A ^Retired Plastic Surgeon's Notebook

How young is too young for breast reduction?

The industrial strengh bra, not a great look for a teenager

Seattle Plastic Surgeon Discusses Teenage Breast Reduction

 

I received an email last week from a mother who was wondering if her 14 year old daughter could possibly be considered for a breast reduction. Her daughter is a dancer and has a really tough time with her large breasts. They cause her discomfort – both physical and mental.

My age spread for breast reduction is 14 – 68 years of age. That’s the biggest age spread for any of the many procedures I perform.

Almost all the teenagers who have had breast reduction were athletes or dancers. They all felt that they had stopped growing and had reached their full breast size. They all were embarrassed about the attention they received from guys because of their breasts.

I’ve been in practice almost 20 years so I’ve had the pleasure of seeing some of my young patients years and years after their surgery and none of them have regretted it for one minute.

There are a couple of downsides to having a reduction at a young age. Women who have had a reduction will not likely be able to breast feed a baby and younger women tend to have more obvious scars than older women. Also, with time and pregnancy, the reduced breast may have a change in size and/or shape over the years. I have done a handful of “re-dos” on women who had reductions decades ago.

The ideal time for a reduction is after a woman is done with childbearing. That being said, I think that certain really, really over endowed young ladies are very well served by this surgery. As with all procedures, it comes down to patient motivation and expectation and a good understanding of the risks and benefits involved. And many young women are emotionally mature enough to make the decision, especially if they have a good and open relationship with their mothers.

 

Category: Breast Contouring, Breast Reduction, General Health | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

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