Breast Reduction Before and After Photos

If you feel your breasts are too large, worried about the size and shape and are getting in the way – literally – then you are an ideal candidate for breast reduction surgery.

You will stay in hospital for at least one night following your surgery. This allows for close monitoring of your drains, optimal pain control and for you to have a good night’s rest. Once you are comfortable and able to get to and from the bathroom, you can go home. You’ll be given prescriptions for antibiotics and pain medication at this time.

You’ll need to stay around the house for two to three days once you get home, and also eat lightly and drink plenty of fluids during this time.

You will see Dr Hunt a few days after your surgery. At this time he’ll check on your progress and how you’re feeling, remove the drains and if necessary, change your dressing.

You’ll then see Dr Hunt again at two weeks, three months and 12 months. Your health and satisfaction are his highest priority.

You should plan to take at two weeks off work.

Breast reduction surgery (a reduction mammoplasty) aims to give you smaller, firmer, better-shaped breasts, which are in proportion to the rest of your body. It will also reduce the size of the areola – the darker skin surrounding the nipple. The benefits on your quality of life can be enormous after breast reduction surgery, and the procedure has a high level of patient satisfaction, as it is able to immediately relieve the physical discomfort suffered by many patients.

Breast reduction is designed to relieve the pain and discomfort of large breasts by creating smaller and firmer breasts that are more in proportion with the rest of your body. It can also reduce the size of the areola, the darker skin around the nipple. Large breasts can be a pain in the neck, literally. They can also cause back pain, reduce your ability to exercise, lead to skin irritation and even make it difficult to breathe.

If you’re unsure about whether breast reduction is right for you, there are some basic questions you can ask yourself:

• Is the size of my breasts affecting my quality of life?
• Have I done any research about the procedure?
• What are my expectations? What do I hope to achieve with breast reduction surgery?

Once you have decided, it’s time to speak to a plastic surgeon.

Your breast reduction surgery will be performed at your choice of hospital, following a general anesthetic administered by one of Dr Hunt’s personally-selected anesthetists.

The most common technique involves an incision circling the areola, then extending down and outwards along the natural curve underneath the breast, in the shape of an upside down letter T.

This allows excess skin and tissue to be gently removed, before Dr Hunt moves the nipples into their ideal position. Liposuction may also be used to remove any excess fat from the armpit area.

In the majority of cases, the nipples remain attached to their blood vessels and nerves, minimizing any loss of sensation.

After surgery, a drain will be inserted into each breast, and you will wear a surgical bra with gauze over your incisions. This serves as your dressing.

Breast reduction surgery should be performed under a general anaesthetic, given by an anaesthetist, in an accredited hospital, so you are assured of the highest standard of care and safety.

The surgical techniques used for breast reduction vary, but the most common procedure involves an upside-down T-shaped incision that circles the areola, extends downward, and follows the natural curve of the crease beneath the breast. The nipples are then moved into their new position and the skin from both sides of the breast is brought down and around the areola, shaping the new contour of the breast. Liposuction may be used to remove excess fat from the armpit area.

Occasionally, when only fat needs to be removed, breast liposuction alone can be used to reduce breast size, leaving minimal scarring.

The most common surgical technique involves an upside-down T-shaped incision (Anchor incision) that starts at the nipple, extends downwards and then follows the natural curve of the crease beneath the breast. In most cases the nipples remain attached to their blood vessels and nerves. However, on larger breasts, the nipples may have to be completely removed and reset into a higher position leading to a loss of sensation in the nipple and areolar tissue. Any excess fat can be removed through liposuction.

Though scarring may take up to 18 months to fade into faint lines, satisfaction with your new image should be immediate and will continue to grow. With careful consideration of your reasons for breast reduction surgery and thorough research with the help of your plastic surgeon, previous physical and emotional complaints will disappear as your new, firmer breast size brings a huge boost to your confidence.

Breast Reduction surgery can be performed at almost any age but is best when your breasts are fully developed. Things to keep in mind include:

• Your ability to breastfeed following surgery may change
• Changes in breasts during pregnancy or with significant weight loss or gain can alter the outcomes of breast reduction surgery
• Surgery is often covered by health insurance if it is performed to relieve medical symptoms
• Teen Breast Reduction for under 18 y.o. needs parental consent and must follow a special process including a 3 month cooling off period

No. In theory, the occurrence of breast cancer is decreased by breast reduction surgery. This is because some breast glandular tissue, that could potentially become cancerous, is removed. A twin who has breast reduction surgery has less risk of breast cancer than a twin who did not have surgery.

Mammography after breast reduction surgery is still as effective as before the procedure for the detection of breast cancer in these patients.

The majority of mothers can breastfeed following a breast reduction. Bear in mind that not all women can breastfeed, and there is a small percentage of mothers that can’t breastfeed. There is a slight reduction in the ability to breastfeed after breast reduction surgery, but most women still are able to.

The ability to breastfeed is usually maintained because at the time of breast reduction surgery as the glandular breast tissue is left attached to the nipple/areola allowing the mother’s milk production to reach the nipple for breastfeeding.

Modern techniques of breast reduction surgery preserve the nerves to the breast. The majority of people report no change in nipple sensation after surgery, though some will have a slight decrease in sensation. It is rare to have loss of sensation and some people report an increase in sensation as the dragging weight is taken off the nerves to the nipple.

The best result is the best-shaped breast with the best scars. Scars are inevitable, as incisions heal. However most scars usually fade to a fine line, and the satisfaction of the result of breast reduction surgery far outweighs the concern of the scarring. The scar will depend on the breast reduction technique used, and the scar may only be around the nipple, around the nipple with a vertical scar known as the ‘lollipop scar”, or around the nipple with vertical scar and scar under the fold of the breast the “inverted T scar”. It is important to remember the best result is the best-shaped breast and scar will fade to a fine line over time.

The scars resulting from breast reduction surgery do fade with time, and the use of scar technique management after the surgery will ensure the scars are as minimal as possible.

A breast reduction will reduce the volume of the breast and reshape the breast mound. This involves lifting the remaining breast tissue into a position above the fold under the breast and also elevating the nipple at the same time.

The result is a smaller breast mound in an elevated position with the nipple on the top of the mound.

There are Medicare item numbers that recognise breast reduction surgery because of the functional disability that large hanging breasts can cause.

To be eligible for a Medicare breast reduction you’ll need to be assessed by a plastic surgeon. Although Medicare may recognise the need for the procedure on medical grounds and you may fulfil the criteria for the breast reduction under Medicare, few Plastic Surgeons have the option of performing the surgery in a Public Hospital due to funding restrictions placed on public hospitals by Medicare.

If you meet the criteria for Medicare to cover your breast reduction, then Private health insurance will recognise it as well. This means that depending on the level of your cover, Private Health Insurance will cover most of the hospital costs and some of the surgical fee or surgical cost, but there will most likely be a “gap cost” or out-of-pocket cost.

• Breast Fat Transfer
• Breast Augmentation
• Breast Lift
• Breast Reconstruction
• Breast Asymmetry
• Tuberous Breast Correction
• Breast Implant Revision
• Breast Implant Removal
• Breast Implant Replacement
• Inverted Nipple Correction