Dear Spiceyourlife,many women have overdevelopment of breast tissue and require reductions. Some of the questions you need to ask yourself are if you are willing to have scars from the surgery, take the risk of losing nipple sensation and other complications in addition to possible problems breast feeding if you plan to have children in the future. I would meet with a plastic surgeon to go over all of these risks and benefits to see if you would be a good candidate for surgery.Daniel Barrett, MD, MHA, MS Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery Member, Am. Society of Plastic Surgery
Thank you for the question. Based on your description you may be an good candidate for breast reduction /lifting surgery. However, much more information is needed to determine what operation (and incisions) will be needed to achieve your goals.Reducing breast tissue mass and elevating the breasts on the chest wall tend to improve or alleviate many of the symptoms associated with the disproportionately large breasts.Patients considering breast reduction surgery should also consider the potential downsides (risks/complications) associated with the procedure as well.. Poor scarring, for example may be associated with the procedure. Additional surgery may be necessary in the short or longer term for a multitude of reasons.When the time is right, I would suggest starting with the American Society of Plastic Surgery and/or the Aesthetic Society of Plastic Surgery to obtain a list of well experienced board-certified plastic surgeons.Then, I would suggest you visit a few surgeons whose practices concentrate on aesthetic surgery. Ask to see lots of examples of their work and preferably speak/see patients who have had similar procedures done.Then, it will be important that you communicate your goals clearly with your plastic surgeon and make sure that you have realistic expectations prior to proceeding with any type of surgery. In regards to breast size desired, also communicate carefully. In my practice the use of goal pictures are helpful in this regard; a discussion of cup size can be confusing and imprecise. Therefore, I would not suggest that you communicate your goals and/or base your satisfaction with the outcome of surgery on achieving a specific cup size. I also find that the use of pictures is more helpful than the words “natural” or "proportionate” etc., which can mean different things to different people.Many of my patients choose to have enough breast tissue removed to help alleviate symptoms while retaining enough breast tissue to remain proportionate to the remainder of bare torso.I hope this helps.
