According to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), breast reduction is the second most popular surgical procedure for men and women. Every year, plastic surgeons perform thousands of breast reductions. Choosing to get a breast reduction requires a lot of consideration and information. If you feel like you have overly large breasts, you may be wondering how much you can reduce your breast size with a breast reduction surgery; let’s dive in.
What Happens During Breast Reduction Surgery?
During breast reduction, your surgeon will typically make an incision around the nipple and then down each breast. Next, they will remove breast tissue, skin, and fat to reduce the size of your breasts. If needed, they can reshape and reposition the nipple during the final part of the procedure before closing the incisions.
Symptoms of Overly Large Breasts
There are several reasons why patients choose to undergo breast reduction surgery. When you have overly large breasts, it can result in various symptoms like:
- Shoulder, neck, and back pain
- Inability to exercise
- Shoulder grooves from bra straps
- Shortness of breath
- Poor self-image from large breasts
- Rashes or skin infections
- Difficulty finding a bra that fits
One of the main reasons patients tend to consider breast surgery is when overly large breasts cause shoulder, neck, and back pain. All that weight on your chest can really impact your overall quality of life and ability to exercise. As breast reduction surgery reduces the size of your breasts, it can target the root of pain caused by overly large breasts.
Although breast reduction is technically a cosmetic procedure, it can offer physical and psychological benefits especially if you’re struggling with movement regularly because of overly large breasts. If the above concerns sound familiar, you may be a suitable candidate for breast reduction. Other factors to consider for suitability for a breast reduction include:
- Physically healthy
- Near your normal weight for your height
- Realistic expectations
How Small Can You Go in Your Breast Reduction?
When a patient is considering breast reduction, naturally, one of the most common questions is, “how small can you go?”. In many cases, by the time someone chooses to undergo breast reduction surgery, they may have been living with large breasts for years.
One factor that patients should take into consideration is their body shape. Think about the balance of your body and how your breasts will look. The composition of your breasts, goals, and technique your surgeon uses all influence the final size of your breasts. Think about your profile and where your breasts may fall after the procedure. Your plastic surgeon will work with you throughout your procedure to have a great understanding of your desires to achieve the best results possible.
Generally, most patients tend to go down 1 or 2 breast cup sizes after surgery. That’s not to say it’s not possible to go down more than this. The final size depends on several factors.
Your plastic surgeon will perform a physical exam during your breast reduction consultation. You will talk about your goals, concerns, and the whole process. From here, your surgeon will be able to say which surgical technique is best for your body and how to prepare for breast reduction surgery and recovery. By choosing an expert plastic surgeon, they can safely guide you on your breast reduction journey.
One of the easiest ways to find out what’s possible is to start looking at before and after breast reduction photos from your plastic surgeon. Look for body types that have similar qualities to use. This is a great place to start and will give you an idea of what you could achieve and the level of breast reduction to expect.
The Effects of an Excessive Breast Reduction
How small a patient can go with their breast size depends on blood supply. If you remove too much tissue at once, there might not be enough blood supply, and this could result in nipple and tissue death. This is why you can’t go from, say, an F to an A cup in one go. If the blood supply is compromised, it could affect your ability to breastfeed in the future. Breast reduction techniques aim to preserve blood supply to not impact the tissue and nipple.
An excessive breast reduction isn’t the safest way to perform this procedure. If the nipple were to be compromised fully, it may lead to loss of sensitivity and affect your ability to breastfeed. This is important for patients to consider, especially if they are getting a breast reduction before having children.
Breast Reduction Before and After
What Do Breast Reduction Scars Look Like?
Any surgery that involves an incision will leave scarring. You will have breast reduction scars, but a great plastic surgeon will do everything in their power to leave neat and well-concealed scarring. Depending on the technique your surgeon uses, your scarring can look slightly different.
A few elements will influence the approach needed for your surgery, including:
- Amount of sagging
- Size of the reduction
- If you have any breast asymmetry
It’s common to have scarring around the nipple and around the bottom of the breast. You may also have a vertical scar linking the nipple to the bottom of the breast, depending on the technique used. For smaller reductions, you may not need the vertical scar.
During your breast reduction cosmetic surgery consultation, your surgeon will perform an examination and talk through your concerns. Based on your concerns, they will create a tailored approach to your breast reduction surgery.
Breast Reduction Surgery UK at the Harley Clinic London
The Harley Clinic on Harley Street offers specialised procedures using a personal and tailored approach to cosmetic surgery. With world-class facilities, book a consultation today to take the next steps on your breast reduction surgery UK journey.
