Breast Reduction

Women seek breast reduction surgery for a variety of reasons. The weight and size of your breast may cause you physical symptoms such as back and neck pain. Bra straps can also dig into your shoulders causing grooves to form where the straps have been. The crease under your breasts can also become red, inflamed and uncomfortable due to your skin rubbing against each other.

Heavy breasts can also limit your physical activity and make it difficult for a lot of women to do the exercise that they would like. This can then, in turn limit your ability to control your weight through exercise.

Some women feel self-conscious about the size of their breasts and about drawing unwanted attention. It can be difficult to also choose clothes and enjoy holidays due to this. Sometimes, it is also a case of wishing to have a better balance between the size of your breasts and the rest of your body.

If you are over 18, generally healthy, not overweight and a non-smoker, you are suitable for breast reduction surgery. Occasionally, some women who seek breast reduction surgery may actually not be suitable, and may require a different technique (such as a breast uplift). During your consultation, you will be advised on whether breast reduction surgery is suitable for you.

At your consultation, you will meet Dr Kian, a fully-qualified plastic surgeon who is trained in cosmetic breast surgery. He will take a full medical history including details of medications, allergies, smoking and family history of breast cancer. Dr Kian also always takes time to understand what your goals and concerns are.

During your examination, the following will be assessed systematically and standard clinical photographs will be taken for your medical record:

• breast and chest wall measurements
• pre-operative asymmetry
• chest-wall abnormalities
• skin thickness & quality

Dr Kian will then discuss your procedure with you. He will also discuss the scar pattern that you are likely to expect. He will explain the potential risks and complications of surgery so that you make a fully-informed decision. There will be plenty of time to answer any questions that you may have and you can rest assured that Dr Kian will give you his honest, professional advice.

Dr Kian’s philosophy is to achieve natural-looking results. The final size of your breasts will be dependent on your body frame and chest wall measurements that are taken during consultation. Dr Kian will usually aim to create a better balance between the size of your breasts and the rest of your body. It is useful to find out from you at consultation what cup size you would like to have after the surgery to get an idea of your expectations, although post-operative cup sizes can never be guaranteed.

Dr Kian is trained in a wide range of breast reduction techniques and the scar pattern that you could expect will depend on your individual circumstances. Dr Kian will take some measurements during your consultation and discuss with you what your goals are before advising on which technique is suitable for you. Below are some of the more popular techniques that Dr Kian uses:

• Wise-pattern breast reduction – one of the commonest breast reduction techniques is the “Wise-pattern” (also called anchor shaped or inverted-T) reduction. This technique is used when a large amount of breast tissue needs to be removed and at the same time it will be possible to create a significant lift in the position of your nipple. The scars for this technique will be around your areola, along the inframammary crease under your breast and a vertical scar between your areola and inframammary crease.
• Vertical scar breast reduction – this is also a popular technique of breast reduction and is also called the short scar or “lollipop” scar technique. This is a technique which is used when a smaller amount of breast tissue is removed. The scars for this will be around your areola and a vertical scar going down from your areola to your inframammary crease.
• Small inverted-T reduction – this is a variation of the above 2 techniques where an inverted-T scar is used, however the scar under the inframammary crease is shorter than the classical Wise-pattern technique.
• Circumareolar reduction – this is a less common technique where only a small amount of breast tissue is removed. The scar for this will only be around your areola.

Breast reduction surgery will produce immediate results and you will see that the size and weight of your breasts have reduced right after surgery. There will be some swelling from surgery, which will take a couple of weeks to subside. Full results will be visible from 6 weeks.

There is a possibility that your ability to breastfeed may be affected after breast reduction surgery. If you wish to breastfeed, it is advisable to delay breast reduction surgery until after you have completed your family.

During your consultation, Dr Kian will explain the potential risks and complications of your procedure. Some of these include:

• Scar – this will depend on the type of breast reduction surgery that you have and will be discussed with you at your consultation
• Infection – some wound infections may require antibiotic treatment.
• Seroma – this is a collection of fluid in your breast. Small seromas may be left alone if they do not produce any symptoms, however larger or symptomatic ones may be aspirated.
• Bleeding/haematoma – bleeding after surgery may require a second operation to remove the blood clot and stop any bleeding.
• Wound healing problems – occasionally, there may be areas that take a bit longer to heal due to either infection or impaired blood supply.
• Unfavourable results – breast reduction surgery has one of the highest satisfaction rates among all cosmetic surgery operations. However, unfavourable results may be due to not being satisfied with symmetry, size or shape etc after surgery. Weight gain or pregnancy after surgery can result in the breasts growing larger again. Weight loss and ageing can result in the breasts sagging again over time.

Recovery time is very individual, however for most people this will be between 7 to 14 days. We would normally advise to take a week off work, however you may return to work sooner or later depending on how you recover and the type of work that you do. You will be asked to wear a post-surgical garment or sports bra after your surgery for 6 weeks. Full results take at least 6 weeks, however this will vary from person to person.

Dr Kian believes that good aftercare is as important as the surgery itself. You will be given contact details to get in touch should you have any concerns after your surgery. You will have a clinic appointment approximately 1 week after your procedure. At this time, the wound is inspected to ensure that it is healing well and there is no infection. You will have a full review appointment with Dr Kian at approximately 6 weeks after your surgery to check that you are happy with your results and to give you long-term aftercare instructions.