When considering breast reduction surgery, many patients have a functional goal in mind and think less about the aesthetic consequences of the procedure. It is only normal to think this way as the procedure is mostly performed to provide the patient with comfort and relief from the constant back, neck and shoulder pain that is often caused by overly large breasts.
When breast reduction surgery is performed, the patient is put under general anesthetic and the plastic surgeon will remove the excess mammary gland and also the fat and skin tissue to get the breast size that the patient desires to achieve. In many cases, patients will want to get to a C cup, as this is probably the most requested size for both breast augmentation and breast reduction surgery. The procedure aims to correct the volume of large breasts, but the shape of the breasts that will result will be a natural one, according to the anatomy of the patient. This is very important to know before scheduling your breast reduction. There are patients who tend to believe that by removing the excess of mammary gland they will automatically achieve exactly the shape of the breasts they have always dreamt of, but this is not always possible.
Overly large breasts often suffer from breast ptosis. This means that the breasts sag low on the chest wall and their upper pole is deflated and looks empty. This is a very common appearance for overly large breasts and a reason why many women want to undergo the procedure. Saggy breasts are never appealing, and they can also make the patient look older than her age as we associate breast ptosis with older people.
Reshaping the breasts with breast reduction surgery is not always possible in the way the patient expects. This is a reason why you should discuss this issue with the plastic surgeon in detail as he may have other solutions for you. For example, the plastic surgeon might recommend breast reduction surgery with implants. While the procedures have completely opposite goals, performing them in combination can considerably change and improve the shape of the breasts. Using silicone implants with a high profile can deliver that upper pole fullness that many patients look for when undergoing plastic surgery on the breasts. At the same time, breast reduction surgery will make your breasts look perkier and they will have a more beautiful, but natural shape.
To understand how your breasts might look like after the surgery, you can have a look at before and after pictures of patients who had the same procedure you are interested in. Make sure to look for patients with similar anatomical characteristics as yours and discuss this with the surgeon.