How Common is Breast Reduction for Teens Who Are in Their First Year of College?

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.  You may consider having the procedure performed during one of your breaks or the summer as you can have some assistance and more time to recover without other responsibilities.  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!

Breast reduction continues to be one of the most commonly performed reconstructive surgeries by plastic surgeons in the United States.  The American Society of Plastic Surgeons estimate that roughly 83,000 women underwent a breast reduction in 2010.  Of those patients, approximately 4600 were ages 13-19.  After a breast reduction, patients typically will have drains in place for a week, take pain medicine for 3-4 days, and are not able to drive for 5-7 days.  I think it is usually best for college students to have the procedure done over a vacation or other school break to allow adequate time to recover.

I would recommend that you have surgery during winter or spring break. Patients do very well with the surgery but college is a serious endeavor and you should not have any major surgery during the academic semester if at all possible. Patients do very well after the first 2-3 days and do not need assistance in showering or dressing. Best of luck in school and in preparing for this surgery, which has a very high patient satisfaction rate. Many of my young patients go on to lose weight as they are able to be much more physically active following surgery. Dr. K

Having breast reduction surgery during the first year of college is not a rarity or a very difficult thing to do provided that you plan appropriately. If you are a good candidate for the procedure based on breast size and associated uncomfortable symptoms, then pursuing surgery would be reasonable. It would be prudent to plan this during a vacation, especially an longer one where you will have assistance for a few days and time off from school work. Vacation in December of even the summer would be the best bets though you could also have it performed during spring break.

Anticipate discomfort to generally be fairly mild and you should be up and around the day of or day after surgery. Most women are able to return to work or school within 5 - 7 days as long as they don't engage in very exertional activities.

Good luck!

It is quite common for college age women who need a breast reduction to have it done. I treat alot of women in their late teens and twenties.