Does Breast Reduction Surgery Affect Breastfeeding?

Breast reduction surgery is an effective solution to the untoward concerns with very large breasts. Massive breasts pose challenges physically and emotionally. A large segment of the women population with huge breasts has encountered various restrictions due to their huge breast size: Be it in sports, workouts, and also in choosing outfits. Moreover, the persistent back and neck pain, heaviness on the chest, skin rashes under the breast folds, and likewise are a few other discomforts.

Moreover, emotional and psychological uneasiness also follows. Additionally, it may also cause low self-esteem. With constant advancements in the field of plastic surgery, breast reduction or mammoplasty has evolved to ensure very natural-looking and excellent results. However, the potential candidates are apprehensive about the possibility of breastfeeding after breast reduction surgery. This article elaborates on the common queries pertaining to the same.

What is Breast Reduction Surgery?

Breast Reduction Surgery, also known as Reduction Mammoplasty, is a  surgical procedure to reduce the abnormally large size of a female breast. The massive breasts result in discomfort and health issues. The only practical solution to this condition is breast reduction surgery.

The Goal of Breast Reduction  Surgery

The main aim of this surgical correction is to create breasts that are adequately proportionate to the wideness of the thorax and the shoulders. Ensuring such symmetry produces natural-looking results while also helping your body maintain its balance. These are crucial so that you are not continually leaning forward or hunching over due to heavy breasts. Thereby relieving you from associated physical discomforts. Additionally, you always feel comfortable in your body.

Why Choose Breast Reduction Surgery?

As previously mentioned, Women opt for breast reduction surgery mainly due to physical and psychological disturbances.  Apart from the cosmetic angle,  heavy breasts also weigh down your body. They make you hunch forward, impacting your back and shoulders. Moreover, breast sagging develops due to breast weight.  sagging breasts gives an unaesthetic appearance which affects self-esteem.

Due to this, many women opt for this procedure.

Ideal Candidate for Breast  Reduction Surgery

•  Large and massive breasts
•  Self-conscious about the prominent appearance of your breasts.
•  Shoulder and upper back pain and neck pain due to heavy breasts.
• The presence of deep furrows in the shoulders is caused by the straps of the bra.
• Droopy or saggy breasts.
• Presence of stretch marks due to heavy breasts.
• One breast is larger than the other.
• Heaviness in the chest due to the massive size of the breasts.
• Your breasts either have sagged down, or your skin is too loose.

Does a Breast  Reduction Surgery Hinder  Breastfeeding?

There is no simple “yes” or “no” answer to this question. Just like there is also no assurance that women without breast reduction surgery can breastfeed. Every woman is different. You may come across women with large-sized breasts who you’d feel can feed multiple kids but instead can’t squeeze not more than a few drops, while others with tiny breasts who lactate more than enough milk to keep their babies satisfied.

There are multiple procedural options to maintain the structure needed for breastfeeding intact. Your surgeon can guide you through better. Nonetheless, if you are considering both Reduction mammoplasty as well as breastfeeding, you need to keep fa ew things in mind.

Breast Reduction Does not Remove Milk Secreting  Ducts

In reduction mammoplasty the excess skin, fat, and breast tissue are removed while the remaining tissue is reshaped and lifted. There are milk-secreting ducts that are intact. However, In certain cases, the capacity to secrete the milk may be reduced comparatively. On the contrary there, are many women who are able to effectively breastfeed after the surgery.

Incision Techniques

There are multiple techniques available for the reduction of mammoplasty. However, with respect to the issue of breastfeeding incision techniques are of two types-

1.) An incision that retains the nipple-areola complex adhered to the underlying tissue and the ducts In this technique the nipple-areola complex is reduced in size. It Is then elevated to an appropriate position on the breast, but it maintains the anatomy that can allow for breastfeeding.

 2.) The technique detaches the nipple-areola complex completely and refix as a graft.

This technique is also termed a free nipple graft technique. The nipple-areola complex is  separated during the procedure. It may hinder the ability to breastfeed. Nonetheless, this method have significance, especially in women with excessively large breasts or other health issues.

How to ensure the ability to breastfeed after Breast reduction surgery?

It is to be remembered that are no techniques to ensure the ability to breastfeed following this surgery aside from avoiding the free nipple graft approach. In addition over-reducing to the extent where the breast tissue remains insignificant. If breastfeeding is a matter of concern for you, ensure to inform your plastic surgeon. Therefore they can take it into consideration while  planning and performing your surgery.

