Is 17 Too Young for Breast Reduction Surgery?

17-year-old Romanian tennis star Simona Halep, who won the junior French Open last year, has announced that she will have a breast reduction later this year. Is 17 too young for such a drastic surgery? What are the risks of having a reduction so early in life?

Tags:

teenager

Comment on this

27 Doctor Answers | Asked by Eva S in Seattle, WA

Doctor Answers (27)
Community Comments (0)

Breast Reduction Surgery Should Not Be Done Until There Is Stabilization of Breast Growth

When patients have significant breast enlargement with associated symptoms, I don’t feel that they should be denied the benefits of this procedure because of an arbitrary age cutoff. Before proceeding, there are several unique considerations in this group that must be considered. One of these is the issue of breast growth. I would prefer stabilization of breast growth for at least six months prior to proceeding with surgery. Another issue is the age of consent. Because of this, parents... more

Is 17 Too Young for Breast Reduction Surgery

As I have previously stated about teen breast reductions: First, you should seek the advice of a board certified Plastic Surgeon. I think a woman of teenage years who has symptoms of macromastia ;that is, enlarged breasts with shoulder, neck, and back pain along with inframammary intertriginous dermatitis should have a breast reduction.

Is 17 Too Young for Breast Reduction Surgery

17 is not too young for a breast reduction if you are symptomatic. Symptoms of macromastia include neck and back pain, shoulder grooving, and intertriginous rashes or dermatitis.

Breast Reduction as a teen

Breast reduction is not a procedure to enter into lightly. You should have reached your physical maturity, and have the emotional stability and support network before even considering cosmetic surgery as a teen. At 17, it is possible that she meets the criteria but it is a decision to be made on a case by case basis.

Juvenile Breast Reduction

Thank you for the question. Juvenile breast hypertrophy Is associated with physical and psychosocial symptoms of living with very large breasts. In other words, the breasts are too large for the frame causing both physical and psychological distress. As long as the patient has done her homework and understands the potential risks and complications associated with breast reduction surgery and understands that further surgery may be necessary in the future (for... more

Breast Reduction at age 15

Breast reduction is a fairly big operation and it is usually done for women who have very large and heavy breasts which cause symptoms such as neck and back pain, shoulder notching, postural problems, hygiene issues and interference with performing sports and other normal activities. If you and your parents feel it is in your best interest to have the procedure and a board certified plastic surgeon agrees,then you can certainly do it. Bear in mind that you probably will grow more... more

17 is NOT too young.

I have done thousands of breast reductions and I have done woment from 14 to 88 years old. Many woment have breast reductions before going off to college. They are usually 17 or 18 yrs old and they want to arrive at their new school with their new sporty figure. We have many teen age women who are happy to speak with prospective patients who are considering this surgery.

Appropriate age for breast reduction surgery

There are a number of factors to consider when contemplating breast reduction surgery in a younger patient. In my practice it is not uncommon to have a patient undergo breast reduction in their teens. One of the important factors to consider is how many years has the patient had macromastia, and for how long has the breast size been stable. Some other factors are social ostracism, degree of symptoms from heavy breasts etc. This type of a decision is not... more

Breast reduction in teenagers

No, it is not unreasonable. Some girls with the beginning of breast devlopment can develop a condition known as juvenile hypertrophy of the breast. This is when breasts gain weight and size out of proportion to the size of the body. They are heavy, cause a person to be off balance and create posture and gait problems. 15 years ago, I was asked to reduce the breasts of a sixteen year old girl who was a tennis protege and scheduled to attend UCLA. in a tournament that lasted over four days... more

Teenager breast reduction

I do not think 17 is too young for a breast reduction. Women are done growing by this point. In addition in her case she is clearly very fit and the size of her breasts has nothing to due with being overweight. So it's a genetic issue that will definitely interfere with her game and life. She deserves the best medical treatment and a breast reduction is that.