Top 5 Breast Reduction Surprises
In our experience performing breast reduction for New York women, we’ve found that there’s sometimes a difference between this group of patients and others. Those who are planning to enhance or rejuvenate their appearance—with a procedure such as breast augmentation or a facelift—are often well plugged in to the world of plastic surgery and know a great deal about the operation they’re considering. Breast reduction candidates, being primarily motivated to seek “relief,” may not have the same level of familiarity.
Here are some leading facts about breast reduction women sometimes don’t know when they are longing to ease the burden of overly large breasts.
Breast reduction is normally an outpatient procedure. It may seem at first that surgery could be a daunting prospect, but that really isn’t the case. The procedure doesn’t reach into the abdominal cavity, so the only tissues impacted are fat, breast gland and skin. Most of the time, patients are only under anesthesia for about two to three hours or so and go home soon after a short period of initial recovery.
We perform breast reduction in New York in our fully inspected and accredited outpatient surgical suite, and most women can have twilight (or intravenous) sedation instead of general anesthesia (with its adverse side effects). Many of our patients are surprised at how tolerable the procedure is.
Breast reduction can be performed for nearly all ages. Younger women offer suffer a great deal with oversized breasts, having to handle unwanted attention and perhaps curtail physical and social activities. We have operated on patients as young as 17—similar to Ariel Winter, the young actress who went public about her surgery a few years ago.
Older women who may not have thought about breast reduction when they were young sometimes consider it as they age and their skin gives up the elasticity needed to support large breasts. We perform a variety of cosmetic surgeries for patients in their 60’s and even 70’s. Good health is the requirement, not a certain age.
Breasts don’t have to be extra large to qualify. Women and girls with small frames may find that breasts that might be considered “normal” on someone else are troublesome. Not everyone feels their best in a D cup, especially people who enjoy athletics like gymnastics, bodybuilding, dancing and so on.
We are happy to perform female-to-male “top surgery” for transgender individuals too. In that case, of course, the breasts can be any size and surgical strategy will vary depending on the amount of tissue removed.
Patients aren’t usually bothered by scars. Scarring is inevitable after any surgery, and breast surgery is no exception. We find that the vast majority of our New York breast reduction patients are happy to trade heavy breasts, a sore back and neck, bra strap grooves, rashes and a top heavy figure for scars that fade over time.
Most women require incisions around the areolas. These become nearly invisible after healing. Vertical incisions are also made from the areola downward to the breast fold, in most cases, and some extra large women need incisions extending under the breasts. These latter scars are permanent, but the thin red lines become light colored over time and usually seem unnoticeable.
Breast reduction patients are among the happiest of all. Recent research in Australia confirms that breast reduction surgery offers women many benefits, and they’re not confined to the obvious physical and psychological gains. More than 150 women studied reported increased satisfaction with their sex life after breast reduction surgery, and, in fact, the research group indicated greater than average satisfaction with their overall quality of life.
Websites that offer reviews of various plastic surgeries also say that breast reduction patients are almost universally pleased with their results. RealSelf, one of the leading sites for this kind of information, notes that 97% of reviewers say breast reduction is “worth it.”
Is breast reduction surgery for you? We understand if you feel that “you’re not the kind of person” to seek cosmetic surgery. We’ve heard that from many patients—both female and male—wanting to reduce the size of their breasts! We can assure you that in our experience, the most common reaction we hear after surgery is, “I should have done this years ago!”
Why not make an appointment to learn more? We’ll be glad to share everything we know and leave the decision up to you.
