Breast Reduction for a 16-year-old Girl?

Thank you for your question!  I hope that these answers help in making your decision.  You suffer from juvenile hypertrophy of the breasts, which is typically treated by breast reduction.  It is not uncommon to have the symptoms that you describe such as neck/back/shoulder pain as well as infections/rashes and shoulder grooving, especially in teenagers once her breasts begin to fully develop.  The decision for the procedure will ultimately be yours.Once one begins to have the symptoms that you state above, consideration for a surgical procedure to ameliorate your symptoms, assist with self esteem, and allow you to get back to physical activities in your youth should be done.  Given your symptoms,  you would be an ideal candidate.  You must first discuss with your parents and pediatrician, and then consulting with a plastic surgeon for evaluation and examination to assist you in deciding if this would be the right thing for you.  Your surgeon will also go over what to expect as well as the risks and benefits of the procedure.  Overall, your symptoms should be ameliorated almost immediately and hopefully give you more self confidence and an increased activity level.  Your breasts may still continue to grow over the next several years, but it is certainly reasonable to consider this at this age with the issues that you are having.  I hope that this helps!  Good luck with your decision!

         Not only do you have
large breasts at an early age, but you’re already suffering significant
symptoms. I generally prefer to wait until the breasts have stopped growing
before proceeding with breast reduction, but in your case, early intervention
may be appropriate because of your symptoms.

 

         I recommend
consultation with a board certified plastic surgeon. Obviously, your parents
need to be involved in the process as well. Breast reduction has significant
benefits and patients who undergo the procedure at an early age experience the
benefits over a lifetime. There are downsides as well. These include the
potential inability to breast feed, prolonged healing, decreased nipple
sensation and scarring. In my experience, patients who undergo breast reduction
at an early age not only experience relief of their symptoms, but also an
improved quality of life.