| Dr.Peter A. Aldea, MD, FACS.,is a plastic surgeon certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Here the Doctor has answered some of the common questions bizymoms visitors have about Breast Reduction Surgery.
Q. What is breast reduction surgery?
A. Breast Reduction surgery is not a single procedure, but a set of different Reconstructive Plastic surgical procedures intended to decrease the size and weight of heavy breasts. By decreasing the beast and lifting it at the same time, these operations often relieve the symptoms commonly seen with very large breasts; Commonly, neck and back pain, shoulder and neck muscle strain, inability to engage in exercise and difficulty in carrying normal social interactions because of uninvited incessant attention given to the breasts by others.
Q. Who is a good candidate for a breast reduction?
A. Our Breast Reduction patients are among THE happiest patients we have. Not only do we commonly alleviate their discomfort, but we frequently turbo-charge their self-confidence by giving them proportionately smaller and perkier breasts. Unlike some surgical procedures (such as a burst appendix or inflamed gallbladder), breast reduction is not obligatory and we can elect to have it. The operation should also not be done on women who have very serious medical conditions and those taking blood thinning or immunosuppressive medications. It should also not be offered to women who are unwilling to accept the unavoidable exchange of painful, large sagging breasts for smaller, perky breasts without neck and back symptoms but which have surgical scars.
Q. What are the benefits of breast reduction surgery?
A. The vast majority of patients are extremely happy with their results. Of all plastic surgery procedures, breast lift and breast reduction result in the quickest body-image changes. Huge relief from breast weight related neck and back pains and muscle strains. Relief from recurrent rashes under the breasts. Regained ability to exercise. A total psychological transformation with feeling much more attractive and much less self-conscious. You will be rid of the physical discomfort of large breasts, your body will look much more proportioned and you may be able to fit in and wear a much larger variety of fashionable clothes, including sexier bras. For many women, whose breast size prevented them from enjoying an active life style and fashionable clothes, the operation literally gives them a second chance to enjoy life.
Q. What are the risks involved of breast reduction surgery?
A. All surgical procedures are always associated with possible complications. With breast reduction surgery, since the surgery removes many of the milk ducts leading to the nipples, there may be future difficulties with breast-feeding. Other potential complications may include bleeding, infection (under 2%), breast asymmetry, small areas of fat within the breast might die (fat necrosis), slow healing or separation of surgical incisions, widened or raised surgical scars, permanent nipple numbness (under 15%), and very rarely loss of nipple tissue. Some complications may require additional medical and or surgical care. Poor healing, fat necrosis and wider scars are much more common in active or second hand smokers.
Q. What does breast reduction surgery involve?
A. Depending on the size of the breasts, the operation may last 3 to 4 hours and is usually performed under general anesthesia in an outpatient surgery facility. You may feel some pain for the first couple of days-especially when you move around or cough-and some discomfort for a week or more. Pain medication prescribed by your surgeon will effectively lessen the pain. Most patients are able to return to work within 2 weeks of surgery and to resume strenuous physical activities in 4-6 weeks.
Q. How much does a breast reduction cost?
A. Breast Reduction surgery may still be paid for by many medical insurance companies as long as your policy has "breast reduction benefits" and you meet their various coverage requirements.
Q. What type of scarring should I expect?
A. The choice of breast lift procedure (and resulting scars) depends on your plastic surgeon’s preferred breast reduction technique. The most commonly performed breast reduction technique in Memphis is still the Anchor (also called inverted – T, Wise pattern, Keyhole, Inferior Pedicle) Breast reduction which always leaves 3 scars on the breast; one around the nipple complex, another vertically down from the nipple complex to the breast fold and a third a long transverse scar in the breast fold. These scars are permanent and sometimes can become downright ugly. Instead, Dr. Eby and I prefer to use the Short Scar Breast Reduction technique, which originated in France and Belgium and has been popularized by a female Canadian plastic surgeon. This technique, also referred to as a Vertical Scar Breast Reduction, has three HUGE advantages over the traditional Anchor / Inverted – T breast Lift / Reduction. First, it is done without a transverse scar. Second, the Vertical Scar Breast Reduction removes the already sagging breast tissue at the bottom of the breast (unlike the anchor breast technique which removes the non-sagging breast tissue at the top while preserving the sagging breast at the bottom). Finally, the Vertical Scar Breast Reduction has a much longer lasting lift and perkiness because it involves shaping the breast tissue itself instead of the surrounding skin as is done with the three scars Anchor (or inverted T) Breast Reduction.
Dr. Eby and I are the Memphis Short Scar Breast Lift and Reduction experts. Unlike many practices in Memphis, the majority of breast lifts and breast reductions patients in our practice choose to undergo this, less scarring and longer lasting procedure, instead of the shorter lasting and more scarring, anchor / inverted T procedures. Longer lasting attractive results with lesser scars – What’s not to love?
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