Breast reductions have been on the rise in the last few years. It is one of Dr. Suarez´s favorite procedures because of how satisfied patients are with the results.
This surgery is one of the most requested and successful plastic surgery procedures. Breast reduction, or reduction mammoplasty, helps women to live active, pain-free lives without symptoms caused by heavy breasts.
Macromastia is the medical term for large breasts, and it can either be symptomatic or asymptomatic. When it is symptomatic, women may have chronic pain in one or more of areas of their body, including the neck, shoulders, back, chest, and even tingling sensations in the hands. Heavy breasts can also result in headaches, bad posture, sleep problems (including sleep apnea), shortness of breath, and scar-like lines in the skin caused by the grooves of a bra-strap. Many women with macromastia may avoid exercise because of the pain they experience during exercise due to the size/weight of their breasts; as a result, these women are at risk for obesity as well.
If you are having the issues previously described, reduction mammoplasty, commonly known as a breast reduction, might be a good choice for you.
WHAT IS A BREAST REDUCTION?
Breast reduction is a cosmetic surgery that reduces the size of the breasts, and in turn, decreases symptoms of pain. In particular, the procedure removes excess breast fat, glandular tissue, and aligns the breast in size with proportion of the rest of your body. A breast reduction most often can be conducted as an outpatient procedure and does not require an overnight hospital stay. The recovery is a few weeks, and scars tend to heal well.
If you are thinking whether undergoing a breast reduction is the right choice for you then do not hesitate and call OAS Plastic Surgery right now.
CANDIDATES
- Heavy breasts that limit exercise or movement and/or cause pain
- Polycystic mastitis, which are breast infections that results from cystic breasts
- Sufferers of back, neck, shoulder, or breast pain due to the size of their breasts
- Patients who experience numbness or tingling in their breasts, arms, or fingers due to their heavy breasts
- Patients who have sleep disturbances or poor posture resulting from heavy breasts
- Patients with grooves in their back from their bra-straps
- Patients with scarlike lines on their breasts
TYPES
PEDICLE METHOD
The most common type of breast reduction surgery is called the pedicle method. This method has the benefits of maintaining function and sensation of the nipples and breast, while reducing the contour, volume, and size of the breasts themselves. There are two kinds of pedicle methods: the inferior pedicle method and the superior pedicle method.
INFERIOR PEDICLE METHOD
In this method, the lower part of the breast is repositioned, yet the nipple and areola connected to the tissue are kept in place. As a result, blood supply is maintained, and the nerves in the breast remain connected. This method is one of the lowest in the risk of losing sensation in the nipples, and also may allow women the ability to still breastfeed after full recovery from surgery.
SUPERIOR PEDICLE METHOD
In this method, the nipple/areola remain attached to the tissue in the upper part of the breast, thereby maintaining blood supply and nerve connectivity. This method helps remove the lower hanging tissue of the bottom half of the breast, and may produce a desired projection of the breast, or “perkiness.” Like the inferior pedicle method, this method also has a low risk for sensation loss in the breast and may allow for breastfeeding after full healing from surgery.
FREE NIPPLE GRAFT
This method of breast reduction surgery requires removing the nipple from the breast itself and then returning back to the breast through a skin graft. No pedicle is involved in this procedure because no blood supply is used from the breast. Instead, the blood supply for the free nipple graft is taken from the deep dermis, also known as the second layer of skin. Because complications may result from this method, it is not as commonly used.
ANCHOR INCISION PATTERN
This incision pattern is one of the most common used techniques in breast reduction surgery. Basically, a circular incision is made around the areola in the front of the breast and down to the chest wall. Then the incision is followed through horizontally along the underside fold of the breast to form the shape of an anchor.
LEJOUR INCISION PATTERN
The LeJour incision pattern is another popular breast reduction technique, though fairly new. It requires cutting a circular shape around the areola and then cutting vertically into the front of the breast down to the chest wall. Unlike in the anchor incision pattern, the fold of the breast is not cut into horizontally.
PROCEDURE
Breast reduction surgery is usually performed via incisions on your breasts followed by removal of excess fat, glandular tissue, and skin. In some cases, excess fat may be removed by the excision techniques in combination with liposuction. If your breast size is mostly due to fatty tissue and excess skin, then sometimes Dr. Suarez may elect to only do liposuction. The surgery itself takes two to five hours, sometimes more.
The four steps to the procedure are anesthesia, the incision itself, removing tissue and repositioning, and finally closing the incisions. Depending on your discussion with Dr. Suarez, you may undergo intravenous sedation or general anesthesia.
Dr. Suarez will make sure scarring is minimal and not noticeable. Most patients are sent home the same day after surgery.
RECOVERY
The recovery process for a breast reduction procedure will depend on each patient. Dr. Suarez will hand you a specific and detailed recovery plan and it should be followed as recommended for optimal results. You will need to take at least one week off from work or school; in fewer cases, some people need a full two weeks of recovery time.
Dr. Suarez will instruct you regarding follow-up appointments for removing bandages and sutures. During recovery, you will need to stop exercising for one full month. You should expect to experience some fatigue and have some breast pain. Dr. Suarez will give you an oral painkiller to help you for the first few days after surgery. You will also want to help reduce swelling by using ice packs.
COST
The costs of breast reduction can vary based on your specific needs. Dr. Suarez’s team will provide costs for each procedure during your consultation.
If you are considering a breast reduction to help you live a more active, pain-free live without symptoms caused by heavy breasts, schedule your consultation now.