Breast Reduction Surgery
What is a breast reduction/reduction mammaplasty?
Breast reduction is also known as reduction mammaplasty. It is a surgical procedure that reduces the size of overly large breasts (macromastia).
What is the aim of reduction mammaplasty?
The aim of reduction mammaplasty is to reduce the size of overly large breasts (macromastia). Macromastia can cause health and emotional issues for some women. These include chronic back, neck and shoulder pain that requires pain medication, nerve pain, chronic skin irritations and rash under the breasts.
This procedure removes some breast tissue from either one or both breasts. The tissue of the breast and the breast skin will also be surgically rearranged, so that the nipple will be lifted and the shape of the breast improved. The aim is to achieve a breast size in proportion with your body and alleviate the discomfort associated with overly large breasts.
How long is the operation and what is recovery like?
A/Prof Mak or Dr Graham will mark a pattern of the surgery on the breast and surrounding skin immediately before the operation. The operation commonly takes 3 to 4 hours. You will usually stay in hospital for one to two nights, unless there are complications, in which case there may be a longer stay in hospital. It takes two to four weeks to heal.
Will I have scarring?
Scars are an inevitable part of any surgery. Your surgeon will discuss the scar that you will have, but in most cases, an “anchor” scar is used for reduction mammaplasty for large breasts. This involves a circle scar around the nipple, a vertical scar running from the nipple to the crease under the breast and a scar along the crease under the breast. Every effort is made to minimise scarring and to keep your scars as inconspicuous as possible.
What are the longer-term consequences of having reduction mammaplasty?
Some patients have differing amounts of post-operative pain in each breast. There may be some tender spots, but these are usually temporary. Increasing or severe post-operative pain is usually a sign of complications and the surgeon should be notified immediately.
There is no evidence that this operation will cause breast cancer. Once healed, normal breast examinations can be done. Sometimes lumps can form in the breast due to impaired blood supply to areas of tissue called “fat necrosis”. These firm lump(s) in your breast are not cancerous and can be assessed by mammogram and/or ultrasound, but may need to be biopsied to make sure they are not of any concern.
It is important to know that breast feeding after reduction mammaplasty may not be possible. Part of the breast tissue may be separated from the normal anatomy of the ducts and the nipple. This means milk output may be reduced.
Symptom relief is the aim of this surgery. Symmetry between the two breasts may not be achievable, variations may occur in breast size and shape. If complications arise, further surgery may be required.
What are the risks?
All operations have potential side effects and complications. Fortunately, these are uncommon and surgery usually proceeds without any problems. A/Prof Mak or Dr Graham will discuss the risks and possible complications with you in detail at your consultation.
These complications include but are not limited to pain, bleeding, infection, need for further surgery, loss of skin and nipple sensation, wound healing problems, impaired blood supply resulting in skin and nipple loss, breast and nipple asymmetry and seroma.
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A/Prof Mak and Dr Graham advocate the National Law and Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) guidelines that any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.