Age 15 - Can I Get a Breast Reduction?

It is entirely possible and appropriate to do a breast reduction in a teenager, generally when the breasts have stopped developing.  It is a life changing procedure for many young ladies.

Generally, patients should be at their ideal weight.  Breast tissue may shrink if the patient loses weight, so make sure before having surgery that your weight is optimized.

Not only do you have large breasts at an early age,
but you’re already suffering from 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 a 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.

It sounds like eventually you may be a good candidate for a Breast Reduction/Lift procedure. I would recommend waiting until you have ffinal breast growth which usually occurs from age 18-21 for a more predictable result. Other considerations is the potential inability to breast feed after surgery.

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 will be yours ultimately.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!

As long as your growth spurt is completed and your breasts have ceased growing, it is reasonable to consider breast reduction with the caveat that it may be difficult to nurse should you decide to do this at a later date. You should discuss this with your pediatrician

This is a tricky situation.  It sounds as if you have what was once called "virginal" hypertrophy, and it can be really troubling.  The breasts grow very rapidly, and they are very uncomfortable.  Certainly a breast reduction now would make you more comfortable, but, by your own admission, your breasts are probably still growing.  So you could be back in the same boat a couple of years from now.  You might say just make them smaller than you want to end up, but we don't know exactly how much more they will grow;  and we don't know exactly how weight loss will affect your breast size.  Also, in order to get insurance coverage, breast size will have to be stable and you will have to be over a certain age (varies by insurance company).  So my best advice, though you may not want to hear this, is to wait until your breasts have finished growing and are stable in size, lose some weight, and then pursue breast reduction.  You want to do this right the FIRST TIME and be happy with your breasts for the rest of your life.

It sounds like you are dealing with juvenile breast hypertrophy along with the physical and psychosocial consequences of this diagnosis. In other words, the breasts are too large for the frame causing  both physical and psychological distress.

It sounds like you have done your homework and understand the potential risk and consultations associated with breast reduction surgery. You also understand that further surgery may be necessary in the future (for example if the breasts were to grow in size again).

On the other hand, breast reduction surgery is one of the most patient pleasing operations we perform and I think that for the right teenager (enough symptoms) it may be an excellent option (regardless of the age).

I would suggest an in-person consultation with a well-trained/experienced board-certified plastic surgeon. Best wishes.

You can get a breast reduction at 15. I would not recommend it, however, unless you have significant symptoms.  If you have it at 15, you may need a revision in the future because you may continue to have breast enlargement.

I recommend you first see a GYN to regulate your menses than wait 3 months to see if you are still enlarging. Than after that you can have a reduction with parental approval. From MIAMI Dr. Darryl J. Blinski 305 598 0091

The danger of doing a breast reduction at your age is that it could need to be repeated later.  Some ladies have a later growth of the breasts in spite of stable shoe size and height.  When you weigh the physical and psychological problems of large breasts against the small possibility of a necessary repeat surgery, it's a no-brainer.  Good luck.