If you're a woman who's especially well endowed and have an extra five pounds of breast dragging on your neck and shoulders, it may be a great relief to lighten the load. So breast reductions are useful for both functional and cosmetic reasons. And men themselves are not immune to growing large breasts (it's called "gynecomastia"). Almost half of men have some degree of breast growth around puberty, though most settle down by the time they're 20. This problem is rising because so many of our drugs, including blood-pressure medicines and steroids, can cause breast tissue to grow. Men usually have breast-reduction surgery for cosmetic issues, as you might imagine. Breast reductions in men and women are usually outpatient procedures with a high satisfaction rate.
Breast Reduction
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Dr. Arthur W. Perry, MD , Cosmetic Surgery, answeredSee All 4 AnswersBreast-feeding may not be possible after breast reduction surgery. It depends on how much breast tissue was removed and whether scarring interrupts the ducts. Of course, if the nipple was removed and replaced during surgery, breast-feeding will be impossible. -
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Dr. Stuart A. Linder, MD , Plastic Surgery, answeredWhenever a breast reduction surgery is performed, normally implants are NOT placed concurrently. In the past, however, when patients have undergone prophylactic subcutaneous mastectomies, that is removing the majority of the breast in order to reduce the incidence of breast cancer due to family history, silicone implants could be placed at the same setting in order to rebuild a normal breast shape. However, at this time, when breast reduction surgeries are performed, we normally do not place a saline or silicone implant at the same time. -
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Dr. Stuart A. Linder, MD , Plastic Surgery, answeredSee All 2 AnswersHealing from breast reduction surgery varies from patient to patient. In general, the larger the breast reduction, the longer the healing process may take. In general, it is approximately 6-8 weeks postsurgical for the majority of healing to occur and swelling to be reduced. Sutures are usually placed and remain in place for approximately 2-3 weeks. There is a tremendous amount of tension on the flaps after a breast reduction surgery and therefore sutures are not removed early to prevent dehiscence of the wounds. The majority of our patients are able to return to exercise after 6 weeks and approximately 75% of the swelling is reduced, sutures have been removed and the patient can then be placed into a normal underwire brassiere.
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Stephen Handisides , Health Education, answeredSee All 3 AnswersBreast reduction surgery reduces the weight of the breast and lifts the breast. It is usually an outpatient procedure and indicated for symptomatic hypermastia, or large breasts which cause neck and back pain, rashes and difficulty fitting into bras. There are numerous types of breast reduction patterns, and in general you will feel almost instant relief from your symptoms rather than discomfort from the actual procedure.
Most patients will take pain medication (Vicodin) for about two or three days after breast reduction. Most patients reveal that their breasts are sore and burn a little during the first 24 hours, but the pain is not excruciating. Since breast reduction does not involve bone or muscle, but skin and breast tissue, it does not cause severe pain afterwards. -
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Dr. Stuart A. Linder, MD , Plastic Surgery, answeredAs a board certified plastic surgeon, I perform surgical breast reduction surgery to reduce women's breast size frequently. In general, weight loss through diet and exercise may help your entire body to lose size. However, many still have breast hypertrophy or gigantomastia requiring a breast reduction surgery. Liposuction of the breast may also be an option in certain patients that do not have significant skin laxity or ptosis.
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Dr. Stuart A. Linder, MD , Plastic Surgery, answeredAfter a breast reduction procedure, it is especially important to maintain your lifted breasts by using supportive brassieres. We instruct our patient's to wear supportive under wire bras during the day, and tight compressive sports bras during the evening. My new bra the "DrLinderbra" is perfect to wear for training, as well as a beauty and sleep. A compressive bra during the evening, during sleep, is extremely important to reduce the effects of gravity on the breasts, which could lead to increased recurrent skin laxity.
Firming the breasts up after a breast reduction simply requires using supportive bras. There really is no specific cream or lotion that will tighten up the skin or the breasts, but maintaining its firmness after surgery by using under wire and supportive brassieres is the most important aspect postoperatively.
Remember, after a breast lift, or breast reduction, the tissue that remains still has the same content of collagen that the tissue removed had, and thereby if you have skin laxity preoperative, after your reduction you will still have the same poor skin elasticity and tonicity after. -
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Baptist Health South Florida answeredSee All 2 AnswersBreast reduction surgery is a safe procedure when done in carefully selected patients and performed by an experienced plastic surgeon. The risk for complications is approximately 4.47%, but will increase in patients who smoke, or are obese. The rate of reoperation with in 30 days for complications is 2%. In patients who are 35 years old or older, a mammogram should be done within the last six months prior to the surgery to screen for any possible abnormalities including cancer. As in any procedure, the benefit of having the surgery should out weigh any potential complications. -
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Dr. Stuart A. Linder, MD , Plastic Surgery, answeredIn general, women considering breast reduction procedure should be very healthy. Nonsmokers are preferred, since smoking inhibits the healing process and increases the risk of skin loss due to lack of blood supply and increases the possible death of tissue around the nipple areolar complex. Though it is rare, the odds of this complication happening can be lessened by choosing a board-certified plastic surgeon who specializes in this procedure.
Any patient considering a breast reduction should also be cleared by a general internist and her family practitioner, who will certify her overall medical health. If you have hypertension, diabetes, or other medical conditions, those need to be well controlled prior to undergoing this operation. -
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Dr. Arthur W. Perry, MD , Cosmetic Surgery, answeredSee All 2 AnswersIn breast reduction surgery, most plastic surgeons use a technique that keeps the nipple attached to the underlying breast. About 15% use shorter incision techniques, although most believe this to be an inferior procedure, best used in small reductions. Some surgeons remove the nipple, shape the breast tissue, and sew the nipple back on as a skin graft. If the surgeon understands the basic science behind the procedure, however, nipple removal should almost never be necessary. He removes breast tissue from either side, and above and sometimes below the nipple, using artistic judgment and experience. The weight of the removed tissue is also a factor. Often, more tissue will purposely be removed from one side to even out asymmetrical breasts, a determination made prior to surgery.
Some physicians sit patients up during the operation, even while under anesthesia, to determine symmetry of removal. Because such movement is dangerous, it is avoided by many surgeons. Sometimes liposuction is used to contour the fat under the armpit.
All tissue removed from the breasts is examined under the microscope to be sure that no cancer is present. Once an appropriate amount of breast tissue and skin is removed, large (key) sutures temporarily orient the new breast. The surgeon closes the skin in two layers, using dissolving stitches in the dermis, and stitches, Dermabond, or a combination of both to close the surface layer. Drains should not be needed. Dressings are placed under a restrictive surgical bra while the patient is still under anesthesia.