Objective
Patients who undergo breast reduction surgery are often seeking relief from the physical symptoms caused by the excessive weight of their large breasts. Breast reduction surgery decreases the size and weight of the breast, lifts and reshapes the breast, elevates the nipple and reduces the size of the areola. All this, in the goal of improving back, neck and shoulder pain as well as headaches. However, the benefits of a breast reduction are NOT limited to relief from neck and back pain. They also include a significant improvement in breast size and shape, as breasts are always “lifted” during the procedure. Smaller, perkier breasts lead to improved body proportion and can make it easier to find clothing that fits. The RAMQ insures breast reduction surgery if a volume of 250 grams is removed from each breast.
The Procedure
A breast reduction surgery has 2 important components: reducing the size/weight of your breasts AND the cosmetic aspect, which involves ‘lifting” your breasts to restore its pleasant contours and achieve a nice, perky shape. During the operation, the surgeon will remove a portion of the gland and fatty tissue within the breasts to reduce their size and weight, re-shape the glandular/fatty tissue to create rounder, perkier breasts, reduce the diameter of the areolae so they are in proportion with the reduced breasts, reposition nipples/areolae that are too low, remove and re-drape the excess, sagging skin, leading to tighter skin and a perkier appearance and, improve asymmetries in size and shape.
During your consultation with your surgeon, they will discuss the potential complications that may occur following a breast reduction. Some of these are discussed below:
The most frequent and simple complications to treat are: wound healing problems, infection, bleeding and fluid collection. It is rare to have patients return to surgery: this may happen for a hematoma (accumulation of blood in the breast) in 1/200 cases.
Breast reduction surgery decreases the breast flow to the nipple by reducing the quantity of mammary gland and changing the nipple position. Nipple necrosis (loss of the nipple) can occur if there is not enough blood flow to the nipple, in approximately 1/400 cases.
The breast skin, nipple and areola sensitivity may decrease, increase or remain the same after surgery. Approximately 85% of patients recover normal nipple sensitivity after surgery. Most patients can experience decreased skin or nipple sensitivity immediately after surgery. Most often, normal sensation returns, but some can experience hypersensitivity or discomfort as normal sensation returns. At times, even the touch of clothing on the skin can be intolerable. With time, these sensations disappear.
Breast reduction can lead to a diminished capacity to produce breast milk. As breast reduction surgery reduces the quantity of breast gland, the breast may produce less milk. In summary, 1/3 of patients who have had a breast reduction will not be able to breast-feed, another 1/3 will have to supplement breast feeding with bottled milk, and 1/3 will be able to breast feed without any issues.