BREAST REDUCTION
Breast Reduction in Washington, DC
Very large breasts can be painful physically and psychologically. The added weight of the breasts can cause breathing difficulty and poor posture, leave bra strap indentations on the shoulders and limit mobility. Extremely large breasts can also attract unwanted attention from other people and cause feelings of shame or embarrassment. Breast reduction in Washington, DC can relieve a patient of these challenges. If your back, neck, and shoulders are sore from the weight of very large breasts, or if you are self-conscious of the attention you receive because of your large bust, breast reduction may be an excellent option.
Our Plastic Surgeons can bring the breasts into better proportion with the rest of your body for a more balanced look and greater confidence. She has many years of experience performing breast procedures and can advise you on the best way to achieve your goals. Call us to schedule a consultation to learn if you might be a good candidate and what options might be best to help you reach your goal of fuller, more beautiful breasts.
How Breast Reduction Works
Breast reduction ——also known as reduction mammaplasty — is a procedure used to remove excess fat, tissue, and skin from the breasts. It involves making an incision around the areola and down in the midline of each breast to remove excess breast tissue, fat, and skin to reduce the size of each breast. A plastic surgeon reshapes the breast and repositions the nipple and areola.
The plastic surgeon will try to achieve symmetry between your breasts, but some breast size and shape variation might occur. The size of the areola also might be reduced. In addition, your incision scars might fade over time but will never completely disappear.
Benefits of Breast Reduction
Many of the results of breast reduction in Washington, DC are internal, such as more self-confidence and greater self-esteem. A breast reduction can:
Alleviate Back Pain
Having large breasts is more than a cosmetic issue. Carrying around all that extra weight on the chest can cause various physical problems, including neck, shoulder, and back pain, poor posture, breathing issues, and skin irritation. A breast reduction can alleviate the chronic pain associated with having overly large breasts.
Improves Body Proportions
Many women with large breasts have a small frame, meaning their breasts are out of proportion with the rest of their bodies. A breast reduction can bring the breasts into proportion with the rest of a woman’s body. As a result, you will have a new, more slender, and shapely body, and your breasts will be perkier.
Ability to Be Active
Women with overly large breasts often cannot engage in certain physical activities because their breasts get in the way. The problem is often aggravated when they cannot get the supportive bras they need to exercise comfortably. A breast reduction frees a woman to live a more active lifestyle and participate in new activities.
Boosts Confidence and Self-Esteem
Women with large breasts often feel awkward because of their breast size, contributing to low self-esteem and a lack of confidence. However, the enhanced body image they experience after breast reduction boosts their self-esteem and makes them feel more confident in their appearance.
Increase Clothing Options
One of the benefits of breast reduction is making shopping for clothing more enjoyable. When your breasts are more proportionate to the rest of your body, your body will be easier to fit in clothing. You will be able to wear things that you couldn’t before. You will feel more confident in swimwear, blouses, and dresses.
Is There A Difference Between a Breast Lift and a Breast Reduction?
Breast lift surgery corrects:
- Sagging Breasts
- Nipple displacement
- Loose skin
A Breast Lift removes excess skin, and the nipple is positioned in its most desirable location. It is ideal for women who have lost perkiness or firmness in the breasts due to aging, genetics, pregnancy, and nursing. In addition, breast lift surgery may slightly reduce the chest size. It is not, however, intended to eliminate excess breast tissue.
Breast reduction surgery corrects:
- Overly large and heavy breasts
- Pendulous breasts
- Excessive breast tissue
A Breast Reduction in Washington, DC removes tissue and fat to create a more proportionate appearance in the upper body. Breast Lift surgery is mainly cosmetic and is often accompanied by Breast Augmentation to improve volume, symmetry, and projection.
Breast Reduction is often medically necessary, and, while the result will improve cosmetic appearance, the procedure is performed for medical improvement. Breast lift surgery will not be covered by insurance. Breast reduction may be.
How Does Breast Reduction Affect Breastfeeding?
Many women are apprehensive about breast reduction surgery before having children for fear it might negatively affect their chances of breastfeeding, or for fear of the breasts getting larger again when they do breastfeed. You should discuss these concerns thoroughly during your consultation with one of board-certified plastic surgeons.
Ideal Candidate for Breast Reduction
Overly large breasts can cause physical and emotional discomfort. You may be a candidate for breast reduction surgery if:
- You are physically healthy
- You have realistic expectations
- You don’t smoke
- You are bothered by feeling that your breasts are too large
- You have breasts that limit your physical activity
- You experience back, neck, and shoulder pain caused by the weight of your breasts
- You have shoulder indentations from bra straps
- You have skin irritation beneath the breast crease
Breast Reduction Recovery
After surgery for breast reduction in Washington, DC, you will be taken to post-op where you will come out of anesthesia and be on pain medication. Depending on your situation, you may be kept overnight at the hospital or may be able to go home. You will need someone to drive them home afterward and stay with them for at least 24 hours.
