One of the Best Decisions I've Ever Made - I Had Tears of Joy!
I had breast reduction surgery in December 2010,...
I had breast reduction surgery in December 2010, so I've had a lot of time to evaluate the results. I was 30 years old when I had the reduction, and my bra size was on average 34DD. I'm 5'4 and weighed about 155 lbs.
I had the surgery for 2 reasons - I had mid & upper back pain every day, and I was extremely embarassed about the appearance of my breasts. They were very saggy and had overly large areolae. I was worried about how they would look at age 40 if they already looked so bad at 30.
I wasn't sure how much relief I would get from the back pain, but I knew it could only get better. And aesthetically, the only place to go was up!
I'm lucky enough to live in Ontario,Canada, where this is covered by OHIP ( government health care ) so I didn't pay for one cent of the operation.
I couldn't be happier with the results of my reduction! I didn't realise how much the back pain was a constant source of irritation until it was gone - I had lived with the pain for so long - I think I just assumed that everyone had some degree of back pain & that I just had to suck it up & deal with it....I was wrong! I felt the difference almost immediately. I was afraid to get my hopes up just in case the pain meds were blocking the back pain, but as time went by and I reduced the meds, it never came back. The other huge bonus is the improvement in appearance. It's like they did a lift at the same time! My areolae are nice and small, and my breasts are high and firm. I joke that my breasts can now do magic tricks...when I take off my bra they levitate instead of dropping 3 inches!
Recovery was not a walk in the park, I'm not going to lie about that. I had a few issues that made the recovery take longer. For some reason my body didn`t like the stitches and was pushing them to the surface instead of letting them dissolve. I also had some wound seperation after the 2 week mark. It scared me but I guess it`s common for it to happen at this stage because the breasts are swelling as a result of all the white cells rushing to the area to heal the incision. This swelling causes more tension on the incisions, hence wound seperation.
I just want to add that even when I was in the toughest phase of recovery and had some extra challenges with the healing process, I never once regretted having the reduction. Even when it hurt the most, I knew I would do it over again. It`s a difficult decision to make, and other people may think you`re crazy because they don`t understand what it`s like to live in your body. My then fiancé (now husband) was dead set against it, but once he realised he couldn`t talk me out of it, he supported my decision 100%. And just so you know, he tells me how happy he is that I didn`t listen to him. He loves the look of my new breasts, and even though he`s never said so, I`m sure he`s thrilled that he doesn`t have to hear me constantly grouse about my back pain! Just listen to your gut about what surgeon you use ( I had a bad feeling about the first Dr I met with - it turned out to be well founded ) and you`ll be fine. Don`t worry about hurt feelings if the Dr`s not a good fit - you have to live with the results for the rest of your life, so please, do what`s right for you!
Best Wishes,
V.
Replies (6)

I'm so glad you're leaning towards the reduction! And I think your mum is so right about the best surgeons being busy by word of mouth . I've read time & again to avoid a Dr who doesn't have a ton of pics on display. If I had listened to this, I would have missed out on an amazing surgeon & I would hate for this to happen to anyone else. It's great that your mum has so much experience - you'll have no trouble finding a great surgeon! I can't overstate how much I believe in this procedure, If you really want it, I hope you go for it - it has one of the highest patient satisfaction rates for a good reason! All the best!!

It's great that you decided to go with Dr. Evans - I truly believe you couldn't be in better hands! All the best with your surgery, & if you have any questions at all during the process, please don't hesitate to ask!
Thanks for your review VB! You are about 8 months further along in the recovery than I am so it is good to know that you are so happy with your results 1 1/2 years out. I'll be 1 year in August and so far I have been very happy with the way I healed and the shape I have taken. I'm still a bit bigger than I had hoped to be, but when I look at those pictures of where I started, I can really see the improvement and the life my doctor provided!
I'm so glad that you had a positive experience as well! I know what you mean about looking back at pics to see the difference. When I found an old pre surgery bra I couldn't believe how huge it seemed! My breasts really didn't change in appearance after the one year mark, so I'm sure you'll be just as happy with your results as I am with mine!