Overly large breasts can cause some women to have both health and emotional problems. In addition to self-image issues, some also experience physical pain and discomfort. The weight of excess breast tissue can impair a woman’s ability to lead an active life. The emotional discomfort and self-consciousness often associated with having large pendulous breasts is as important an issue to many women as the physical discomfort and pain.

Breast reduction surgery removes excess breast fat, glandular tissue and skin to achieve a breast size in proportion with a woman’s body while it alleviates the discomfort associated with overly large breasts.

Good candidates for breast reduction:

Breast reduction is a highly individualized procedure and should not be done to fulfill someone else’s desires or to fit any sort of ideal image. It is best performed on patients who:

• Are healthy & who don’t have a life-threatening illness or medical conditions that can impair healing

• Do not smoke

• Have a positive outlook and specific, realistic goals in mind

• Have breasts that are too large

• Experience back, neck and shoulder pain caused by the breast weight

• Have indentations from bra straps that support heavy, pendulous breasts

• Have skin irritation beneath the breast crease

• Have stretched skin and breasts that hang low

• Have enlarged areolas caused by stretched skin

The Surgery

Breast reduction surgery is usually performed through incisions on the breast with surgical removal of excess fat, glandular tissue and skin. In some cases, excess fat is removed through liposuction in conjunction with the excision techniques described below.

The technique used to reduce breast size will be determined by the individual patient’s condition, breast composition, amount of desired reduction, personal preference and surgeon’s advise.

Step 1 – Anesthesia

Anesthesia will be administered by a board-certified M.D. anesthesiologist.

Step 2 – The Incision

Breast reduction surgery can be achieved through a variety of incision patterns and techniques. Common incision sites are 1) around the areola, 2) a keyhole or racquet-shaped pattern with an incision around the areola and vertically down to the breast crease, and 3) an inverted T or anchor-shaped incision pattern.

Step 3 – Removing tissue and repositioning

After the incision is made, the nipple, which remains tethered to its original blood and nerve supply, is then repositioned. The areola is reduced by excising skin at the perimeter if necessary. Underlying breast tissue is reduced, lifted and shaped. Occasionally, for extremely large pendulous breasts, the nipple and areola may need to be removed and transplanted to a higher position on the breast (free nipple graft).

Step 4 – Closing the incisions

Incisions are brought together to reshape the now smaller breasts. Sutures are layered deep within the breast tissue to create and support the newly-shaped breasts. Incision lines are permanent but in most cases will fade and significantly improve over time.

Step 5 – See the results

The visible improvements of a breast reduction are immediate. Over time, post-surgical swelling will resolve and incision lines will fade. Your final result should restore a more youthful and uplifted position and also help you feel more confident about yourself.

Making the Wise Choice

Plastic surgery involves many choices. The first and most important is selecting a surgeon you can trust. A doctor’s board certification is one of the best indicators of his or her training. Ask for certification from The American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS), the only one of 24 boards approved by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) that certifies physicians in plastic surgery of the face and all areas of the body. To be ABPS board-certified, a physician must meet these rigorous standards:

• Graduate from an accredited medical school

• Complete at least five years of surgical training following medical school with a minimum of two years of plastic surgery residency training

• Pass comprehensive oral and written exams

For more information on breast reduction surgery, contact Oklahoma-based cosmetic surgeon  Dr. Tim Love's office today.