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Small Breast Reduction Options?

asked 1 year ago by cxv in Vancouver
Latest answer by Carlin Vickery, MD
Question viewed 240 times
Tags: C cup, options

Hi, I am a large B/small C cup and cosmetically I would like to be reduced to an A cup. **Aside from my personal reasons for wanting it done**, I'd just like to know what's really possible. I'm aware of the likelihood of sensation loss and inability to breastfeed. 1. Would a "keyhole" incision & scar be necessary, even to remove such a small amount of fat/tissue? 2. Assuming a consultation goes well, would a good surgeon still be reluctant to perform this for medical reasons?

13 answers to Small Breast Reduction Options?

Breast Reduction for Smaller Breasts

Patients vary widely in what they call a B or C cup. As a practice, I look at the relationship between the size of a patient's breast, her skeletal frame (large, medium, fine) and her average weight. It is critical to keep a balance between the upper and lower part of a woman's body. If a surgeon over reduces a patient's breasts , then it is likely that the patient will forever look wide in the hips or have her abdomen as her... more

Carlin Vickery, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

www.5thavesurgery.com

"Small” Breast Reduction?

Thank you for the question. It is possible to reduce the breasts size very significantly. Sometimes when patients want “almost nothing left” the reduction should be done in 2 stages. The concern with the amount of tissue removed is related to blood flow to the remaining tissue; if too much tissue is removed in one operation the blood flow to the remaining tissue (including nipple/areola) may be compromised. Part of the tissue that... more

Tom J. Pousti, MD
San Diego Plastic Surgeon

Breast Reduction - Small Breast Reduction Options?

Hi vxc61, It's not at all unreasonable to consider a small breast reduction (essentially a breast lift, since the amount of tissue you'd need removed may not qualify to be termed a "reduction"). As always, you'll need to know whatever is good and bad about the procedure, including risks and scarring. Assuming that your photo is the one on the left I would think that you can get a nice result with a vertical pattern alone. If, however, you have excess... more

Alan Engler, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

Small reduction

How small you can go depends on how much tissue is needed to support the blood and nerve supply of the nipple areola complex. I think you could likely go down a cup size with a vertical reduction and likely maintain sensation. I've done a number of women like you and they are usually slender, athletic and looking for a more European look rather than the big American ta ta look. I personally find it quite refreshing! Lisa Lynn Sowder, M.D.

Lisa L. Sowder, MD
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

Small Breast Reduction Options?

I will assume that you are shown in the left-hand photo. You would benefit from a vertical breast reduction which will leave you with a 'lollipop'-style scar on each breast. This procedure would leave you with reasonably-shaped, smaller breasts. As you have noted, loss of sensation is a risk of the surgery. In practice I have not found that patients are much concerned by this after surgery. You may also be unable to breastfeed after reduction. If this is potentially important to... more

Eric Pugash, MD
Vancouver Plastic Surgeon

Small breast reduction, reducing a smaller breast

The vertical reduction technique works very well in a small breast to made smaller, often combined with liposuction to thin and tailor the breast tissue. There is no reason for a surgeon to be reluctant, and reduction of a smaller breast is a very common procedure to improve breast symmetry after reconstruction. You can almost imagine breast reduction progressing to breast lift as a continuum which can be adapted to any need. Be certain your surgeon is well experienced and understands your... more

Peter E. Johnson, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Making a small breast smaller

Looking at your pictures, I would recommend a reduction in volume of the breast with Vaser liposuction, which is ultrasonic liposuction. This will minimize the scarring and give you the volume reduction you desire. The only incision will be around the nipple and it is quite small. There are no medical contraindications to your desired result. Best, Talmage J Raine MD FACS

Talmage J. Raine, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Small breast reduction

The options are either doing a vertical scar or a circumareolar (dooughnut pattern) reduction. I would personally recommend liposuction only, provided you are young, so that any excess skin may shrink a little. You need to think carefully though as with a reduction, even a small degree of asymmetry (which won't show in bigger breasts) may become noticeable.

Anindya Lahiri, MBBS
Birmingham Plastic Surgeon

Breast reduction

When you reducte the size of the breast the skin envelope will frequently need to be reduced as well. Examination of the fat content of your breasts and the quality of the skin will help determine the options available to you.

David L. Abramson, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

Small breast reduction

You should not have trouble finding a surgeon who can help you. You don't look like you would need a "keyhole" incision since the photo does not show skin excess. Liposuction for reduction is generally reasonable, but if you're young you probably have mostly glandular tissue (as opposed to fat) which might make it tougher to remove volume that way.

Malik Kutty, MD
Sugar Land Plastic Surgeon

Breast reduction from a C cup to an A cup

Thank you for the photo (I asssume the one on the left is you). A small breast reduction can be done via a short vertical scar technique. If you are concerned about scarring and or breast feeding, you might consider liposuction breast reduction only. There's a good chance that this will not raise your nipple areolar complexes to the desired level. In the US, insurance does not cover this procedure since there's a weight requirement. In your case that would be a mastectomy. Loss of... more

George Marosan, MD
Bellevue Plastic Surgeon

Small reduction

Depending on the fat vs. gland content of your breasts, you might consider a liposuction only technique to reduce the breast size. If your skin is young and elastic and the breast is fairly taut, the reduction in weight might be enough to procude the small lift you might find acceptable without the scars of a lift. Robin T.W. Yuan, M.D.

Robin T.W. Yuan, MD
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon

Breast reduction

You could do a Le Jour reduction, which would eliminate the inframammary crease incision. Any plastic surgeon experienced in breast reduction surgery could perform this as a cosmetic procedure. In the US, you most likely would not be able to have this surgery performed for medical reasons because insurance has very specific requirements with how much breast tissue needs to be removed. They would also require documentation that you are having medical problems due to large breast size. more