Breast Reduction.

You may have read about a lot of celebrities who opt for breast augmentation surgery, but not so much about women who agree to have breast reduction surgery instead. Who would qualify to have breast reduction in the first place?

First of all, women who have oversized breasts may suffer some pain when they are walking or jogging, or even when not in motion. Such women would probably need breast reduction surgery. Other women may feel self-conscious because the size of their breasts draws unwanted attention from other people. Such women may also opt for breast reduction too. The doctor may agree to do breast reduction even in patients who are teenagers if these two scenarios are true for them.

A woman who has medical problems though (such as kidney, lung, or heart problems) or is severely overweight will probably not be advised to undergo breast reduction. This also applies to a woman who intends to breastfeed.

Breast reduction is advisable when the oversized breasts are believed to cause significant health risks such as breathing difficulties, poor posture, neck pain, back pain, and even skeletal deformities. Other problems that oversized breasts may cause are insomnia, problems with movement, and even skin infections and rashes when the skin under the breast tends to rub against the skin of the torso. An oversized breast may be so heavy that the bra straps tend to chafe the skin of the shoulders, as well as the skin beneath the breasts.

Breast reduction surgery may have its own set of side effects. The patient could react negatively to the anesthesia. The cuts on the breasts may get infected or start bleeding on their own. The patient might also experience some pain following surgery which may necessitate medication or more sessions with the surgeon.

Because some skin tissue has to be cut away during breast reduction, the patient might encounter possible nerve damage or a reduction in blood supply – this may result in temporary and even permanent loss of sensation in the nipple area or throughout the breast. Another possible result is the permanent loss of sensation because the nipple and areola were cut away from underlying blood vessels and nerves due to the size of the breast.

Breast reduction surgery does leave scars on the breasts with horizontal and vertical cuts being the most visible sites of scars, even when the wounds have completely healed. Women who smoke often exhibit breast reduction scars that are larger than those of women who don’t smoke. The scars from surgery may also be quite big depending on the extent of bruising and bleeding the breasts undergo. If you are concerned about scarring from your surgery, discuss with your surgeon what he can do during breast reduction surgery to lessen the chances that you will have more scars than expected.

Lastly, breast reduction may leave your breasts unequal in size and shape. If you are worried this will be the case, ask your doctor about his breast reduction surgical plan so that you will be left with breasts that look relatively normal.