Reduction Mammaplasty
Breast Reduction
Breast Reduction. Reduction Mammoplasty.
Breast hypertrophy is an affliction characterised by an increase in the volume of the breasts over and above normal proportions. This hypertrophy may arise in puberty (virginal breast hypertrophy) and amongst its causes is hypersensitivity to female hormones. Despite the skin in young women tending to be tonic, the appearance of this pathology tends to cause stretch marks. In the adult woman, hypertrophy tends to be due to an increase in the fatty tissue that invades the breast structure. As a consequence, the breast tends to be large, hard, inelastic and with precarious vascularisation.
This breast hypertrophy leads the patient to change her social conduct, affecting the choice of clothing, the practice of sport and even causing significant complexes, particularly in young women. The excess weight that breast hypertrophy implies frequently leads to functional disorders such as back pain or alterations in the position of the spine, emphasized by the habit these patients tend to have of hunching the shoulders forward to push back the thorax and thereby hide the size of their breasts. A breast reduction or reduction mammoplasty is a surgical technique that has as its principal objective the modification of the shape and size of the breast to adapt it to the cosmetic and functional requirements of the patient.
It requires a blood test, electrocardiogram and an x-ray.
During consultations prior to the surgery, an examination of the breasts will be undertaken for the purposes of evaluating structure and volume and advising the patient of the most suitable procedure for her particular case.
It requires a hospital stay of 24 hours.
Normally general aesthetic is used.
There are many procedures for reducing and lifting the breast but, in summary, they all seek two fundamental objectives: to lift the areola and the nipple and to reduce the size of the breast, thereby achieving a volume, shape and swelling as close to perfection as possible, with hidden residual scars. The classic breast scars in the shape of an inverted T have been increasingly replaced with smaller vertical scars, but in cases of very severe hypertrophy scars continue to be required in the submammary fold.
Duration of the surgery: between two and three hours.
Se llevará un vendaje compresivo durante 3-4 días que será sustituido por un sujetador deportivo. Este sujetador mantiene la prótesis firme y evita los seromas y hematomas. Suele ser necesario unos 30 días. Durante la primera semana deben evitarse los esfuerzos con los brazos.
Los puntos de sutura intradérmicos se retiran a los 12 días y entonces se le indica a la paciente que gradualmente inicie su actividad normal.
Transcurrida una semana desde la operación, se recomienda el drenaje linfático manual y al retirar los puntos de sutura, se recomienda el uso de aceite de rosa mosqueta en la cicatriz y protección solar hasta 6-8 meses después de la intervención.
Frequently asked questions about Breast Reduction
When discharged from hospital you will have a bandage that you must not get wet for 3-4 days and for the removal of which you must visit the consulting rooms, replacing it with a snug-fitting sports bra for the rest of the month. You will not be able to make any exertions or lift any weight with your arms for the first two weeks.
The stitches tend to be removed within 14-15 days and from then it is advisable to have lymphatic drainage and treat the scars with rosehip oil or with silicone patches as pressotherapy.
Physical exercise can be undertaken progressively and gradually from the first month onwards.
As with any surgical intervention, the risks can be haemorrhages, infection and complications relating to anaesthesia. In relation to a reduction mammoplasty, although the incidence of complications in these interventions is low, the principal risks are:
- Reduction in the sensitivity of the nipple and the skin on the breasts, which may be temporary or permanent.
- The scar. Although in the majority of cases it is of satisfactory appearance, occasionally corrective surgery or other treatments are needed.
- The stitches opening up, with the most delicate point being where the two lines of the T intersect. The pressure under which they have been sutured affects this to a large degree, together with the treatment given to the tissue, particularly at the edges of the wounds.
- Small differences in size, shape and location of the breasts and nipples which, in a very small number of cases, require another intervention.
- Cutaneous necrosis, which can especially affect the areola when it has been moved a large distance, when subjected to pressure or compression or when it is a case of a free graft.
- A reduction in the ability to breastfeed. In having to move the areola-nipple a certain distance from their initial location, the galactophorous ducts must be partially disconnected, which can lead to a reduction in the ability to breastfeed. If this does not happen, breastfeeding can be undertaken without any problem whatsoever.
The patient can depilate one week after the intervention.
Although the scars are well-disguised and remain perfectly hidden by the smallest bra, they never disappear completely. In order to ensure the sun does not affect or damage the scar, you must wait at least a year.
The reliability of mammograms remains unchanged. For monitoring purposes we recommend a mammogram six months after the intervention. Prior to this date, the inflammatory and cicatricial changes in the breast may confuse your radiologist in relation to diagnosis, and therefore you should alert him/her to the surgery undertaken. From thereon in you should adhere to the frequency indicated by your specialist.
We recommend a recovery time of some 10 days but in professions where you need to use your arms or considerably exert yourself, it is best to rest for two full weeks.
If you want to improve the look of your breasts or if you have any request relating the technique of reduction mammaplasty, please do not hesitate to ask for an appointment or to contact us.
Remember we can serve you in Alicante or Denia.