Breast Reduction for a 16-year-old Girl?

Breast reduction can certainly help you, however you should see an experienced board certified plastic surgeon for a medical consultation to find out if this is right for you. During the consultation, you'll discuss the risks associated with the procedure so you can make an informed decision. You will also require a parent or guardian to accompany you during your consultation, as you are a minor.

The typical age for a breast reduction is 16 years of age, or as long as the breast tissue is fully formed and not continuing to grow. With a parent or guardians consent, this procedure can be done in an ambulatory setting with utmost comfort and convenience for each patient. A Breast Reduction can most definitely help with your back, shoulder and neck discomfort by taking the weight off of the beast as well as lifting and compacting them. The recovery is quite simple and most patients are back to work, school or normal activities after just a few days with limitations of exercise for a few weeks. 

You should seek a consultation with a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon in your area. They will be able to evaluate your situation. If your breasts are causing discomfort then insurance may cover the cost. 

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 for the procedure will ultimately be yours.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!

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

-Surgery is often a very good option for women who have discomfort related to their large breasts.  Teenagers with very large breasts, such as you have, may consider a breast reduction.

-Having very large breasts as a teenager can be troubling for many reasons. In addition to back, neck, and shoulder pain, some young women also suffer emotionally as well.  Having the largest breasts in one's junior high school/middle school can negatively impact self-esteem.  Playing sports such as volleyball or running track is also really difficult and can be uncomfortable.

- The youngest patient I have performed a breast reduction on was 15 years old. Her parents and pediatrician were very supportive of her decision, and after her breast reduction she was able to more easily enjoy the sports at school that she was so fond of.  Additionally, she was a lot less self-conscious after her operation.

-Our biggest concern with performing a breast reduction on a patient as young as yourself is the possible need for another breast reduction down the road.  It is possible that your breasts will continue to get larger, and you may desire another breast reduction in the future. 

 

Definitely meet with a board-certified plastic surgeon in your area to discuss the operation in detail.  

Best of luck to you!

I have performed breast reduction surgery in teenagers before and the youngest was 14. That girl came to me from London, with among the most enormous breasts I had ever seen.
The public health service there would not allow her to have surgery because of her age but this yound lady had a severe medical (and psychological) problem because of the size of her breasts. Like you, she could not excercise etc.
So in summary, you should discuss your concerns with your sugeon who can evaluate you and make an appropriate recommendation. Remember, the most important part of getting a good result from plastic surgery, is the surgeon that you choose.

From what you describe I think that you would be a good candidate for breast reduction and your insurance company should cover this if you truly are a 38G. Large breasts make it difficult to exercise and lose weight and in such cases as your especially with back and neck pain, it is warranted to have the reduction as long as you feel your breasts have stopped growing.
Good luck.

This will depend primarily on your growth curve and if your body weight and height have stabilized which it should at this point in time. Your next step is to consult with a board certified plastic surgeon to discuss your options.

Reductions can be done as early as 15 with parental consent, a proper medical clearance and breast growth that has stopped. Insurance coverage is a hit or miss depending on the carrier.  Usually having symptoms related to breast size is necessary for insurance coverage. Getting it covered though is very difficult. Insurance companies wont tell anyone how much tissue needs to be removed to qualify for coverage. Then if the surgeon is 1gram off they deny coverage after the fact. Insurance companies make money by denying coverage. For that reason most plastic surgeon will likely ask for payment up front.  Breast reductions are the most gratifying operations because years of neck, back and shoulder pain are gone within days.  The final size result depends on your starting size. If you start larger then you will likely end larger. It is not possible to choose a size with any real accuracy. The main reason is that the procedure removes breast tissue but leaves enough tissue to preserve the blood supply to the nipple and areola. Thus more tissue needs to be left behind to ensure nipple viability. The nipple and areola is constantly being accessed during the operation. See a board certified plastic surgeon for specifics on your treatment.