A breast reduction, whether for medical or cosmetic benefits, is a transformative procedure that addresses physical discomfort and provides immediate relief for chronic symptoms associated with having large breasts. However, like any surgery, there are important factors to consider. Below we’ll dive into five things to know before undergoing breast reduction surgery—from understanding the surgical process and recovery timeline, to knowing the pain expectations and risks.
1. You’ll be trading shape for scars
There are three main scar patterns that are utilized during a breast reduction surgery- anchor (or inverted T), lollipop, or less commonly- donut. While your surgeon will select the scar pattern that is most appropriate for your anatomy and your surgical goals, it is very important to recognise there will always be scarring associated with any surgery. If you want to fully understand what your scars will look like, ask your surgeon to draw the expected scar pattern on you with markers at your pre-operative visit. There is nothing worse than being surprised by the amount of scarring after surgery!
2. The recovery can range from 2-4 weeks
In the spectrum of surgical recovery, breast reduction surgery generally holds a shorter recovery timeline. It is recommended that you take roughly two weeks off of work, to allow for physical restrictions and the time your body needs to rest and recover. If your job is mostly desk work this timeline could potentially be shortened, and if your job is highly physical it may need to be extended by a week or two. It is important to inform your surgeon of the type of work you do prior to surgery so expectations of healing timelines are established early and your job can communicate any necessary leave paperwork that may be required prior to your absence.
3. Outpatient procedure
Breast Reduction surgery is done as a same day, outpatient procedure. Generally, your surgeon will request you arrive at the facility 1-2 hours prior to your quoted start time. This allows for intake to be completed and your IV line to be established. Once you are taken back to the operating room, the surgery lasts anywhere from 2-3 hours, and then you are allowed to recover while supervised by the medical team for another 2-3 hours if needed. Even though this is booked as an outpatient procedure, plan to be at your facility for most of the day.
4. Pain medication expectations
Although there is a lot of “rearranging” of tissue during a breast reduction, this is generally not a very painful recovery. Breast tissue, breast fat, and skin is removed and re-arranged during surgery, but there is no interruption of the chest muscles. You will likely be prescribed narcotics, or narcotic-like medication to take for a few days after surgery. Once this is no longer needed it is appropriate to transition to an over the counter regimen, like Tylenol and Advil to address mild to moderate post-operative pain. Commonly, by the two week post-operative mark medication is generally not needed. The Mended Wing Recovery breast reduction pillow is an essential tool to provide comfort and offload pressure on incisions throughout the immediate recovery process.
5. Smoking is not a good idea
The nicotine present in cigarettes and vape products causes the tiny blood vessels in your body to narrow, and limit the quality of blood supply to areas of the body that depend on those tiny vessels to keep them thriving. During surgery, skin is cut and tissue is rearranged, further complicating the established pathways of blood flow. Adding nicotine to this already sensitive scenario takes your risk of complication up significantly. Ideally, you should be fully off of all nicotine products six weeks before and six weeks after surgery to avoid preventable complications like skin death and poor wound healing.