Breast reduction surgery is the only safe and efficient method that is available nowadays to reduce the size and volume of overly large breasts. The patient will benefit not only from an improvement in the aesthetics of the body but also increased functionality. The discomforts associated with large breasts such as difficulties in sustaining a normal body posture, back, neck and shoulder pain, as well as the impossibility to perform certain physical activities disappear after the procedure and the patient can enjoy a better quality of life.
The surgery can be performed on people with different levels of breast hypertrophy, including patients confronted with gigantomastia. The age of the patients also varies from 16 years old to over 50.
Patients interested in undergoing a breast reduction surgery are often concerned about the results and whether the breasts can grow back afterwards. To find the answer to this question, we need to have a look at what happens when breast reduction surgery is performed.
The procedure starts with the plastic surgeon making incisions on the breasts. There are different types of surgical approaches, and the location of the incisions can be different from one case to the other as it depends on the amount of tissue to be removed, the characteristics of the patient, her goals, and also the experience and preferences of the plastic surgeon. After the incisions are made, the plastic surgeon will detach the skin from the mammary gland tissue and remove the excess of glandular tissue. The amount of tissue to be removed is according to what you have discussed during the pre-operative consultation. After the glandular tissue is eliminated, the plastic surgeon will re-center the mammary gland so the breasts will have a perky appearance. The skin envelope is re-draped on the breasts, and the excess skin is also eliminated. The incisions are sutured and the procedure is now completed.
As you can see, the glandular tissue that is in excess is removed. In other words, that tissue can’t regenerate to make the breasts bigger again. However, there are certain situations when breasts can become larger again after breast reduction surgery. The first instance is when the procedure was performed before the patient completed the development of the mammary gland. This means that the growth of the mammary gland will continue after the procedure and hence the breasts will get bigger. Another case in which the breasts can get bigger is during pregnancy due to the hormonal changes that occur in the body. However, it is important to mention that the breasts will never be as big as they were before the surgery, even if an ulterior growth can occur. The results of the procedure can be altered, but the size of the breasts will still be smaller than before the procedure.