Breast Reduction

In other situations, athletic, active women and women who are trying to lose weight are inhibited by the size of their breasts. Often, it is difficult and expensive to find clothes that fit. Breast reduction can minimise or eliminate these problems.

Imagine waking up each day with slightly smaller breasts. Your life would become more manageable and you wouldn't have to deal with neck and back pain.

Breast reduction (or reduction mammoplasty) is an operation where excess tissue and skin are removed from the breasts. The breasts are then reshaped to form smaller breasts, and the nipples are repositioned.

It's important not to rush into the decision to have cosmetic surgery. Discuss your options with your GP, who may be able to recommend a reputable surgeon or give advice about how to choose which hospital to be treated in.

Many patients choose breast reduction in order to achieve a greater sense of freedom in their physical activities, clothing styles, and to improve self-confidence.

Breast reduction is one of the most common plastic surgery procedures, as common as facelift surgery. The operation takes three to four hours. One procedure is usually all that is needed to address the patient’s concerns.

Techniques vary, but the most common one involves an anchor-shaped incision that circles the areola, extends downward and follows the natural curve of the crease beneath the breast fold. Breast reduction is more difficult than mastopexy because the surgeon must remove breast tissue without interfering with the blood supply or the sensation of the nipple.

Breast reduction is best after weight loss when possible as the task can be difficult or even impossible when large amounts of breast tissue must be removed and is not recommended for women who intend to breast-feed. Patients are under general anaesthesia and post-surgical discomfort is generally minimal.

Pain is controlled by medication and will subside in 2 to 4 days. An overnight stay for breast reduction usually is needed to control pain and nausea. Usually it is possible for you to go home soon after the operation. Depending on your specific circumstances there are often no sutures to be removed as absorbable (dissolvable) sutures are placed under the skin.

Candidates must be in good health, have no active diseases or serious, pre-existing medical conditions, and must have realistic expectations of the outcome of the surgery. Girls up to 20 years of age are not recommended for the therapy as their breasts are still expected to grow and the re-operation might be necessary.

Patients who smoke are encouraged to stop smoking at least 4 weeks before surgery and not smoke for at least 4 weeks after the surgery.

After breast reduction patients are usually asked to wear a surgical breast reduction bra for a few weeks postoperatively. The majority of the pain usually occurs during the first few days, but the breasts may ache for a few weeks.

Patients usually can shower in two days. Arm use and motion is not restricted, although lifting associated with straining is not advised for at least two weeks following breast reduction surgery.

Patients are typically back to work in 10 to 21 days. Scars slowly fade over a 6 to 12 month period. Patients often ask if they are going to get a breast lift as well as a breast reduction. The answer to that is. Absolutely!

Scars remaining on the breast run periareolarly as well as vertically to the inframammary crease. In very large breasts an additional incision may be necessary in the inframmamary fold. Scars will typically remain red, and perhaps lumpy for up to several months, but will gradually fade and become less noticeable. It may take up to a year before the breasts achieve their final position and size.

Liposuction is removal of fat with a small cannula, and that can be utilized by another technique, along with the removal by a knife of scalpel. The patient is brought into the operating room and then sterilely prepped, and then the procedure is underway.

Liposuction surgery can be effectively performed using a pure tumescent technique using lidocaine concentrations as low as 600 mg/L. Breast liposuction not only reduces breast size but also improves nipple position, reduces nipple/areolar complex size, and elevates the breast to a variable degree.

Liposuction only removes fat tissue, not connective tissue, and is generally not considered an option for thinner women with large breasts. It is also not recommended for women with pendulous, or very large, dense breasts.