Can you get sciatic nerve damage from a breast reduction/lift ?

Hi AnastasiaBaby, I understand your concern. However, it is highly unlikely that the breast augmentation surgery caused the sciatic nerve injury. If you are considering a surgery, I would suggest you to consult a board-certified plastic surgeon. Only after a thorough examination you will get more information and recommendations.

Daniel Barrett, MD, MHA, MS

Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery

Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery

Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

I would need to know more about the cause-effect relationship between the girl's sciatic nerve damage and her breast reduction.  It's unlikely that a breast reduction/lift would result in sciatic nerve damage.  The nerve pain, if it occurs, is usually caused by herniated or bulging discs and can be alleviated by epidural injections, muscle relaxants, gabapentin, or narcotics.

The sciatic nerve damage that this patient is experiencing is not directly related to her breast reduction surgery. It is possible that sciatic nerve pain could be caused by patient positioning in the operating room, which may cause compression of the lower back. Even this is highly unlikely as typically patients are positioned completely flat on the operating table and have no complaints of back pain. It is likely that the sciatic nerve pain is completely unrelated and just happened to occur near the time of her surgery. 

Hello
We don’t know what happened during her surgery ( maybe improper positioning) but we are sure that sciatic nerve is not in the area of breast reduction/lift surgery . It can not be related with surgery

The sciatic nerve is nowhere near the operative site of a breast reduction. It is possible that there was some compression as a function of improper positioning, however, this is unlikely as well if the patient was supine during the procedure. The sciatic nerve originates in the lower back and runs in the posterior aspect of the leg. Hip flexion places the nerve on stretch, however, a supine reclining patient is unlikely to irritate this nerve.As always, discuss your concerns with a board certified plastic surgeon (ABPS).

The sciatic nerve does originate in the lower back and goes down the legs. Obviously the breast is no where near the sciatic nerve. I do not see how this injury could occur and would need more specifics of what happened. Good luck.

People say all sorts of things on a review and many are not true. No, a breast lift cannot damage the sciatic nerve since it is not even close to the breast. If she has damage, it is not from the breast lift.

I have never heard of this before.  It has no relation to the actual breast surgery.  Either this is a serendipitous finding or she had some preexisting problem with her back or leg that was exacerbated by the positioning during the surgery.  I would not let this deter you from the procedure.Good luck!

While breast surgery itself cannot directly cause sciatic nerve problems, positioning during surgery without proper padding to the back, arms and legs can potentially cause new or worsening peripheral nerve compression symptoms. If you have any pre-existing peripheral nerve conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome or sciatica, let your surgeon and operating room staff know so they can take proper precautions to pad your affected areas. 

Dear Anastasia,Hello and thank you for your excellent question. If a patient suffered sciatic nerve pain after a breast lift, it is most likely do to positioning during the surgery, and not something related to the breast lift. If you have any questions, call our office for assistance. Good luck!

Best,

Jon Ver Halen, MD FACS

Harvard educated plastic surgeon

Texas “Top Doc” 2017, 2018

RealSelf100

America’s Top Plastic Surgeons, Consumer’s Research Council, 2010 – 2018

BeautyAdvisor Top Contributor