Breast Reduction - What Is Appropriate For You

While breast augmentation is one of the most popular cosmetic surgeries performed in North America, many men and women are unhappy with overly large breasts. Causes of excessive breast tissue can vary between individuals and often starts shortly after puberty. A large amount of weight gain, various medications, marijuana or steroid use, or genetic predisposition may trigger hormonal changes that cause the body to increase the chest size. Women with excessive breast tissue often experience chronic back problems, while men with gynecomastia (breast enlargement) are plagued by issues with self-confidence and self-image. Breast reduction is an invasive operation designed to reduce the overall size of breasts or improve their shape and lift.

Men and women that make good candidates for this type of surgery are in good general health and do not have medical problems such as blood disorders, cardiovascular problems or clotting deficiencies. Patients should have realistic expectations and feel comfortable discussing their concerns and goals with the surgeon. Many prospective patients complain that their breast size causes them extreme physical discomfort or interferes with carrying out routine activities.

Breast reduction surgery is an invasive operation performed under general anesthesia. Before entering the operating room, the surgeon will examine your breasts while sitting up to determine the best place to make the incision and hide future healing or scarring. Incisions will be made along both sides of the breast and excess skin, adipose, and glandular tissue will be removed. In most cases, the nipple will remain attached to nerve and blood vessel flow. Removing excess tissue around the nipple will naturally lift it to a higher location on the chest wall. Occasionally, the nipple will have to be removed and replaced higher up. This will cause nerve damage and loss of nipple sensation or ability to breastfeed in the future.

For men or women with a small-to-moderate amount of fat tissue to be removed that does not require extensive skin, nipple or breast reconstruction, breast reduction surgery may simply involve liposuction techniques. In this situation, a small incision is made along the bottom crease of each breast and the adipose tissue is removed via a small cannula. This type of procedure is not available to patients that have very large breasts and will require excess skin and glandular tissue to be removed as well.

Risks associated with breast reduction surgery are similar to other invasive operations. Patients may experience negative reactions to anesthesia, bleeding, infection, poor wound healing, bruising, swelling, pain, discomfort or redness. A moderate amount of pain and bruising may be present during the post-operative period, but should resolve within a few weeks. Your surgeon will give you detailed instructions to follow after the procedure to shorten the recovery period and speed healing.

Contact a plastic surgeon in your area today that is board certified and highly experienced in breast reduction surgery. He or she will be able to address your questions or concerns and outline a pre- and post-operative plan in order to achieve maximum results. For those who refuse to live with the physical discomfort and emotional turmoil overly large breasts can bring to both men and women, this might be just what you need.