Tell me about Breast Reduction

In My Humble Opinion
21

I had it done, and I did breastfeed - not exclusively, but I was able to breastfeed and supplement. However, I had it done when I was 19, and had my first child at 31. When I had it done, they were still doing the full grafts of the nipple - and that’s what I had. It severed most of my milk ducts, and the only reason I suspect I was able to breastfeed my son was because they’d had enough time to grow back. (My midwife actually talked about it with me - she said that the longer after a reduction that one has children, the more time the ducts have time to regrow). Obviously, they hadn’t grown back completely, but I did have milk production (I did have low supply, and stopped breastfeeding about 4 months, but it was partly due to the low supply and partly due to my son’s reflux. If he hadn’t had reflux, I think we would have gone on much longer because the mechanics of nursing were easy for us.)

Now, had I known at the time that it would be an issue with future kids? I wouldn’t have had it done - but that’s because my plastic surgeon told me “Oh, you won’t be able to breastfeed with them that large anyway”, which, at 19, I believed. As I got older and closer to having kids, I realized he’d lied about that, probably not purposely, but just because that’s what he did think. I do wish I’d waited a few years so that the procedure had been refined a bit - now, it seems like it’s very possible to have it done and still breastfeed mostly normally.

We’re planning to have one more child, and after that, I may look into having it done again - having one child has caused them to grow too large, and I’m worried that a second kid is going to make them even worse. I do have back pain now, and am a DD (pre-child, I was a C), so I’m not worried to have the surgery again - if after a year or two, I’ve lost the baby weight and they haven’t gone back down to the C (or even a D I could handle), I’ll look into it again.

Long story short, the mechanics and results on my back pain? Great. I highly recommend it. The issues with breastfeeding? I would have researched it more and made a different decision, more than likely. But that was 15 years ago, and things have definitely changed.

22

My sister-in-law had it done, oh, a few years ago now, and she couldn’t be happier. They had just adopted, and my nephew was 9ish months old (maybe a year), so my mother stayed with them while she recovered. Apparently, the doctors told her that she could pick up her son, but nothing heavier than that.

I’ve no idea about any insurance struggles (though I don’t think there were any) or recovery time, but she couldn’t be happier. She loves being able to simply buy clothes that fit, without being too big somewhere or too small somewhere else. She’s just thrilled.

She’s of the average-to-slim body type.

23

Hi there! Glad to see my thread popping back up again! Good luck on Friday, Tehanu! I hope you have a speedy recovery and good results…be sure to check back in here and let us all know how it goes.

As for me, the decision has been sort of taken out of my hands for now. I just found out on Sunday that I’m pregnant again. (Yes, a little early, whoopsie!) So it looks like I’ll be waiting at least a few more years before I can get the procedure done after all.

Interesting to see that some women gain sensitivity. My husband would love that!

24

Tehanu, I actually had the procedure done twice. The first time I came back to work in something ridiculous like three days. Wrong!

The second time I stayed out a whole week, but had it set up that the next week would be very flexible. It is a major surgery and you will be amazed at how tired you get. I did short days that second week. I would go home at 2:00 or so because I’d just hit the wall.

Plus, I’m a side sleeper, and having to sleep on my back was hard. So, not the best sleep.

If you can, take two weeks, I say.

Take it easy, get lots of rest. Don’t lift heavy things, don’t lift your arms over your head.

25

Elza B, I think they still do full nipple grafts, but only if you are really big. I know it used to be standard procedure.

I gained sensitivity, but mostly on the right. Weird.

26

Do they really? I had a girlfriend who had one a couple of years ago, and she said her plastic surgeon said they didn’t do them anymore. I wonder if it depends on the surgeon a lot. And I was VERY large, so I’m sure that’s why they did it with me.

As far as sensitivity, I don’t have much on the right, but the left is pretty much normal, and I think it always has been.

27

Well, it’s been eleven years since I had mine, so that could have changed in the meantime. I know I was told that they wouldn’t do it on me, but that it was only done rarely anyway.

Eleven years? Egad. It really has been that long. Wow.

28

I know - it’s been 15 for me, and I just counted on my fingers and freaked out :smiley: .

The best part of having a reduction was walking into Victoria’s Secret three weeks later and being able to buy one of their pretty bras OFF THE RACK. It’s amazing how good that makes you feel when you’ve never been able to do it before!

