Weight loss after a breast reduction (I'm 5'4 and currently 145 lbs)?

You want to lose the 30 pounds prior to surgery and be able to maintain that weight for three months before the BR. It is always important to remember body dimensions in BR and not reduce a woman’s breasts to make her disproportionately small.

Thanks for your question! We always encourage patients to be within 5-10 lbs of their goal weight prior to surgery. That will give you the best, most long-lasting results. Please be sure to consult with a board-certified plastic surgeon for optimal results. Good luck!

Hello and thank you for your question.
First off, congratulations on your weight loss! If you are wanting to lose additional 30 pounds, I would try to do so before the surgery only because this can change the results of your surgery and breast shape/fullness.
I suggest that you seek an in person consultation with a Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon specializing in Breast Reduction surgeries to further discuss your options, specific techniques, concerns and expectations. Make sure you specifically look at before and after pictures of real patients who have had this surgery performed by your surgeon and evaluate their results.
I hope this helps.Best regards, Dr. Karanetz
Dr. Irena KaranetzFellowship-TrainedBoard Certified Plastic Surgeon

Dear emmmibird,
generally speaking, you want to reach your goal weight before you consider a breast reduction, otherwise your results will be suboptimal if you continue to lose weight after the surgery. 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
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

If you are in the process of losing weight it is best that you reach your goal and are able to maintain it prior to having surgery. Some women notice changes in their breasts with weight fluctuations. A thirty pound difference in your weight could impact your results.

Thank you for such a great question. Since you are actively on a successful weight loss journey, I would recommend getting down to 120 lbs before your surgery. You are absolutely right that as you lose weight the breasts will lose some volume and drop additionally. By being closer to your goal weight, your tissues and final shape and aesthetics can be maximized. Your complication rates will be fairly baseline.

This is a very valid concern. Congratulations on your weight loss journey. A breast reduction allows reshaping the breast tissue in horizontal and vertical dimensions. If you are in the middle of a planned weight loss journey, and are expecting to loose 30 lbs more, you should have the reduction after your goal is achieved.
This would allow the breast reduction to address any redundancy in the skin and breast component that may be present after you loose the weight. In contrast, if you get your reduction and then loose weight, it would be difficult to predict how much the breasts would sag after you loose those 30 lbs and since you already had your surgery, there would be no way to address that laxity. Most insurances have a time frame for the approval to be valid before it has to be reapplied so depending on your plan for weight loss, delaying your surgery for a few months to achieve your goal weight first may be better. This would let you have a better aesthetic result with your planned weight loss. Hope this was helpful. Good luck.

Breasts may decrease in size if there is weight loss after breast reduction. I recommend to my patients that they lose the weight first, then have the reduction, which also gives a lift to the breasts.