When it comes to plastic surgery, people tend to believe that some procedures are more simple or difficult than others, and to some extent, this might be true. But it is important to understand that plastic surgery is nevertheless surgery, so it entails risks and complications just like other surgical procedures. At the same time, each plastic surgery procedure might also be associated with specific risks and complications, dependent on the nature of the procedure and the area targeted.
Breast reduction is one of the procedures performed mostly for functional purposes and less for the sake of the aesthetics of the body. Usually, when it comes to plastic surgery we put aesthetics in the first place, but in some cases, the roles are switched, and breast reduction surgery is one of these special cases. Women with overly large breasts can suffer from several severe conditions caused by the excessive weight of the breasts. Aside from health issues, we can also mention the emotional discomfort and the inability to perform certain tasks that might come easily to others.
Breast reduction surgery is sought after and recommended for women who have had the quality of their lives impacted by the excessive volume of the breasts and are also in constant pain due to the pressure that the breasts put on the spine. The pain can often be felt in multiple areas of the body, but especially the neck, shoulders, and back.
When breast reduction surgery is performed, the procedure will start with general anesthesia to ensure the comfort of the patient during the surgery and also no recollection of the surgical trauma and pain. Breast reduction is not a difficult procedure per se, but it certainly has a few delicate aspects that need to be treated with the utmost care. This is the reason why it is essential for the procedure to be performed only by highly experienced and talented, board-certified plastic surgeons.
After the anesthesia takes effect, the surgeon will make the incisions in different areas of the breasts. Incisions around the areola and in the inframammary fold will be made and also a vertical incision from the edge of the areola to the fold between the breasts. The length of the incisions and the technique used for them is dependent on the amount of skin sagginess and glandular tissue to be removed. The less tissue we need to eliminate, the smaller will be the scars left behind.
One of the delicate things that the surgeon needs to treat with care is the amount of glandular tissue removed from each breast. While the breasts are not completely identical, it is essential to remove the same amount of tissue from each one. If the breasts have visible asymmetries that should be corrected during surgery, then the surgeon must estimate the suitable amount of glandular tissue to remove from each breast to make them more proportionate.