3 Things To Know About Breast Reduction Surgery
Posted on: 7 July 2020
If you suffer from back pain, feel like you can't be as active as you want, or dislike your appearance, one option to alleviate your woes is breast reduction surgery. Breast reduction surgery is the removal of fatty tissue from the chest region. If you're interested in pursuing breast reduction surgery, here are a few things you should know.
1. Breast Reduction is Typically Combined with a Breast Lift
You might feel like it's weird for your surgeon to combine a breast lift with a breast reduction, but it's important to understand the mechanics of the surgery. When your surgeon removes your breast tissue, the breasts are left with less volume. Less volume means that you will have extra skin around the breasts.
This can cause the breasts to sag and have a droopy appearance. To combat this issue, your surgeon will remove some of your breast skin and reposition the nipple.
2. The Recovery Process Takes Time
Breast reduction surgery isn't a procedure that you can immediately bounce back from. Expect to take a couple of weeks off work, potentially more if your job entails a lot of physical activity. You'll need to avoid exercise and other forms of vigorous activity for a month or two after your surgery.
You might be tempted to do a light workout if you're having minimal pain. Don't do this; engaging in activity too soon will impact the healing of your incisions.
Even once your incisions are healed, they may remain a bit swollen. It can take a year for the incisions to fully reduce in size.
3. There are Multiple Ways to Complete the Procedure
There are a couple of common ways for surgeons to perform breast reduction surgery. One alternative is a vertical or "lollipop" breast reduction; during this procedure, a surgeon uses verticle incisions around the nipple to remove the fatty tissue. This option is ideal for patients who have a smaller amount of tissue to remove or have minimal excess skin.
The other surgical technique is known as an anchor breast reduction. This procedure makes incisions around the nipple and underneath the breasts. Anchor breast reductions make it possible for the surgeon to remove more fatty tissue or excess skin. If the breast needs a lot of recontouring, an anchor breast reduction provides the surgeon will better access to the breasts' fatty tissue and allows them to remove more skin.
Both procedures can potentially interfere with future breastfeeding. The vertical breast reduction procedures also take a little bit longer for the breasts to settle into their final positions.
To learn more about breast reduction, reach out to a local plastic surgeon.
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