Breast Reduction

The Breast Reduction or Reduction Mammoplasty, is a surgical procedure to reduce the size of breasts. This procedure is typically performed by a Plastic Surgeon. The focus of this article is female breast reduction surgery.

Some of the more common reasons for having breast reduction surgery include, neck, back and/or shoulder pain and “bra strap grooving”. Patients who have had a Breast Reduction, usually feel almost immediate relief from their symptoms! Females with overly large breasts compared to their body size, tend to feel self-conscious.

Depending on the amount of breast tissue to be removed, the operation can take 2 to 4 hours to complete and can be done on an outpatient basis, with the patient going home a few hours after surgery. Follow-up is typically a day or so after surgery at your surgeons office. Post-operative pain is usually mild (pain is a very subjective thing, some patients have a higher pain tolerance level), and can be controlled with pain and anti-spasmodic medications. Following surgery, the patient will need to rest and relax for a few day with absolutely no lifting for the next few weeks. Depending on what one does for a living, the patient can go back to work within a week to 10 days, if not sooner.

What to expect for your first Breast Reduction consultation:

• A thorough past medical history and physical from your surgeon. Be sure to tell your surgeon any previous surgeries, allergies to medications, and what, if any medications you currently take.
• If you have suffered from any of the above symptoms, and have documented proof, a copy of those records will always help.
• Your surgeon will do a breast exam and probably take measurements and get your height and weight, at this point, your surgeon will advise you if, based on certain criteria and in their opinion, you are eligible for breast reduction surgery.
• Your surgeon will probably want to take pre-operative photographs.

Once all this is done, your medical and insurance information will be sent to your insurance provider for approval or denial. Which can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to a month.

Insurance companies will normally cover a portion of the cost of the procedure if deemed “medically necessary” to alleviate documented long standing or chronic pain. In most insurance plans, a certain amount of breast tissue has to be removed, then weighed by a Pathologist in order for insurance companies to pay. Some insurance companies use a Body Mass Index (BMI) to gauge your overall body fat to muscle. Body mass index is a measure of body fat based on height and weight as it applies to adult men and women. A BMI of greater than 30% is considered obese.

Pro’s and Con’s of Breast Reduction surgery

Probably the biggest long term benefit from having a breast reduction is alleviating the chronic and long-standing head, neck and back pain. Ridding of the self-conscious “big boobs” is also a major benefit. A long term downside to breast reduction surgery is that you will have a scar. In essence, you trade your breast tissue for the scar. The short term is a week or so of “down time” from work and and a few days from family while you recover.