Can I reduce my breasts from a 34DD to a 34B?

Far more important than the technique is the skill and experience of your plastic surgeon. Choose your surgeon rather than the technique and let them explain why one technique may be better than another.  See the below link on some suggestions on finding the most qualified Plastic Surgeon for a BR Always insist on a board certified plastic surgeon.

From the sounds of it, you are the ideal a candidate for a a breast reduction. Not only will this improve your overall well being from reducing the weight on your back and shoulder, it will also give you aesthetically pleasing breasts. I like to reduce the breast size that matches your body and desires, so I believe you can achieve what you are looking for. 

That is an excellent question.  I find that we can usually go pretty much as small as the patient wants unless you are starting out huge, or have a really broad chest, however this can require more extensive scars to get rid of enough skin so that they aren't droopy.  It is difficult to say without at a least a photo!  Also, we would have you bring in, or pick out, photos of what you mean when you say a B cup, as there are no standards in women's sizing. The photos and discussion are used to figure out exactly what you want in terms of shape, size, and proportion to your body. The amount of reduction is limited by the need to leave enough tissue and blood supply to keep the tissues alive.  Good luck!

you MUST let your surgeon know that you want the most aggressive reduction he/she does.  In my hands, that would be a B cup and would require anchor scars and possibly a nipple graft (lose sensation and half the height of your nipple).  Otherwise routine reduction usually end up C+ cup or more.  So if a very small cup is your goal, you should anticipate needing revisions and you should find out what your surgeon's policy is on revisions.

Hi and thank you for the question. You can reduce your breasts to any size you want. The goal of a reduction is to reduce the symptoms you are experiencing (usually neck and back pain) but should also take into account the breast size and shape you want to end up with. Just remember that nobody can promise you a specific cup size. The cup size you buy will depend on what brand of bras you buy and how you like your bras to fit. On any given day in my office I can see three patients with identical size breasts who say they wear three different cup sizes. 
Good luck with your procedure. 
Dr West

Thank you for the question and congratulations on your decision to proceed with breast reduction surgery. You may be surprised to know that your goals/requests are not that unusual.   I see several patients every year who wish to achieve as small of a breast appearance outcome, for a variety of personal reasons.
 Generally speaking, it is possible to reduce the breasts size very significantly.  Based on the sophistication of your question, I think you may already understand that the concern with the amount of tissue removed is related to blood flow to the remaining tissue; if too much tissue is removed in one operation the blood flow to the remaining tissue (including nipple/areola) may be compromised. Part of the tissue that is left in place is called the “pedicle"; this segment of tissue is responsible for delivering the blood supply to the nipple/areola tissue. If the pedicle is made too small (in the effort to reduce the breasts as much as possible) then patient will likely have problems with tissue survival.    
I think that you are wise in understanding the importance of preoperative communication when it comes to achieving an outcome that you will be pleased with. In my opinion, successful outcomes with  etc. surgery depend on:
1.  Careful selection of plastic surgeon (and from the surgeon's  standpoint, careful selection of patient).  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.
2.  Careful communication of goals ( which I will discuss further below).
3.  Skillful execution of procedure ( preoperative, intraopererative, and postoperative patient management).
In my practice, I would ask that you NOT communicate your goals, or evaluate the outcome of the procedure performed, based on cup sizes.  There is simply too much variability when it comes to bra sizes between bra manufacturers and even store employees doing the bra fitting measurements.
 Generally speaking,  for the benefit of patients undergoing breast reduction surgery:  it will be very important to communicate your size goals with your surgeon. Most patients wish to achieve a enough of a reduction to help with their symptoms while remaining proportionate with the remainder of their torso. Again, I suggest that you do not communicate your goals in terms of achieving a specific cup size. For example, a “B cup” may mean different things to different people and therefore may be a source of miscommunication.
In my practice, I ask patients to communicate their goals with the help of  computer imaging and/or goal photographs,  as you have done here.  Obviously, the outcome associated with the breast surgery will not necessarily match that of goal photographs perfectly, but they do serve as a better communication tool that subjective terms such as "natural", "proportionate", "flat"… Evaluating goal photographs also allows for a plastic surgeon to determine the consistency of the patient's goals and allows for a discussion of realistic expectations as well.  
***Needless to say, when it comes to achieving patient satisfaction with the outcome of surgery,  it is very important that a patient has consistent goals (fully decided on what she would like to achieve) and a good understanding of realistic expectations (what outcomes can and cannot be achieved). 
 Best wishes with your decision making and for an outcome that you will be very pleased with.

You can go to almost whatever you wish. I have done patients from the LGBT community that want to essentially have no breasts. So, it is really up to the patient.

Your goal may be achievable however my concerns over such an aggressive breast reduction would include the potential lack of breast contour and fullness and the fact that I have seen patients who have undergone very aggressive breast reductions years later seek breast implants to restore some of their size and shape.  On average I advise similar DD cup patients to seek a C cup to reduce the risk of them regretting the change in future years.  Discuss options with your selected surgeon and be certain to review photos of others who have been operated upon by him/her.  Best wishes,
Jon A Perlman MD FACS 

Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery 

Extreme Makeover Surgeon ABC TV

Best of Los Angeles Award 2015, 2016 

Beverly Hills, Ca