What is Breast Reduction Surgery?

Why it’s done

There are many benefits in opting for breast reduction. First of all, it should be noted that an overly large breast can cause health problems. Indeed, if your breasts are too large, they can cause pain in your back, your shoulders or your chest. And over time, these problems can have a negative impact on your sleep, your lifestyle and especially on your posture. In addition, breast enlargement, whether congenital or hormonal, can cause psychological problems in women. Thus, to alleviate all these problems, to avoid unpleasant surprises and to maintain good health, it is preferable to turn to breast reduction surgery.

But contacting a professional in the field of cosmetic surgery to reduce the breasts is not only for the purpose of maintaining good health, but also for the purpose of being fully fit. Indeed, the more time passes, the more you may encounter worries such as finding undergarments adapted to your breasts, exposing your body in public and even stripping in intimacy with your partner. The ideal solution is to undergo a breast reduction surgery in order to adopt breasts whose volume is appropriate to your figure, age and shape. After all, this is what all women are looking for, to create harmony with all the parts of their body in order to look beautiful.

How you prepare

If you are a smoker, it is imperative to stop smoking at least three weeks before the breast reduction surgery and up to one month after. Indeed, smoking increases the operative complications related to general anesthesia. It delays healing and increases the risk of necrosis and infection, with a risk of prolonged aesthetic sequelae.

No medication containing aspirin should be taken in the 10 days preceding the operation. The discontinuation of certain specific treatments is discussed during the consultation with the plastic surgeon. The day before or the morning of the surgery, preoperative drawings are made on your chest. The incision lines are marked by measuring specific reference points on the breast. These lines serve as reference points so that the shape of the breast after surgery can be anticipated.

You will give your signed consent form for the procedure to the team.

What you can expect

During the procedure

Breast reduction surgery is always performed under general anesthesia, and most often requires an overnight stay in the hospital.

Sometimes the plastic surgeon recommends an additional night of hospitalization if the reduction is particularly important, or if the patient lives far from the place where she will have this cosmetic surgery.

The procedure of breast reduction lasts between 2 and 2 1/2 hours, depending on the technique used.

There are three main surgical techniques of breast reduction, used according to the volume of breast removed:

• If it is small, without associated ptosis: a simple incision around the areola is sufficient.
• If it is medium, with a slight ptosis, two incisions are made: one around the areola and another vertical, between the nipple and the lower part of the breast.
• If it is large and associated with significant ptosis, three incisions are necessary: one periareolar, one vertical and one under the breast, hidden in the sub-breast fold. The scar is said to be in the shape of an inverted T.

The mammary gland removed during the operation is systematically sent to anatomopathology, to be analyzed and weighed precisely.

After the procedure

After a breast reduction, healing takes about two weeks, and the patient must wear a support bra:

• night and day for one month ;
• then only during the day for a second month.

Post-operative pain is moderate and is generally relieved with conventional painkillers. A convalescence will be observed for one to three weeks depending on the case.

The patient can return to sports after 6 weeks.

Scars must be protected from the sun for at least one year. As long as the scars are pink, they must absolutely be protected from the sun at the risk that they turn brown and remain darker than the skin. It is therefore necessary to wait until the scars turn white before considering exposing them to the sun. It is normal for the scar to become thicker and redder during the first few months. This aspect is related to the inflammatory reaction of any scarring and takes twelve to eighteen months to improve and stabilize. Sometimes the scar has an abnormal evolution, thickening or swelling persisting beyond one year. These are called hypertrophic scars or keloids (more frequent on black skin). These scars can occur unpredictably and may require special treatment. It is important to know that scars in general will fade and be less visible, but will not disappear.

After the operation, the breast will initially be very high and round. It will take its final shape only about three months later.

It is important to specify that, if the architecture of the breast can be modified by a breast reduction, this does not affect in any way the surveillance for breast cancer.

Results

The result is immediate, but the final appearance is only obtained once the edema is completely reabsorbed after about 3 months. It is necessary to wait an average of one year to appreciate the final result.

During the first few months, the scars are visible, often pink or even red, but they are hidden by the underwear. As with any healing process, they may thicken with the risk of hypertrophic evolution (raised scars), which will require a specific treatment, such as the application of a cream. If imperfections persist (surface irregularities, asymmetry), surgical treatment, such as scar correction, can be proposed, but not before six months.

With time or in case of weight loss, sagging skin may reappear, affecting the shape of the breast