Breast reduction is an operation to reduce the size of a patient's breasts, and usually involves lifting of the breast tissue and nipple/areola at the same time. Patients might seek breast reduction for functional reasons if they have heavy breasts that can cause neck and back pain, or for cosmetic reasons because they wish to have smaller breasts. Often the reasons are a combination of functional and cosmetic.
The operation usually takes around 3-3.5 hours and is performed under general anaesthetic.
After a detailed consultation with Mr Marlborough, a plan will be made to suit you. The discussion will involve the details of the surgery and the placement of scars (which are usually an anchor pattern with a circular scar around the areola, a vertical line and then a horizontal line in the breast crease). Risks and potential complications of breast reduction will be discussed and these include infection, scarring, bleeding, altered nipple sensation, loss of the blood supply to the nipple resulting in the nipple not surviving, and breast asymmetries.
If you are considering breast reduction surgery and would like to discuss things further, please feel free to contact us for a consultation with Mr Marlborough.
Breast reduction
Time Scale
Patients usually stay in the hospital overnight and most can go home the next morning with simple analgesia and advice on what to do if there are any concerns. You will be seen in follow up clinic by Mr Marlborough after 1 week, and then again at 2 weeks, 6 weeks and 6 months.
