CASE STUDY – BREAST REDUCTION

This 56-year-old patient had always had large breasts. Over time, she developed back, shoulder and neck pain. She felt that her breasts were very heavy. She also felt self-conscience about the size of her breasts and had trouble finding clothes and bras that fit.

Her breasts were very large, heavy, and dense. She was thought to be a good candidate for a Breast Reduction.

She underwent a Breast Reduction surgery. This was done under general anesthesia (she was asleep) as an outpatient (she got to go home the same day) in our office operating room. Skin was removed from the bottom of her breasts and around the nipples. The nipples are usually made smaller. Smaller nipples are more youthful, but they can be made almost any size you want. Very, very large breasts may require a different technique for the nipple called a Free Nipple Graft. Excess breast tissue was then removed, and the incisions were closed. All the stiches were under the skin and there were no drains. The surgery took about 3 hours, and she spent another hour or two in the recovery room before going home.

Everyone thinks “These are breasts. It’s really going to hurt!”.  We used a long-acting numbing medication, as well as oral pain medications, and her recovery was well tolerated. She had no complications. Most patients will not end up with two perfect, mirror image breasts, but they will be close. At first, her breasts were too full on top, as planned.  It took about 3-4 months to get her final shape. The “After” picture above is about 4 months after her surgery.

I always ask my patients what cup size they want to end up having. But I tell them it is a trick question because there is no calculation or formula where I remove a certain amount of breast tissue and end up with a certain cup size. Plus, bra sizes are so different between manufacturers. It is really all about proportion. Most breast reduction patients want to be proportional or smaller than proportional, and they want their breasts to be perkier.