Surgical Procedures
Breast Reduction
Breast Reduction New Jersey
Large, heavy breasts can prevent your clothes from fitting properly and can make you feel self-conscious. They can cause back, shoulder, and neck pain as well as poor posture. They may prevent you from participating in sports or other physical activities.
Breast reduction surgery reduces the size of the breasts. It also can lift and reshape sagging breasts. It often improves posture and relieves pain from breasts that are too heavy for your frame. If your breasts are different sizes, breast reduction plastic surgery can be used to create a more balanced appearance.
Some insurance companies and managed care plans pay for breast reduction. The Managed Care Department at Summit Medical Group is happy to assist you in communicating with your insurance company.
Your Consultation
A consultation for breast reduction includes a thorough discussion of your symptoms and concerns. Your plastic surgeon will examine your breasts and discuss the options with you. The consultation will include a thorough description of the procedure, its limits, and its risks. If insurance covers your surgery, your surgeon will take photographs to prove that the procedure is medically necessary.
The Procedure
Breast reduction surgery is performed at the hospital as an outpatient procedure. The surgery usually takes 3 hours and is almost always performed under general anesthesia. For this reason and because your surgeon will ask you to limit your arm movement for some days, someone must drive you home after the surgery.
In breast reduction surgery, excess fat, glandular tissue, and skin from the breasts is removed to make them smaller, lighter, and firmer. The areola is often made smaller to match the smaller overall size of the breasts. In some cases, the nipple and areola are lifted to a higher, more youthful position on the breasts. For most women, the surgery is a breast reduction and breast lift, bringing the breasts to a higher position on the chest.
Recovery and Results
You will be able to see results immediately, but it may take 6 months for your breasts to settle into their final new shape.
After surgery, you will be wrapped in an elastic bandage over gauze dressings. The bandages will be removed within 2 days after surgery. You must then wear a surgical bra for several weeks until the normal bruising and swelling subside. Most of the swelling disappears in the first few weeks. Some patients report feeling sore for a week or more after surgery.
Most patients receive dissolvable stitches. Breast reduction surgery leaves visible, permanent scars, but these can be covered with a bra or bathing suit. The scars become less visible over time. The plastic surgeons at Summit Medical Group are experts in their field and will make every effort to reduce scarring.
Most women can return to work within 2 weeks. You should avoid strenuous activities and exercise for about 4 weeks.
Breast reduction results are permanent; however, the surgery cannot prevent breasts from changing shape, becoming less firm, or drooping as a result of weight gain, age, pregnancy, or gravity.
Our Surgeons
Peter Hyans, MD, FACS, is Director of the Plastic Surgery Center and Chief in the Department of Surgery and Surgical Specialties at Summit Medical Group. Dr. Hyans has 15 years’ experience in plastic surgery. He is board certified. Dr. Hyans is listed in Castle Connolly’s Top Doctors in America.
In addition to his position at Summit Medical Group, Reza Momeni, MD, FACS, is Chairman of Plastic Surgery at Overlook Hospital in Summit, New Jersey. He has been listed in New Jersey Monthly’s “Top Doctors.” The Consumer Research Council lists him in “Top Plastic Surgeons in America.”
Call Summit Medical Group today at 908-277-8759 to make an appointment or for more information about how breast reduction surgery can relieve your pain and help you feel more comfortable.