At the time of surgery, you will either be wrapped in an elastic bandage or placed in a surgical bra over gauze dressings to support and protect your breasts. The elastic bandage and dressings will be removed in a couple of days. In addition, a small tube may be placed in each breast to collect blood and fluids for the first two days following surgery. Your plastic surgeon will send you home with detailed instructions for changing bandages, cleaning incision sites, showering, and other post-op activities.
Pain Medication
Your plastic surgeon will give you a prescription for pain medicine preoperatively. You will be on narcotic pain medicine for around 2 to 3 days following the surgery. Tylenol is used to transition off narcotics and the NSAIDs (Motrin, Advil) after the first two weeks. You will be able to drive once you have stopped taking narcotics.
At Home
It’s essential to line up help for at least two or three days once you’re home following surgery. You will be prescribed pain medications and have somewhat limited mobility. Having someone to help around the house during the initial period after surgery can make recovery significantly easier.
Plan to take a week off of work and other responsibilities after your surgery. You will need this time to rest and recover. You will need to rest and sleep at an angle for the first few days of recovery and will be given instructions to move about to help prevent any blood clots.
Resuming Normal Activities
Expect soreness, tenderness, and sensitivity during recovery, especially during the first six weeks post-op. It is still essential to wear breast garments and to ensure the incision sites are kept clean to prevent infection. This should be worn both night and day for an additional two weeks. After four weeks from your surgery date, you may stop wearing a bra at night, although some women continue to wear one at night. Wear a supportive, non-underwire bra for two more months before returning to underwire bras.
For the first six weeks, you will not be able to exercise or do any heavy lifting and should sleep on your back or side during this time. If you have young children, you will want to enlist help to assist with childcare, as picking up children (or heavy objects for that matter) for the first six weeks is strongly advised against. However, driving, cooking, or shopping is often manageable after a week, or two.
Some patients opt to take a few weeks off work for recovery. If you have a physically demanding job, it’s crucial to take plenty of time off so you don’t jeopardize your recovery. Of course, you will also want to avoid exercise for the same reasons.
Breast Reduction Recovery Complications
As with any surgery, there is a risk that a complication may develop. For breast reduction, these risks include excessive bleeding, infection, anesthesia reaction, impaired breastfeeding, slightly asymmetric breasts, sensation loss, poor scarring, and fat necrosis which resolves in most at 6 months but may require ‘excision’ in a second surgery. Your plastic surgeon will provide a list of guidelines to follow to reduce the risk of complications. These instructions will include information on exercise and medications in the weeks before and after surgery. Complications can usually be managed, but it is important to follow your plastic surgeon’s pre-and post-operative instructions to reduce the risk of complications.
The most common complication is an infection of the incision site. Your plastic surgeon will discuss how to minimize the risk of infection during your consultations. If you think your incisions may be infected, call us immediately. To lower your infection risk, avoid taking baths, swimming, or using hot tubs for the first two weeks post-surgery. You’ll be able to shower the day after your surgery. You might have an infection if you have a fever or notice warmth and redness in your breast. If this happens or you have shortness of breath or chest pain, please get in touch with our office as soon as possible.
You’ll have a post-op appointment with your plastic surgeon one week after surgery.
When Should I Schedule My Breast Reduction?
This breast reduction timeline can help you make an informed decision about when to have surgery. All of these factors should be taken into consideration when making your surgery plans, and it can be helpful to think about what works best for you, as well as for anyone who will be helping you during the healing process. This can help you plan the ideal time for your breast reduction and recovery.
There are many important factors to consider when scheduling breast reduction surgery:
- If you work, how much time can you take off? Is there a slower time of the year for your work that might be best for your surgery?
- Do you have a desk job or something more physical? This will factor in to when you will be ready to return to work.
- Do you have someone available to help you the first week after surgery? Will they need to take time off work?
- If you have a big event coming up (wedding, reunion, vacation), give yourself extra time to heal. You will need at least six weeks, but a few months would be even better.
- Do you want to have surgery before summer? If so, winter or early spring is the best time to have breast reduction so that you will be fully healed and swimsuit-ready by summer.
Learn More About Breast Reduction in Washington, DC
If your back, neck, and shoulders are sore from the weight of extremely large breasts, or if you are self-conscious of the attention you receive because of your large bust, then breast reduction may be an excellent option for you. It’s essential to ensure that you’re a good candidate for this surgery and have realistic goals.
Take the first step by reaching out to Peel Haus today to schedule a consultation with one of our plastic surgeons. She can answer any additional questions you have about breast reduction.
Enhance Your Look with a Breast Reduction in Washington DC
Our plastic surgery team is widely recognized as one of the best practices for body and facial implants in Washington DC.
Schedule a consultation with our expert team today to create your unique treatment plan for breast reduction in Washington DC.
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