It is to be noted that your desire for breast reduction doesn’t mean that you have to give up the ability to breastfeed and the desire to be able to breastfeed doesn’t mean you can’t have the surgery that you want.

Breast Reduction Surgery  – The Procedure

Breast reduction surgery is usually performed through incisions on your breasts. It results in the surgical removal of abnormal fat, glandular tissue, and skin. Based on your requirements and the surgeon excess fat is removed through Liposuction.

The techniques implemented  in the procedure are determined by:

• The desired amount of reduction
•  Breast composition
• Overall health  condition
• Your  personal preferences
• Your plastic  surgeon’s suggestions
• Realistic expectations

Keeping all these factors in mind during the procedure gives you the best results from the procedure. The procedure is as follows.

Anaesthesia

Like any other surgery,  this procedure also needs to be performed under general or local anesthesia. This maximizes comfort and limits the pain and uneasiness of the patient.

The  Incision 

As discussed, the incision technique determines the outcome of the surgery to a large extent.- Be it aesthetics or the ability to breastfeed, the more sophisticateis the technique. However, the short scar technique, is worth it with many advantages.

In the short scar technique, the incision is given beneath the breast to the areola and around the areola. It is given at the particular point where light skin becomes dark. This masks  the resulting scar to a large extent.

The ultimate goal of any cosmetic surgery is to maintain natural aesthetic results. The short-scar technique substantiates this since the scar is camouflaged in the areola. Moreover, it completely vanishes  during recovery.

Removing Excess Fat and Tissue

As we said earlier, removing excess fat may be done through Liposuction. It may be using various liposuction techniques like  Power-Assisted (PAL) , Ultrasound-Assisted (UAL) Liposuction, etc. It ensures the best results.

In PAL  a small device moves rapidly back and forth, collapsing the fat and excess tissue. This is then suctioned out of the body. Similarly, UAL is done through a high-frequency ultrasonic energy-powered tool to emulsify fat. This facilitates rapid and easy removal.

Tissue should always be the focus of removal. Removing more fat than the tissue can make the breasts look deflated and unappealing.

Enhancing the Shape

Deflated breasts impart the appearance of deflated balloons. Even with the tissue tightened and repositioned so that everything points upwards, it may still look very unnatural. To counter this, your breast reduction surgery may include a slight augmentation on top of your breasts.

Closing the Incisions

The incisions are closed with sutures. Sutures are deeply layered within the breast tissue, further enhancing and supporting the newly shaped breasts. Although the scars are permanent, they fade and significantly vanish over time.

Recovery from Breast Reduction Surgery

The recovery period for this  surgery is 3 weeks. You may return to your routine physical activities and workouts after this period.   A review visit will be scheduled on the fifth-day post-surgery when your dressing will be removed. Your surgeon should give you a compression garment fitted for your size.  It is a tight-fitting garment thThis keeps your breasts in their new shape and ensures you get the best results. The garment must be worn 24/7 for at least three weeks while your body heals and recovers.at helps to give a new shape and support to the breast during recovery.

Here is  the timeline you can expect for recovery:

• First 24-48 hours: You may experience a small amount of swelling, bruising and discomfort. It is completely normal and regresses  in a day or two.
• Three days after the surgery: You can return to work if you have a sitting job that doesn’t require strenuous activity.You can do your daily chores and go for a walk if desired.
• Seven days post-op: You can start driving, but it always has to be wearing the compression garment that has to be used day and night.
• One month: By this point, most of the bruising, discomfort, and swelling subside. A Majority of the patients feel normal.
• 6-8 weeks: You can resume all your physical activity, including workouts

The breasts continue to “settle” into their final position over the next few months.

The results of Reduction Mammoplasty  are very ever-lasting. However, post-operative guidelines are necessary to maintain the results. Your new breasts should help relieve the pain and physical limitations you experienced before surgery. Your well-proportioned figure upgrades  your physique self-esteem  and boosts your self-confidence.

At Med Esthetiks  Dr Lokesh Handa, a board certified plastic surgeon in Delhi, adheres to high standards across every phase of the breast reduction surgery and patient care. His expertise and skills  brings you the best results using state-of-the-art equipment and world-class infrastructure. Dr. Handa emphasises  to ensure maximum patient comfort with very naturally aesthetic results!