Breast Reduction in Portland, OR

Beyond aesthetics, what are the most common physical symptoms that breast reduction can solve?

Neck and back pain are by far the most common physical side effects or comp or uh physical symptoms I hear from patients who want a breast reduction. Sometimes rashes, that's really common, too. Particularly in the summer, breasts get hot, they get rashes. So, those are the most common side effects I see patients for.

How does a breast reduction improve the ability to run, jump, or play sports?

So, breast reduction surgery can have a tremendous impact on patients ability to run, do physical activities. I've had some younger uh patients that are um you know, college athletes that were either um swimmers, volleyball players that wanted to have smaller breasts in order to be uh have a little more freedom of motion. I've had patients that are golfers. They can their swing improves a little bit. So there's a lot of very uh positive physical changes and I think ability to exercise which improve when patients have a breast reduction.

What are other physical benefits of breast reduction surgery?

Breast reduction surgery is tremendous. It's one of my favorite operations. Patients are generally um very happy with both the outcome but also the improvement in their ability to do activities whether it's exercise u clothing fit and in general the most important thing is the improvement with neck and back pain. It's tremendous. Now everyone's different but the overwhelming majority of patients do get some improvement where it's a pretty substantial improvement in their symptoms and it's just in some patients it can be lifechanging. really just depends on how much tissue we take out, but it's uh generally a very positive thing. And especially for patients who are athletic or that want to get back into doing more exercise, uh it can be a lot more comfortable. You know, I have patients that come in and they talk about wearing two, three sports bras when they're running or exercising and that's just not very practical and uncomfortable after a while. So after reduction, uh that that's improved and patients generally have a lot more time. It's more comfortable. It's more fun to exercise and it's not uh you know such a such a hassle and such a a discomfort to do that.

Is there a specific amount of tissue that needs to be removed?

So medical necessity kind of came up. They did research studies. You know I think it was known that breast reduction surgery uh helped patients neck and back pain. They have really quantify this with some research studies and came up with some scales based on height, weight, body surface area. And so this is really the criteria that insurance companies use in addition to the neck and the back pain and rashes in order to get insurance coverage. So the majority of breast reductions I do are covered um you know the majority of breast reductions I do are covered by insurance. But it's important we go through that whole process um and make sure that the amount required by insurance is going to give the patients the size that they'll be comfortable with. There are cases where the insurance wants a certain amount which is going to be more than the patient's going to be happy with having residual breast tissue left behind. And so that's part of the consultation is to determine what's going to give them a result they'll be happy with that as long as it falls within the insurance criteria. But um it depends on the patient's you know height, weight, body surface area and then uh you know there are some different scales depends on the insurance plan as well. So we just we look that up in the office and and uh then all that gets submitted to insurance.

Will a breast reduction affect the patients ability to breastfeed or have sensation in the future?

I always tell patients about 5 10% chance they can lose some feeling in the nipples. And in terms of how it affects the ability to breastfeed, most patients still can breastfeed. They just make less milk. They have less breast tissue, less breast glandular tissue, uh but can still make milk. and some may have to supplement their milk with formula. You know, breastfeeding itself is a kind of a multiffactorial process. So, there are patients that have never had breast surgery that may have trouble breastfeeding, but it they they still will have some milk production. And I think that's important to understand, especially for patients who haven't had kids up to that point, that they could still potentially breastfeed. It's just u may have to make some adjustments.

What is the difference between a breast lift and a breast reduction?

The difference between a breast lift and a breast reduction really has to do with the amount of tissue we're removing. I think at the very um least a breast lift is going to reposition the nipple aerial complex. Now a reduction we're talking about both doing that lifting the breast nipple complex but also removing tissue uh for the most part to create a smaller breast. Now, in most cases, most patients will need some significant lift to reposition the nipple. Uh, I have other patients though where I do a little bit of a modified lift where we're we're still taking tissue off, but it doesn't have to go quite up as far in terms of the the lift. They just naturally have a larger breast. So, it really has to do with volume and I think the goal of the surgery. So, the majority of breast reductions I do are patients who are bothered by neck and back pain, discomfort with exercise, and we're really trying to effectively make their breast considerably smaller. Whereas a lift is more to again reposition that nipple, sometimes rearrange the tissue, preserve as much of the tissue as we can, sometimes retaining as much volume while repositioning the nipple, particularly after weight loss or combining that with an implant.

What size breast qualifies for a reduction?

Well, there's not really a size that qualifies for reduction so much as um in terms of how much we take off, so to speak. So it's uh it's when we do when I do breast reduction console we estimate you know how much tissue in terms of grams. So we use the metric system for that in terms of how much tissue we could remove for the insurance requirement. So it's not that it's necessarily um you know a threshold in terms of cup size. I will say that most patients I see have at least a D triple D. I've seen patients with HJI size bras. So there's not a a a letter size in terms of cup generally, but they're patients who have a much fuller breast that's causing symptoms.

How much tissue is typically removed during a breast reduction?

The average breast reduction I do is probably anywhere from 5 to 600 gram. So close to a pound. I will say that there are reductions. Again, it depends on the patient's existing breast size and their body shape. Sometimes that'll be a half pound. Sometimes it'll be three, four, five pounds per breast. It can be uh it really just depends on where they're starting, frankly. Some patients have very heavy breasts. Um so it just depends. Yeah. But the average is probably about, you know, 3/4 to one pound.

What would disqualify you from having a breast reduction?

My big disqualifier is patients that are actively smoking or vaping. It has a tremendously negative impact on healing. And so I have patients stop smoking, really encourage them to do that, work with their primary care doctor. And the reason is it just uh there's an increased risk of significant healing problems or skin necrosis and uh that's well documented. So patients have to stop smoking.

What is the weight limit for a breast reduction?

So there there isn't a specific weight requirement for breast reduction surgery, but in some cases I do have patients lose weight down to a safer level so that I think that their uh coorbidities, potentially diabetes or other factors may be under better control prior to the reduction.

Dealing with the challenges of overly large breasts, let's debunk some myths about breast reduction.

Myth number one: breast reduction is purely cosmetic. False. For many, it's a life-changing procedure that alleviates severe back, neck, and shoulder pain, improves posture, and enhances the ability to exercise. It's often medically necessary.

Myth number two: you'll lose all nipple sensation after a breast reduction. While sensation can change, most patients retain significant, if not all, sensation. Our goal is always to preserve as much nerve function as possible.

Myth number three: breast reduction means you can never breastfeed again. This is not necessarily true. Many patients can still breastfeed after a reduction. We discuss this in detail during your consultation as it depends on the specific technique used.

Myth number four: only extremely large breasts qualify for reduction. Not true. While significant reductions are common, even moderately large breasts can cause significant discomfort. If it's impacting your quality of life, it's worth exploring.

Tired of discomfort and limitations? A breast reduction could be your solution. Let's talk about the real benefits.