Excessively large, drooping breasts may result in symptoms such as back, neck,
and shoulder pain, skin irritation, shoulder grooving or bruising from bra straps,
difficulty or pain with exercise, and arm numbness. Women report difficulty finding
clothes which fit and support properly, problems with fitting into airplane or car seats,
difficulty with sitting in narrow restaurant booths and feeling self conscious in a variety
of situations. Breast reduction surgery removes excess skin, fat and breast tissue to
produce a breast shape and size in proportion with your body and to alleviate discomfort
from breast weight. The nipple and areola complex if too large may be reduced in size
and is shifted into a higher, perkier, more appropriate position. In most situations,
the breast tissue directly behind the nipple and areolar complex is preserved in order
to keep the blood flow intact (pedicled breast reduction) with a maximal chance for
nipple sensation and future breast feeding. In cases where the breast is very large,
the nipple and areolar complex is very low on the chest and a small breast size is desired,
it may be recommended to remove the nipple and areolar complex and replace it as a
skin graft (free nipple graft). Nipple grafts do not have sensation and do not have
breast feeding potential.
Some breast reductions may be covered under your insurance plan. Most
require documentation through your primary care provider of functional
problem/symptoms for greater than one year with three months of failure of
conservative therapy (muscle relaxants or ibuprofen related medications,
chiropractic therapy, physical therapy, yeast rash prescription creams,
or custom fitted wide strapped bras). Most require a specific amount of
breast tissue to be removed from each breast based upon the woman’s height
and weight (see your insurance provider’s medical policy guidelines for
breast reduction for specific details.) Dr. Lu can estimate the amount of
breast tissue that can be removed from your breasts at your initial consultation.
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