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.

Thank you for the question.

Breast reduction surgery is one of the most patient pleasing operations we perform. It may help alleviate chronic neck back shoulder discomfort and other symptoms associated with breast hypertrophy.

The procedure can suddenly be done turning your first year college. I would suggest that you schedule it such that the procedure is performed at the very beginning of a school break giving you at least 2 weeks of recovery time. You should have full time help available to you for the first week after surgery.

I would suggest that you seek consultation with well experienced board-certified plastic surgeons. You will find that every surgeon has a different routine in regards to showering and other postoperative activity.

I hope this helps.