Breast Reduction

What are the goals of breast reduction surgery?

Our objective is to reduce the size of your breasts so that they are more suited to the frame of your chest. By removing the excess weight from your chest, you will see significant relief in neck pain, back pain, shoulder pain, and strap marks on your shoulder. You will be less likely to have skin-related problems, such as rashes or sores under the breast. In addition, Virginia breast reduction surgery will enable you to exercise more easily and live a healthier life.

What kind of anesthesia will I have during breast reduction?

General anesthesia. In certain small reduction surgeries, it may be possible to do the surgery using straight local anesthesia or local sedation.

What can I expect after breast reduction surgery?

After Virginia breast reduction surgery, you will have a mild-to-moderate amount of drainage from the incisions. You will need to rest for the first 2-3 days, but most people are up and about shortly after surgery. We generally recommend our patients take off 7 days from work. Heavy lifting and exercising should be avoided for the first 2 weeks. Your body will tell you when you are ready to get back into your regular exercise routine.

You will have a supportive bra or bandage for the first few days. This helps in the attachment of the skin back to the underlying tissues after surgery and reduces the chances of fluid collections under the skin. Once the dressing is removed, you can shower normally. We usually remove the dressings in the first 2-3 days after surgery.

There will be some numbness associated with Virginia breast reduction surgery. This numbness usually persists for about 4-6 weeks. A moderate degree of swelling is normal after this operation. This swelling is related to accumulations of fluid in skin and subcutaneous tissues. Most of the swelling subsides within the first 2-3 weeks after the surgery. Minor asymmetry between the two sides can be seen after breast reduction. No one has completely symmetrical breasts, and you have to accept minor differences in size and shape.

Will breast reduction be natural-looking?

Unnaturalness and imperfection as a result of breast reduction is not a common aesthetic complication. The breasts heal quite well, and minor differences and irregularities usually resolve by themselves after several weeks. Most surgeons endeavor to achieve the best results in the initial operation. However, even when everything is done right, there is still a chance that you may develop some irregularity. If this does occur, you may need to fix this problem in a touch-up procedure. This touch-up procedure is done approximately 3-6 months after the initial procedure.

What are some of the complications of breast reduction?

Before the doctor discusses the complications of breast reduction, it is important for you to consider how to digest these bits of information. Reading about complications can be quite scary. Many people cannot comfortably sit through a consultation session without having real doubts about breast reduction surgery. This is a natural response. But it is different when you have these complications explained to you by a doctor. Dr. Marefat can put it in perspective for you and identify the likelihood of such complications occurring. Most complications are very rare. Some are less rare and need to be explained to you in more detail so that you understand how we would treat these problems if they occurred. The purpose of explaining the risks and complications is for you to appreciate what steps we would take to treat you, putting you back on the road to recovery. Remember that every surgeon has his or her own way of treating problems. You must go over these potential risks with your surgeon to gain better insight and understanding.

• Bleeding: Bleeding is very uncommon with breast reduction because we are generally not cutting deeper breast tissues. However, there have been some reports of bleeding as a complication. There are those who are at higher risk of bleeding. The use of certain medications, such as aspirin or blood thinners, could put you at a higher risk of bleeding. Some people with a history of uncontrolled hypertension could be at a higher risk of bleeding after the breast reduction surgery. There are some individuals who have a problem with their coagulation system that they were not aware of and, consequently, have had bleeding after surgery. If you do not have any of these risk factors, you should not be at a high risk for bleeding. However, if you do have bleeding for any reason, we will treat it immediately.
• Infection: Infection is a rare complication of breast reduction surgery. We give you antibiotics, both before and after surgery, to prevent this possibility. Even when this is done, there may be a minor chance that an incision may become infected. If this does happen, we will treat you with stronger antibiotics and will try to find the source of infection.
• Calcifications: Sometimes with breast reduction surgery, there may be a small degree of trauma to the breast tissues or fatty tissues in this area, and this may result in late calcifications. Occasionally, these calcifications may create some doubt as to the presence of breast cancer and may necessitate a biopsy.
• Anesthesia risks: There are risks associated with anesthesia. With modern equipment and techniques available in hospitals, risks from surgical anesthesia are minimal.
• Scarring: There may be scars under and around your areola (the darker skin surrounding the nipple). Sometimes, there may be a scar under the breast fold. Any time that you have incisions, there is the potential for poor healing and obvious scars. This is very rare, however, and scars do improve with time. Sometimes we may need to revise the scar at a later date. The doctor generally does this after 9-12 months from the time of the initial surgery.
• Sensory changes: There will be temporary sensory changes in the breast and nipple that usually resolve in 6-8 weeks. In very rare cases, there may be permanent loss of nipple sensation. Unfortunately, there is no relationship between the type of incision used and the development of this problem.
• Loss of nipple: Loss of the nipple due to inadequate blood flow is a rare complication. With newer techniques of breast lifting, this complication has been virtually eliminated. However, if there is an extensive amount of surgery and lifting of the skin, the circulation to the nipple may be compromised. If this occurs, there are ways in which a new nipple can be reconstructed.
• Chronic pain: A few patients have been reported to have chronic pain resulting from their breast reduction.
• Minor asymmetries: Most women have minor asymmetries in their breasts, and this is completely natural. If there is a major difference between the two sides of the breasts, this can be corrected to a certain extent. Major problems of asymmetry cannot be completely corrected and may persist after an operation.
• Disappointment with results: Some patients are disappointed with the results of their surgery. This is sometimes related to the fact that they had unrealistic expectations about the operation’s outcome.

When and where are breast reduction touch-up procedures done in Virginia?

Touch-ups are done after 3 months. These procedures are usually much simpler than the first breast reduction procedure and are not as painful. Dr. Marefat can perform them in the Virginia office with a small amount of local anesthetic if it is a minor deformity or problem. If the problem or irregularity were more complicated or difficult to anesthetize, the procedure would be performed in the outpatient surgery center under general anesthesia.

When are the breast reduction sutures removed?

Breast sutures come out in 10-14 days. You may have absorbable sutures that do not need to come out.

How many visits do I have after breast reduction surgery?

We like to see our patients frequently after surgery. You are seen by the doctor or nurse within 2-3 days of Virginia breast reduction surgery. Then the normal postoperative routine is 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months. Of course, if there is a need, you may be seen more often. After 1 year, we encourage our patients to come in for routine follow-up visits every 3-5 years.

When can I wear makeup?

You should be able to wear makeup if you have had breast reduction surgery in Virginia. We do not recommend putting makeup on your incisions. This may result in tattooing of the skin by the pigments in the makeup.

Am I a good candidate for breast reduction in Virginia?

You are a good candidate for breast reduction if you have large and heavy breasts, good general health, and realistic expectations. This does not mean that you cannot have Virginia breast reduction if you do not meet these criteria. The best results are seen in individuals who have mild-to-severe enlargement of the breasts with good quality skin. Generally, the younger you are, the better a candidate you are for surgery. The physiological age of a person is more important than the chronological age. That is to say, you may be 60 years old, but your skin and general health may be better than that of most 50 year olds.