How Many Cup Sizes Can I Lose After 38DDD to C Breast Reduction?

Yes, you can go down to a C cup with a breast reduction, but it may or may not look good on you. How small you can be is really not the question, because a surgeon can remove all of your breast tissue entirely. What really matters is how small you can be while maintaining a pleasing breast shape that is in proportion to your body. Your overall height and body shape influence how different breast sizes and shapes look on your body.
There are many factors your surgeon will take into account to give you a shape and size that suit your body. There is a balance to maintain in order to end up with nice looking breasts, and includes breast size, shape, cup volume, nipple position, symmetry, chest width, torso height, etc. If you are told an expected cup size after surgery, keep in mind that is only a guess. Most surgeons do not speak in terms of cup sizes because your cup size will vary based on what brand lingerie you buy. Also, when patients describe what cup size they want, they are not just referring to the breast volume they like, but the shape that they like when the breasts are in a bra.
When the breasts are reduced, the relative proportions of the breasts, stomach, hips, etc all change. It's not just the breasts that appear different after surgery. When a large volume is reduced, some patients feel like their stomach looks bigger, or their hips look wider, or their back fat has increased, etc. It's not that the surgeon touched the stomach or hips or back, but now the breasts are smaller so all of the proportions look different. In larger women, from a side view the stomach could even stick out more than the breasts, because the breasts no longer droop over the stomach.
Patients are not expected to know all of these things, but your surgeon should be aware of all of the considerations. If you have really large breasts sometimes the nipple could be at risk for losing some blood supply, and the technique of breast reduction is important in keeping the nipples alive.
I would recommend consulting with a board certified plastic surgeon to see what is a reasonable size reduction for you.
Good luck!

Thank you for your question.As a matter of practice, I never guarantee a patient a specific cup size that they should expect to obtain following a breast reduction procedure.  I find that cup size is a fairly non-scientific term and that depending upon your bra manufacturer a 'C' cup can mean very different things!  To this end, I spend a long time discussing with the patient what they can expect to achieve based upon their pre-operative anatomy at the time of their consultation.  In discussing what the ultimate surgical and cosmetic goals are for the patient in question, I find that this approach is often more rewarding and significantly more realistic for the patient!The goal with a breast reduction is to remove some of the excess weight, heaviness and skin of the breasts to provide a patient with a more youthful and perky breast shape.  At the same time, the size of the areolae can also be reduced.  There are limitations with how much tissue we can remove at the time of a breast reduction and this can all be discussed with you at the time of a consultation.  Please consider scheduling a consultation with a board certified plastic surgeon to discuss your candidacy for a breast reduction and what type of a result you can realistically expect from this procedure.  Be sure to seek a consultation with a well-experienced board certified plastic surgeon!  I hope you find this helpful and I wish you all of the best!

Breast reduction, or reduction mammaplasty patients are among the most satisfied of all plastic surgery patients. Large breasts (macromastia) can often decrease quality of life for a woman. With breast reduction, you can have smaller breasts that sit higher on your chest wall. You will also find relief in your neck and back with the decrease in weight and more ergonomic position of your breasts.There are several different variations of breast reduction, differing by size, and amount of incisions; procedure; and the results. The different types of reduction techniques include: The wise pattern breast lift, the anchor shaped incision, and the donut mastopexy.1. The wise pattern breast lift involves an anchor-shaped incision around the natural contour of the breast. To most patients surprise, this scar is mostly hidden under the inferior aspect of the breast. However, the scar around the nipple/areola is visible. Most patients heal this anchor type scar very well and are satisfied with smaller areola in exchange for the scars. This surgery is used when there is a lot of excess skin that needs to be removed in order to lift the breast and give it a more aesthetic shape.2. Often times, the anchor shaped incision can me diminished to create a lollipop or J shaped incision. This results in some excess skin at the inferior aspect of the breast near the breast crease that will flatten out over a 6 month period. Some patients are willing to tolerate this excess skin for 6 months in exchange for a smaller scar. This is a personal decision that each patient can make.3. The donut mastopexy involves creating an incision around the areola and removing a doughnut-shaped area of skin. This surgery can be used for patients that need a smaller amount of lifting. This surgery results in a scrunched-up look to the breast skin surrounding the areola for about 6 months before it flattens out. Patients need to be understanding and tolerant of this in exchange for an areola-only scar. These patients do run the risk of areola widening as well.Insurance may cover some of these cases when back pain, shoulder bra-notching, and rashes under the breast are present. Insurances vary though and your doctor can submit a report and photos to see if your insurance approves your procedure.The ideal size depends on the size of your hips and waist. Your surgeon will be able to guide you in this decision.The risks of the procedure include bleeding, infection, bruising, poor scarring, pain, swelling, and changes to nipple and areola sensation, and rarely, partial or total nipple loss. The recovery time is usually a couple weeks if all goes well. In general, however, breast reduction patients are some of the most satisfied and grateful plastic surgery patients. This is truly a life-changing procedure. In my area, the cost ranges from 6700-8500. Best of luck!