29

A very good friend of mine just had her reduction last year. She is 4 foot 7 and used to wear a 40-F I think. The reduction was done using an incision on the underside of each breast with the nipples removed and then re-placed back onto the re-shaped breast. A small amount of liposuction was done on her back and sides to even out her shape. The doctors removed 585g from her right breast and 467g from her left. She is now a 38 C and thinks it’s the greatest thing she ever did.

For recovery, just from her experience, I would plan on 2 weeks instead of just one. You will be achy and sore and tired, mostly, and my friend in particular had a hard time with her pain meds. You may want to plan for more time rather than less so that you aren’t stressed about anything. She planned on 2 weeks and ended up taking 3 just because she had complications with both the pain meds and her antibiotics.

Best of luck and speedy recovery! I hope you are happy with the results!

Her recovery was about a week in bed and 3 weeks off work, with a few months in a post-surgery bra to let everything heal up fully (she has an auto-immune disease so she was scared it wouldn’t heal correctly, but she did great!). I’ve seen the re-shaped boobs and they look amazing. I’m so proud of her, because she was terrified to get it done. It’s changed her life for the better. She is more in proportion to her size and feels more confident in her body. She has most of her sensitivity and is not sure if she could be able to breast feed someday but would like to try.

30

Pfft, you tell lies. You tell outrageous damned lies!

Now seriously, tell me about the pain of it all. A co-worker had the surgery several years ago, and tells me it was the most painful thing she has ever experienced. And she has two children!

31

I won’t lie, it hurt, but the most painful part were the drainage tubes on each side, and those were out after a day (and they may not use them anymore - I’m not sure). You do have to take it easy for a few weeks, but I was at a Dave Matthews concert 2 hours away a week after my surgery. The biggest thing is just not to push it - and NOT to lift anything heavier than the limit they give you. I did, and I have the scars that remind me that I didn’t listen. They are small, but it was a simply rule that I should have followed.

The drainage tubes HURT, no lie, but they aren’t in for long. The rest of it is mainly just a matter of being sore.

32

The most painful part for me was the brief few seconds between waking up in post-op and getting a sweet, sweet hit of morphine.

I took my serious pain meds for only 2-3 days. After that, Tylenol 3 was more than enough. Within the week I was not needing any pain meds at all.

That’s not to say I wasn’t sore, but I didn’t need meds.

Now, I will say that if your surgeon does lipo that is where the most pain comes from. First time my surgeon did lipo and, man… Second time, no lipo and significantly less pain.

33

Oh, and the first time I did the surgery at a hospital and stayed overnight. Sucks!!! First, no sleep, second morphine does not work as well as other meds, and I got morphine all night.

Second time I did it outpatient at a surgical suite and went home. Much, much better. Sis brought a thick shake for me, downed that and took an oxycodone or some such and went home to sleep in the quiet. Much better experience.

34

The worst part was on about day three when I decided I hated the Vicodin (which I did and still do) and switched to Tylenol. It was about a day too early. I was hurting badly until I could get back on the good stuff, but a day or so later I dropped it again and was fine. Sore, yes, but fine.

I did end up staying in the hospital overnight, which wasn’t planned, but I was sick enough from the anesthesia that I couldn’t keep anything down and my mom insisted I stay because I was white as a sheet and she didn’t want me getting dehydrated and having to come back. I was fine by the next morning.

Also, no lipo. I could use just a bit of it on the sides, I think, but I’m not planning to do anything like that.

The first time I went bra shopping and found that the Bs were too big was a day of wonders. :slight_smile: I’m now up to a B, but I think it’s because of a few pounds I put on since then.

35

Yeah, I lost my humongous boobs and gained a big belly in return. :slight_smile: I am now inverse to what I was when I started…

36

Full disclosure: I am a man who loves big boobs. In an effort to keep lots of big boobs in the world, I have thought of something that might be an alternative to surgery. What about a women with big boobs support group? It could deal with issues such as getting constantly ogled by guys such as myself, finding affordable bras that fit, etc. Would it work? Am I wrong? If chronic pain is the primary reason, I understand and fully support opting for surgery.

37

Yes, you are wrong. Ball-busting, scathing post deleted.

38

Try walking around with balls the size of canteloupes and having women drool over them mindlessly and see how you like it. Also let’s throw in constant pain and having a hell of a time finding anything to support them and having been emotionally abused in school because of them.

You are so, so, so wrong. Women who are huge and happy about it? Excellent. Good for them. But why the hell should we walk around with them if we don’t want them, just for your viewing pleasure?