There are several plastic surgery procedures that are often performed to improve quality of life for patients, and a great example here is the breast reduction. For many who are uncomfortable with the proportions of their breasts, and who may be experiencing several potential issues as a result, breast reduction is often enormously beneficial.
At the offices of Steven Warnock MD, we’re happy to provide a full range of breast surgery options, including both breast augmentation and breast reduction for those in need. What are the available breast reduction techniques out there, and how does breast reduction improve quality of life for women – both immediately and in the long-term future? Here’s a primer to help you stay informed.
Breast Reduction Techniques
Also known as reduction mammoplasty, breast reduction aims to reduce the size of the breasts through removal of fat, glandular tissue and skin tissue. It’s meant to reduce both the volume and weight of the breasts, with patient comfort often the key reason behind it.
There are a few different approaches or techniques that may be taken for breast reduction depending on the size of the breasts, degree of sag and other factors:
- Liposuction: In certain cases, breasts with excess fat in them will only require volume reduction, in which case liposuction might be used.
- Donut technique: Also called the Benelli technique, this involves an incision for minor breast size corrections.
- Lollipop technique: Also called the vertical technique, this is the ideal option for removal of small or moderate volumes of excess tissue, and involves both a circular and vertical incision.
- Inferior pedicle technique: Also called the anchor technique, the inverted-T or the wise pattern technique, this method is for excessively large breasts and involves three incisions.
Quality of Life Benefits
For many women, the above procedures are enormously beneficial for quality of life in several ways:
- Physical relief: For women with large and heavy breasts, the weight involved here often leads to neck, back and shoulder pain. In addition, it will often cause pain due to bra straps cutting into the skin, plus sweating and rashes under the breasts. With breast reduction, however, many such women find relief from this pain and discomfort, plus find that numerous activities, including many forms of exercise, are much easier.
- Aesthetic: Breast reduction also brings symmetry and aesthetic improvement to breasts, making them more proportional to the body.
- Self-esteem: Due to the above areas and more, breast reduction will commonly have a strong positive impact on self-confidence and self-esteem. This is due to everything from clothes fitting better to the way you look out in public.
For more on the benefits of breast reduction for quality of life, or to learn about any of our breast surgery, tummy tuck, mommy makeover or other plastic surgery services, speak to the staff at the offices of Steven Warnock MD today.