Breast reduction is one of the most popular cosmetic procedures in the world today. It’s mainly being sought by women who want to reduce the size of their breasts, especially after pregnancy or weight loss. This is a surgical procedure through which excess fat in the breast, glandular tissue, and skin is removed to give your breasts a smaller size proportional to your body.
However, there are several important considerations you need to make before you have a breast reduction procedure. For instance, you need to consider your body weight and the possible effects it is likely to have on the final results. Continue reading to know how weight affects your breast reduction.
Should You Have Breast Reduction When You Are Overweight?
Medical experts advise against having a breast reduction procedure when you are overweight. The main reason for this is because some of the tissue causing your breasts to enlarge when you are overweight is not breast tissue. It is just fatty tissue on your chest wall and under your arms. So, if you reduce your breasts without getting rid of this fatty tissue, the results of your surgery won’t be impressive. Furthermore, it will be challenging for your plastic surgeon to give you the best shape because your chest and new breasts will still be looking broad and flat after the procedure.
Therefore, it is prudent to lose excess body weight and fat before you go for breast reduction surgery. If you lose weight before the breast reduction procedure, you are assured of getting impressive results because the new breasts will be proportional to the rest of your chest. Additionally, major weight fluctuations after the surgery will have a significant effect on the results. The changes in your body weight might even alter the size and shape of your reduced breasts, especially if you decide to lose weight after the surgery.
However, you should not worry so much about small weight fluctuations of between 10 and 15 lbs because they do not cause any significant effect on the outcome of the breast reduction procedure. Essentially, most healthy women of various weights can have the surgery before losing weight, but obese patients may be required to lose their excess weight first before the procedure. Patients whose body mass index is higher than 30 should consider losing weight before undergoing breast reduction surgery because they face a higher risk of developing complications after the surgery than other patients.
