The breasts of a woman are one of the most significant features of her appearance. If a woman is not happy with her breasts, this will influence the way with which she holds herself before the world and will have a direct negative effect in her overall appearance.
Women with pendulous breasts may suffer from many physical ailments, but most importantly, they affect the woman’s self-image, making her feel extremely self-conscious about the way she looks. She may refrain from participating in certain activities, such as sports, due to the size of her breasts and can become easily depressed. This condition can also bring unwanted attention and comments, not to mention the fact that these women usually find it difficult to find comfortable clothes.
A breast reduction surgery, also known as mammaplasty, is directed towards those women who possess overly large breasts. By changing their shape and decreasing their size, a woman will feel the direct alleviation of the discomfort that large breasts often bring, especially in the shoulders, upper back and neck. Due to this condition, women can also suffer from excessive rashes and sweating.
This technique basically works through the removal of skin, glandular tissue and fat from the breasts and thus making them firmer, lighter and most importantly, smaller. The objective of this surgery is to provide an improved shape of the breasts in proportion to the rest of the body.
Breast Reduction Prices
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What Can I Expect
Whenever it comes to plastic surgery, you need to keep in mind that no procedure will ever provide an ‘ideal’ aspect to your body. The aim of cosmetic treatment is to achieve an improvement, to enhance your appearance. This can help you boost your self-confidence and make you feel better about yourself, while keeping realistic expectations. This is one of the core values we have here at HCR; we want our clients to be completely satisfied with the results of their surgery and to heighten their self-assurance.
An ideal candidate for a mammaplasty is a female who is 18 or older, in good physical health, whose large breast size limits her activity and gives her physical discomfort. Also, she should not be breast feeding or shouldn’t have plans to breastfeed in the future.
In the majority of cases, this procedure is actually performed to alleviate physical discomfort instead of providing an esthetic enhancement. It is performed when a female’s breast are completely developed, since if it is done earlier than that, it can bring serious repercussions.
Keep in mind that this surgery does leave evident scars, but most of the time, these can be hidden beneath your bathing suit or bra.
Surgery Planning
As with every other procedure, HCR strongly advises patients to have a detailed discussion with their plastic surgeon before the surgery is performed. By doing so, both parties have the opportunity to contribute in the whole process and to increase the client’s level of satisfaction. When speaking with your doctor, please feel free to talk openly and to express your doubts as well as your expectations. Your surgeon will help determine what isn’t or what is possible to accomplish, helping you to improve your looks in the best way possible.
In this initial discussion, your doctor will explain all that the surgery implies, from where it will be performed, the cost of the procedure, the risks it may entail, the recovery process and every other detail so that you are completely informed. You will most likely be required to take a mammogram before the procedure as well. All the different aspects of the surgery you are willing to undertake must be extremely clear to you.
During this first consultation, your doctor will examine your breasts and will most likely take photographs of them for your medical records. Your surgeon will discuss all the details concerning breast size, shape, condition of your skin and age with you, so that everything is extremely clear. Also, you can discuss the position of the nipples and areola, since they will be moved higher during the surgery.
The Procedure
This surgery is performed using general anesthetic and you will need to stay at the hospital overnight and in some cases, even longer.
Specific approaches to breast reduction vary from surgeon to surgeon, however, in the majority of cases, incisions are made around the circle of the areola and then extended downwards while following the natural curve of the breast. Once the incisions are made successfully, the doctor proceeds with the removal of skin, glandular tissue and fat; liposuction may be used to remove surplus fat from the armpits for a more esthetic result.
When this removal of tissue is done, the skin of the breasts is then brought down and the reshaping of the breast begins, giving it its new curve. The nipples and areolas are then moved upwards, according to the previous agreement you have reached with your doctor.
The nipples remain connected to their nerves and blood vessels most of the time; nonetheless, if the breasts are very large, they may have to be completely removed and placed into a higher position.
Once this is done, the surgeon proceeds to stitch the incisions (usually around the areola) in a vertical line as well as beneath the breast. The whole procedure usually takes from 3 to 5 hours.
Prior to the operation, your surgeon will wrap your breasts in an elastic bandage or will give a surgical bra; to help with the blood drainage and fluids, a small tube may be placed in each breast for the first couple of days
Post-Op – After Surgery
During the initial days of your recovery, you can expect to feel a certain degree of pain when you move around, laugh or cough. However, keep in mind that this can be treated with prescribed painkillers which can make it easier for you and you will be up and about in no time. You can also expect some swelling and bruising, but this will eventually subside with time. Keep in mind that this swelling usually causes a loss of feeling in your nipples and breasts.
After the first couple of days, the bandages will be removed, even though you will still have to wear the surgical bra (24/7) for several more weeks, until the swelling disappears. Stitches are taken off around 2 weeks after the operation.
It is recommended that you rest as much as possible for the first 2 weeks and try to avoid raising your arms as much as possible as well as pushing or lifting heavy objects.
Most women usually return to their normal activities (not including anything strenuous) after these two weeks. You must refrain from making exercise apart from bending and stretching. Eventually, you will be able to regain your usual energy levels since you will probably feel tired during the whole recovery period.
Bear in mind that you will have to avoid sexual activity for at least 2 weeks, since arousal can cause your stitches to swell. Hence, your breasts should have only gentle contact for at least a month.
You may find that the skin of your breasts is very dry; if this is the case, you can use a moisturizer a few times per day, just make sure that you keep the area with the stitches dry.
You may experience swelling and pain during your first menstruation after your breast reduction surgery, as well as random spasms of pain for a couple of months.
Health Issues
As with any type of cosmetic surgery, complications are unusual, but they sometimes do happen. However, they are usually minor and can be reduced by precisely following your doctor’s directions before and after the procedure.
Patients who have submitted themselves to a mammaplasty have, in extremely rare cases, experienced excessive bleeding (after and during the surgery), wound infection (treated with antibiotics) or development of blood clots. In more specific cases, the shape of the breasts may end up being more uneven than normal, as well as the position of the nipples and areolas.
Make sure to ask your surgeon concerning any risks you might have to face when undertaking this surgery. However, you must keep in mind that our certified group of doctors works full-time to prevent such scenarios from happening, since we value the health of our patients above anything else.
In order to keep the risks at a bare minimum, please make sure that you follow your surgeon’s instructions at all times.
