I want breast reduction. Do I have to wait until I'm 18? I'm 13 years old

Waiting until you have fully developed and you can participate in the decision making process is important. You are young for the surgery at thirteen. 

I think that you need to have a discussion of your concerns with your parents. Your parents will be the best guy to determining when to intervene with a physician. Operating on a 13-year-old for breast reduction has to be an extremely extenuating circumstance. Please let your parents 

I have done surgery on some young ladies your age, and they did very well with surgery.  However, your breasts may continue to grow over the next few years.  Most surgeons prefer to wait until you have reached 16-17 and stopped growing. You need to discuss this with your parents, and see if they will take you for a consultation.  At your age, it is still your parents' decision. Also, it is never a good idea to call someone "stupid" who works with knives.

I'm sorry to hear about the physical and psychosocial problems your disproportionately large breasts are causing you.  
It is probable that 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 your frame causing  both physical and psychological distress.
Although it may be slightly too early to undergo this procedure, it is not too early to do your homework and learn as much as possible  about  breast reduction surgery and the potential risks and complications associated with  the procedure.    
Unsatisfactory scarring is  one of the potential complications. Make sure you also understands 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).

Sometimes breast  reduction surgery is covered through health insurance. The best way to obtain insurance coverage for breast reduction surgery involves some “hoops” to jump through. The more documentation you have (for example, from your primary care doctor, physical therapist, chiropractor etc.) the better when it comes to obtaining insurance “authorization” for the procedure.
This documentation and letter/pictures from your plastic surgeon will help you obtain authorization.
When the time is right,  seek consultation with well-trained/experienced board-certified plastic surgeons.


I hope this, and the attached link, helps.

The reality is that insurance companies will not pay for breast reduction prior to age 18.  Therefore, unless your parents are prepared to pay for this operation, in the knowledge that your breasts could continue to develop, it simply cannot be performed.  The consultation for an adolescent, with a parent present, goes into the motivation, family history, onset of menses, and a variety of other factors.  Unfortunately, none of them will move an insurance company which can simply say no based on arbitrary criteria.

There is no standard age for a breast reduction. It can be done at your age, but you need your parent's permission and they need to agree to pay for the procedure. You will be questioned as to when  your breasts developed and if they are still growing. It is then up to the plastic surgeon to determine if you are a good candidate. Some of my happiest patients are my breast reduction women.

Many young girls are troubled by their large breasts that are often out of proportion to the rest of their body. Often, they are ridiculed or made the subject of jokes by their adolescent cohort. As a result, many girls develop a negative body image, become more self-conscious and withdraw. Some girls will avoid exercise because of their concerns of being stared at during gym. The reduction in exercise leads to weight gain, which eventually leads to larger breasts and the cycle continues.As a plastic surgeon, my concern is the safety and well-being of my patients. When considering whether or not someone is a candidate for surgery, I consider their physical and mental health as part of the initial evaluation.The physical evaluation looks at the actual size of the breasts as well as the degree of sagging. There are some woman with small sagging breast that feel large but truly only need a lift. For those young woman and girls with large breasts, I want to be sure that the breasts have ended the pubertal growth phase. A simple rule of thumb is that breasts are typically at that point about one year after the first period. However, this rule is does not hold for all girls and in the end, we should not consider surgery until the breasts have stopped growing for one year.The mental evaluation for an adolescent girl must include a consideration for reasonable expectations. This means that girls must understand that 1) surgery has risk and can have complications that can delay the final outcome, 2) Breast reduction surgery will reduce the size of the breast but will not change their social life - only they can do that! Finally 3) Plastic surgery is as much art as science - even when all is done and healed the desired outcome may not look like Kate Upton or some other Hollywood celebrity.For those girls that have large breasts and satisfy the simple criteria described above, age is a less important criteria and only a benchmark that other parameters are tied to. If you in the group described above, find a board certified plastic surgeon to help you further. A good starting point for more information on breast reduction in an adolescent patient, please read my book "Cosmetic Breast Surgery - a complete guide from A to double D"

I'm sorry you are having a tough time. I know it can be hard to deal with large breasts when you are still so young. You need to talk to your parents and let them know how this is affecting you. Ask them if they could take you to talk to your doctor about your rate of growth. Surgery can be done on patients younger than 18 if the circumstances are right. For example, if your breasts have been the same size for a couple of years it can be done. If they are still actively growing it is best to wait. If you are a candidate for surgery when you are this young, you will likely have to have additional surgery in the future. I hope this helps you.