Womens Health in the News

Excessively large breasts can cause a woman a variety of problems due to the amount of weight they have to carry, common problems are back complaints, pains in the neck and shoulders, problems with breathing and they can even cause skeletal deformities. They can also cause problems with the woman’s self-esteem and make them feel very self-conscious and a breast reduction or mammoplasty reduction can often be the only option left open to them.

Who makes a suitable candidate for the breast reduction?

A breast reduction will normally be performed for medical reasons rather than cosmetic ones and they are usually only performed on women whose breasts have fully developed, although in certain cases it can be done earlier if they are causing a great deal of discomfort.

The usual candidate for this type of surgery is the woman who is having severe problems with their health due to excessively large sagging breasts which are causing severe discomfort physically and problems with low self-esteem.

The surgery and recovery

The surgeon will probably want you to have a mammogram before they perform the surgery and the techniques for the surgery will vary from surgeon to surgeon but the most common procedure involves an anchor shaped incision being made around the nipple down the breast and following the natural outline of the breast.

The surgeon will then remove any excess glandular tissue, fat and skin and will move the nipple and areola to their new place on the breast. During this procedure, the surgeon might use liposuction to draw out any excess fat especially around the underarm area.

Sometimes when the breasts are extremely large then the nipples may have to be completely removed when this happens they will be re-grafted back and when this happens the areola and nipple will lose their sensitivity.

After the surgery you will be given a special surgical bra which you must wear for several weeks afterward, your breasts may feel sore for a while afterwards but this is only natural.

The bandages will be removed in a couple of days but you must wear the special support bra around the clock, the stitches will be removed around one to three weeks and the first time you get your period following the surgery your breasts may swell and hurt.

You should avoid doing anything strenuous such as lifting or pushing anything heavy for three to four weeks after your surgery but you should be able to return to work within a week. Much of the swelling and bruising should disappear in the first few weeks but it could be up to 12 months before your breasts settle down into their true shape.