Breast Reduction from DD Cup to B Achievable?

         The results of
breast reduction surgery are better when patients are near their ideal body
weight. When patients are overweight they’re encouraged to lose weight prior to
surgery, unfortunately the majority of patients with weight issues are not
successful dieting. Despite this, patients who are overweight derive
significant benefits from breast reduction. Many have increased exercise
tolerance following reduction and are able to lose weight as an absolute contra
indication to breast reduction surgery.

 

         Although it’s
possible to perform a breast reduction of this magnitude, it may not be
advisable for several reasons. In some cases, removal of large amounts of
breast tissue might damage the blood supply to the nipple areola and the
surrounding skin and increase the potential for complications.

 

         It’s also important
to consider the aesthetic implications of creating B cup breasts in someone who
is overweight. Aesthetically attractive breasts have harmony, balance and
proportion with the surrounding structures. For this to happen, larger, fuller
breasts will be needed, possibly in the C cup range.

 

         To obtain the best
possible result from your breast reduction, it’s important to discuss these
issues with your plastic surgeon. before proceeding. This procedure has high
satisfaction rates and is associated with long term health benefits. 

The general concern with being overly agressive with a breast reduction is the risk for compromising the blood or nerve supply to the nipple with the potential for tissue loss or numbness, respectively.

Yes I believe this can be done. You should check with your doctor if he can do this as well. Its always best to consult with your doctor about this as well.

Achieving your size goals is possible but sometimes needs to be done in more than one stage  (more than one operation) for safety reasons. In other words, removing too much tissue in one operation  may lead to compromise of the blood supply to the nipple/areola  and breast tissue.


Be careful when communicating with your plastic surgeon because talking specific  cup goals may not be the most precise way to communicate your goals.  As  you know, breast  cup sizes vary depending  on who makes the bra.




Make sure also that you do not overdo the reduction and end up with a breast size that is out of proportions with the rest of your torso.




Best wishes.




 

Large breasts can restrict your lifestyle and cause a variety of medical problems. Even drastic weight loss won't result in more than negligible shrinkage. Breast reduction surgery removes excess breast tissue and reshapes the contour of the breasts so that they are smaller and perkier. I commonly use a minimal incision technique (Le Jour), eliminating the need for large scars while providing a pleasing breast contour and shape that is proportionate to the patients body. Your surgeon knows exactly how much tissue he or she is taking out, because it is weighed after removal. And breast reduction comes with an added bonus: the extracted breast tissue is always sent to the lab and examined by a pathologist for signs of cysts or cancer. Having smaller breasts can take years off your appearance!

Requesting to go down to a B cup in someone with large breasts and with yor body habitus is probably not a good idea. If you decied to lose weight, the breast will get smaller as well. You will more than likely look out of proportion with the rest of yoru body. I try to get people down to a "C" or small "D" depending upon what they started out with. You have to leave a certain amount of tisse on the skin flaps and on the pedicle so that the tissue heals well. In most cases that comes out to a "C" or "D".

This is too big of a reduction, in my opinion.  The circulation to the nipple and areola is critical to maintain and significant breast reductions can compromise this.  I would advise you that a reduction to a size more closely approaching a C cup might be more appropriate.

 

Good luck to you.

 

Frank Rieger M.D.  Tampa Plastic Surgeon

Hi!
1) I don't agree with some of the other answers about your weight. You will be more comfortable after a breast reduction whether or not you lose weight, and I would recommend the surgery.
2) Going from a DD to a B is easy. But you might not want to be quite that small. You might feel disproportionate. Occasionally, I do see a woman who really says: "I never want to wear a bra again." And then I make her really small.

First of all, you should lose weight before surgery. The risks go down and the cosmetic result goes up. Secondly, the base width of your breast is probably too wide to ever fit into a B bra and this base width doesn't change with surgery. Finally, to reduce you that much would probably compromise the blood supply to the nipple so much that you would need to have a "free nipple graft" reduction after which the nipple is numb forever and looks flat and has variable color.

It is realistic for you to undergo a breast reduction, although it would be safer and you probably could obtain a better result if you first lost some weight. With you current body surface area, you probably would need to be reduced to a C or B cup in order to have your insurance company to cover the procedure.