It may be possible to make you a C cup, but you should use it more as a guideline for your plastic surgeon.  This way they will know what tissue to remove at the time of the surgery.  Ultimately, they will need to reshape the breast, so you may end up somewhat larger than a C cup.  These are all things that are set as parameters before surgery, but will only become apparent to the surgeon as they are doing the procedure.

Size and contour are two important considerations in breast reduction. We would recommend that you balance size with the overall natural look of your new breasts. Raffy Karamanoukian Los Angeles

Although it’s impossible to guarantee a cup size following breast reduction surgery, it’s highly probable that a c cup is attainable in your case.  The majority of patients who are undergoing breast reduction surgery want resolution of their symptoms and improved breast aesthetics.
  Improvement in breast aesthetics requires the creation of new breasts with good shape and contour that have been lifted into proper position.  It’s important that they have good harmony, balance and proportion with the surrounding structures.  For many women, this occurs when their breast are measured as C cups.
Several factors must be considered when creating a C cup breast.  Of these patient safety should have the highest priority.  Attempts to over reduce the breast can potentially damage the blood supply to the nipple areola complex and lead to an increased complication rate.  In some cases, it may not be safe to make the breasts to small.
In other cases, insurance carriers may have weight criteria which can potentially result in the breasts being smaller than the patient desires.  In this situation, the insurance company requires removal of a set amount of tissue.  Finally, everyone definition of a cup size might be slightly different and for this reason confusion can exist regarding cup size as well.
In the vast majority of cases a C cup is attainable. It’s important to discuss breast size with your surgeon prior to proceeding with breast reduction.  Your surgeon should be able to give you a relatively good ideal of your final breast size by examining you and considering insurance criteria.

The risks of breast reduction generally increase with the amount of tissue removed and most particularly the concerns are for viablility and sensitivity of the nipple and areola as well as the skin.

There are risks to crossing the street or flying in an airplane and, of course, there are risks to any surgical procedure. These risks can occur regardless of surgeon or technique. These include but are not limited to: infection, hematoma, discomfort, wound breakdown, hypertrophic scar formation, asymmetry, unfavorable healing, interference with mammography or surgical evaluation of breast masses, interference with nipple sensation with nursing and aging, discoloration of the nipple/areola, need for secondary surgical revisions, and inabiltity to guarantee a specific cosmetic result. Nipple sensation is usually diminished in large breasted individuals and can increase, decrease, or remain unchanged following surgery

A breast reduction can yield any size a patient wants.  The technique may have to be altered if a huge breast is to be made extremely small, but it can be done.

Any breast cup size is achievable in a breast reduction, but the question is whether it will be a good cosmetic result.  The cosmetic result depends on the shape of the reduced breast and also if it fits your overall body size.   The main goal in breast reduction surgery is to relieve the significant strain on your shoulders, neck, and upper back.  Meeting a cup size is something we try to achieve but not the primary goal or always predictable.  Also, there is a limit to how much breast tissue can be removed in most breast reduction techniques because blood vessels to the nipple must be spared.  

Breast reduction of very large breasts can be performed safely.  However, your plastic surgeon will always limit the amount of tissue that he or she is removing to limit the risk to the nipple/areola.  With newer breast reduction techniques is it actually possible to perform very large reductions without the worry about the blood supply to the nipple/areola.  Talk to your plastic surgeon about your wishes, and perhaps seek a second opinion of you are unhappy with the response you get.

In my experience, using medial based pedicles makes it very safe to perform very large reductions.  

Sincerely,

Martin Jugenburg, MD

A surgeon should be able to produce almost any breast size when performing breast reduction.  But the most important question is what is a prudent reduction.  There are a number of factors to consider, such as proportionate breast size to the patient's torso, the type of technique required to achieve the desired size, etc.

In my practice, after hearing the patients initial desire as to the cup size, I spend significant amount of time discussing this issue with the patient, pointing out some factors that might not be apparent to the patient.  This approach leads to a happy and satisfied patient not only in the first week or two after surgery, but for many years to come.