Am I too overweight for a breast reduction?

Question

I am 44 years old I have had huge breasts since I was a teen. At 22 a saw a plastic surgeon and they said I needed to be 180 or less I am 5'10" and now am 270Lb. I have been trying for all these years to get there and I know it never happen. I just want them gone. I am tired os suffering with them. My bra size is 40 K. I know that the band size seems small for my weight but it never changes more than a size when I do loose weight. My cup only changes one.

Sheila S. Nazarian, MD · Answer

The issue is that due to your weight, your BMI is high. And patients with a high BMI are much more likely to encounter complications from surgery. If you can't lose the weight with a plan like Weight Watchers, perhaps consider bariatric surgery. Sorry for your frustration. Best, Dr. Nazarian

Jeffrey M. Darrow, MD · Answer

Most insurances have a formula based on a patients height and weight that tells the surgeon how much weight must be removed for the insurance to consider it a reduction and pay for it.  If you would meet those criteria, your insurance may cover your surgery.  However, severely overweight patients have a higher rate of complications after surgery and you should consider this prior to proceeding.

Vincent N. Zubowicz, MD · Answer

I studied a group of my own patients many years ago to determine benefits of breast reduction. The group on average lost an additional 15 pounds after breast reduction. They stated that the ability to exercise was much easier with the weight of the breasts off the chest.

Steven Wallach, MD · Answer

I think that at 270 lbs your BMI is probably too high.  Patients with very high vmi's have a much higher incidence of complications. It is probably better to lose weight first. If you are unable to lose weight,. you might want to consider bariatric surgery.  Good luck.

Robert Savage, MD (retired) · Answer

Many reduction patients are overweight or obese.It is hard to exercise when everything hurts.However it is well documented that obese patients do have an increased risk of developing a number of small and big complications.So,many surgeons recommend weight loss first but if it can't be done some patients decide to proceed anyway after being fully informed of the various risk/ benefit odds

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