The factors determining the surgery process include the sagging, small size, excessive size, and shape deformities of the breast.
In breast reduction surgery, the excess or sagging tissue of the breast is removed to achieve an appropriate level of firmness and lift.
Women with large and sagging breasts often face various problems such as back and neck pain due to the weight of the breasts and irritation from friction. These women often seek breast reduction surgery. Additionally, the appearance and asymmetry of the breasts can also cause aesthetic concerns and psychological distress.
During the surgery, excess tissue, fat, and skin are removed from the breasts, resulting in a more aesthetic and lifted appearance. The areola (the tissue surrounding the nipple) can also be reduced during this procedure, giving women smaller, more symmetrical, and volumetric breasts.
Excessively large breasts that develop during adolescence can cause both health problems and aesthetic concerns in later years, prompting women to seek breast aesthetics. Another reason for opting for breast reduction surgery is the sagging of the breasts caused by factors such as pregnancy, breastfeeding, weight fluctuations, and aging.
How is Breast Reduction Surgery Performed?
Breast reduction surgery is a surgical procedure that involves several stages. This aesthetic surgery carries some inherent risks:
– Bleeding: There may be bleeding during or after the surgery. To monitor this, drains are placed under the breasts during the surgery. Bleeding is monitored with these drains in the days following the surgery.
– Pain: Pain may occur around the neck, back, and chest after the surgery. Analgesics are used to manage this pain.
– Infection: All invasive procedures carry a risk of infection. Prophylactic treatment minimizes the infection risk in surgical procedures. Antibiotic treatment appropriate for surgery is provided before and after the procedure.
– Scarring: Minimal incisions made during the tissue removal process can leave scars. While scarring is inevitable with surgical incisions, the visibility of scars can vary from patient to patient.
– Changes in Sensitivity: Sensitivity in the nipple and breast tissue may decrease shortly after the surgery, but this is usually temporary.
– Breast Firmness: In some cases, firmness may occur in the breast after the procedure.
– Delayed Healing: Healing in the nipple and skin may sometimes be slower.
– Allergic Reactions: Although rare, allergic reactions to materials used during the surgery can occur.
Breast reduction surgery takes 2-4 hours under general anesthesia. The procedure involves making vertical incisions around the nipple and extending downward. For very large breasts, additional incisions may be made from the nipple to the breast crease.
After making the incision, excess tissue is removed using appropriate surgical and liposuction equipment. The surgeon then reshapes the breast and closes the incision, completing the surgery.
Who Can Undergo Breast Reduction Surgery?
Breast reduction surgery is not suitable for everyone. If you have significant health problems or severely sagging or large breasts that cause aesthetic concerns, you may consider this surgery. However, if there are no significant complaints, this surgery is not recommended due to the inherent risks and complications.
Any woman who does not present surgical risks based on pre-operative examinations, tests, and evaluations can undergo breast reduction surgery. However, women with severe chronic illnesses, undeveloped breasts, or breast masses are not eligible for this procedure. One of the fundamental requirements for this surgery is to be at least 18 years old, meaning to have reached the age of majority.
Preparation for Surgery
After deciding on the surgery, patients need to consider certain points. One of them is to quit smoking at least four weeks before the surgery if the patient is a smoker. Quitting smoking is crucial for the effects of anesthesia and for ensuring proper tissue healing during recovery.
Necessary blood tests, ultrasounds, X-rays, and mammograms should be completed on time before breast reduction surgery. If a mass is found in the mammogram, the surgery will not proceed. Similarly, if there are unexpected low or high values in blood tests, these must be normalized through treatment before the surgery can proceed.
Patients taking blood thinners must stop taking them at least one week before the surgery, based on the reason for their use, as blood thinners increase the risk of bleeding.
Post-Surgery Considerations
After waking up and being taken to their room, patients continue to be monitored and treated. Although this procedure is not typically painful, any pain experienced is managed with appropriate analgesics. Spending the first 24 hours in the hospital is essential for postoperative monitoring. If drains were placed during surgery to monitor bleeding, the patient will not be discharged until the drains are removed.
Post-surgery, bandages or recommended sports bras are applied to the chest. The use of these for the first four weeks is essential for the patient’s comfort and safety. Physical activities and normal life resume quickly after surgery, with patients usually able to return to work after the first week.
Does Breast Reduction Affect Breastfeeding?
Breast reduction surgery can affect breastfeeding. Therefore, this surgery is not recommended for women who are breastfeeding or planning a pregnancy soon. The nerves, tissues, milk ducts, and nipple sensitivity are crucial for breastfeeding. The surgical techniques are performed with these structures in mind, but it is not guaranteed that patients will be able to breastfeed post-surgery.
Although the surgery is performed carefully around the milk glands and ducts, it is incorrect to claim with certainty that breastfeeding will be possible after recovery.
Does Breast Reduction Leave Scars?
Minimal incisions during breast reduction surgery do leave scars. While these scars may be less noticeable in some patients, they can be more prominent in others. Factors such as tissue type, healing process, and smoking influence scar visibility.
Surgery Risks
Risks associated with breast reduction surgery include:
– Risks related to anesthesia
– Risk of bleeding
– Risk of infection
– Loss of sensation in the nipple and breast tissue
– Breast firmness
– Delayed healing
Breast reduction surgery is a viable option for any woman who has completed breast development and meets the necessary conditions. The procedure consists of three stages: pre-operative period, surgery, and post-operative period. Following a successful operation, patients achieve the desired size, lift, and fullness of their breasts.
