I'm very interested in getting a breast reduction (currently 36E, looking to be a C) but as I look at before and after photos I'm noticly a large majority of people look very boxy and even lumpy in some cases. I'm petrified of having those results and was wondering if there's a reason why this happens and if it will go away over time and healing
April 16, 2017
Answer: Why do some breast reductions look boxy? The shape of the breast following a breast reduction is partly due to a patient's tissue characteristics, the surgical technique chosen, and the surgeon's attention to detail. The most common technique to used in the United States in the past was an inferior pedicle. I last used this technique approximately 10 to 15 years ago and changed to a superior/medial pedicle technique because I was much happier with the overall breast shape. That's not to say you can't get beautiful results using the previous style, I was just happier with the long term results. You can use the same technique on multiple patients and each will turn out looking a little differently. Multiple surgeons can use the same technique and their results can also have a great deal of variability. That being said I would recommend that you look at before and after photos and discuss with the surgeon your concerns. You might point out some photos to the surgeon that you were not pleased with and ask how they might approach the case differently or revise the photo to get a better result. It's not uncommon at all to have revisions after surgery to address such things as asymmetry, poor scars, and what are called dog ears where there is some fullness at the ends of the incision under the breast. It's also important to understand that the breast will change shape fairly significantly over at least the first year postoperatively. Often times the central or middle portion of the lower breast is kept tighter because we know this will stretch any long date with time. This too can create a bit of a boxy appearance.Well surgical results may not always be perfect, I think most plastic surgeons would agree that breast reduction patients are some of our happiest. Best of luck,
Helpful 1 person found this helpful
April 16, 2017
Answer: Why do some breast reductions look boxy? The shape of the breast following a breast reduction is partly due to a patient's tissue characteristics, the surgical technique chosen, and the surgeon's attention to detail. The most common technique to used in the United States in the past was an inferior pedicle. I last used this technique approximately 10 to 15 years ago and changed to a superior/medial pedicle technique because I was much happier with the overall breast shape. That's not to say you can't get beautiful results using the previous style, I was just happier with the long term results. You can use the same technique on multiple patients and each will turn out looking a little differently. Multiple surgeons can use the same technique and their results can also have a great deal of variability. That being said I would recommend that you look at before and after photos and discuss with the surgeon your concerns. You might point out some photos to the surgeon that you were not pleased with and ask how they might approach the case differently or revise the photo to get a better result. It's not uncommon at all to have revisions after surgery to address such things as asymmetry, poor scars, and what are called dog ears where there is some fullness at the ends of the incision under the breast. It's also important to understand that the breast will change shape fairly significantly over at least the first year postoperatively. Often times the central or middle portion of the lower breast is kept tighter because we know this will stretch any long date with time. This too can create a bit of a boxy appearance.Well surgical results may not always be perfect, I think most plastic surgeons would agree that breast reduction patients are some of our happiest. Best of luck,
Helpful 1 person found this helpful
