasts symmetrical. Frequently, women have two disproportionately large breasts with one larger than the other. Here, breast reduction surgery can remove breast tissue asymmetrically to help the breasts look more balanced in relation to each other as well as to the rest of the body.
Schedule a Consultation With Dr. BoydWhat Do You Desire?
Pre-Baby Breasts
Often, the enlargement of the breasts and the associated stretching of skin that occurs during pregnancy and nursing can be permanent. For women who already had large breasts before becoming pregnant, this change may be extremely unwelcome and may cause them to feel uncomfortable with their breasts. Breast reduction surgery can restore your breasts to their pre-baby size so that you look and feel more youthful and perky.
Smaller Breasts
Women with naturally large breasts can also benefit from breast reduction surgery. Whether your large breasts cause you pain, discomfort, unwanted attention, poor body image, inconvenience, or even difficulty finding clothing, breast reduction surgery can make your breasts smaller to improve your quality of life.
A More Balanced Appearance
Noticeable breast asymmetries or excessively large breasts that cause you to look top-heavy can negatively impact your appearance. Finding clothes when your body has a disproportionate appearance can be difficult, especially if your breasts are not the same size or shape. Breast reduction surgery can improve breast symmetry, size, and shape to enhance your appearance and facilitate couture.
Improved Comfort
Large breasts can cause chronic back pain, headaches, shoulder grooves, rashes, poor posture, skeletal deformities, and other uncomfortable symptoms that reduce quality of life. Breast reduction surgery can remove the weight and pressure of the excess breast tissue and alleviate many of these unwanted sequelae.
Confidence
Your self-confidence may be severely undermined if your breasts detract from your beauty or if they are a source of discomfort, embarrassment, or frustration. Improving the appearance and proportion of your breasts through breast reduction surgery can augment confidence and improve body image. Increased assurance due to your appearance may extend to other aspects of your life as well.
Addressing Your Concerns
Recovery
Your recovery after breast reduction surgery may involve some swelling, bruising, and discomfort. Rest will be necessary to allow your body sufficient time to heal and recover. Most women can return to normal activities within two weeks or sooner if no active shoulder movement is involved. Patients should avoid strenuous physical activities for a full six weeks after surgery.
Scars
Scars will develop where the surgical incisions are made. Follow Dr. Boyd’s instructions during recovery to encourage the best healing and minimize your scars. Most scarring can be hidden within a bikini top and will fade over time.
Cost
The cost of breast reduction surgery varies from patient to patient and is affected by factors such as surgical fees, anesthesia fees, and facility fees. However, insurance companies will frequently cover breast reduction if the procedure is deemed necessary for health reasons and if it removes a certain amount of weight from each breast. Removing only a small amount of tissue is typically considered cosmetic and may result in the procedure not being covered by insurance.
Pain
Some discomfort may persist for one to two weeks after your procedure and can be alleviated with oral pain medications.
Before & After
Frequently Asked Questions
For your procedure, Dr. Boyd will reposition the nipple-areolar complexes at a higher level, remove breast tissue (including fat and skin) mainly from the lower part of the breasts, and tighten the remaining breast tissue from below. The amount of tissue to be removed will be determined during your consultation and will also determine the type of incision made.
Dr. Boyd will use either an anchor incision or a lollipop incision. The anchor incision goes around the areola, down to the breast crease, and then along the breast crease. The lollipop incision is almost the same as the anchor incision, except that it does not go along the breast crease. Dr. Boyd will most likely use the anchor incision if larger skin rediv and tissue removal are necessary.
Dr. Boyd uses general anesthesia for breast reduction surgery, and this will be administered by a board-certified anesthesiologist. Patients usually go home the same day.
Your insurance company may cover your breast reduction surgery if the size, weight, and pressure of your breasts cause health issues that affect your quality of life, such as chronic pain, rashes and skin conditions, shoulder grooves, or skeletal deformities. Documented treatment of these conditions by another physician is very helpful in obtaining approval. Contact your health insurance company to find out their requirements for coverage of your breast reduction surgery.
Breast reduction surgery can be combined with another procedure such as tummy tuck surgery or liposuction. While breast reduction surgery is normally performed as an outpatient procedure, if it is combined with another procedure, Dr. Boyd recommends an overnight stay.
Breast reduction surgery should not affect your ability to breastfeed. However, where more tissue is removed, there is a greater likelihood of damaging the nerves and milk ducts, and this could potentially affect breastfeeding. Nonetheless, the likelihood of complications is rare, and most women will have no more difficulty breastfeeding after a breast reduction than they would have had otherwise.
The results of breast reduction surgery are essentially permanent. Patients should avoid future pregnancy or weight gain if they wish to maintain the best long-term results.