You’ve been dealing with large breasts since passing through puberty, and you’ve done everything you can to downplay them. If you’re embarrassed by the size of your breasts and you’re tired of trying to find ways to hide them, we can help.
At McHugh Plastic Surgery, Dr. Thomas McHugh offers several different breast procedures, including breast reduction.
Here’s a look at how we can take the spotlight away from your breasts and put it back onto you.
While breast augmentation sits among the top 5 cosmetic procedures in the United States, you find yourself in a very different, and much smaller, boat. In 2019, more than 46,000 American women turned to breast reduction surgery, mainly for cosmetic and comfort reasons. (Please note that we’re using stats from 2019 as all elective procedures fell dramatically when the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020.)
Now that you know that you’re in good company, let’s take a look at how a breast reduction procedure works.
During a breast reduction, Dr. McHugh typically removes excess fat, glandular tissue, and skin to achieve your goals.
To get started, we place you under general anesthesia, and then Dr. McHugh makes incisions around your nipples, taking care to minimize any scarring. These incisions depend upon the extent of the reduction and may only surround your areola or include your areola and a line down to the bottom of your breast.
Once he gains access, Dr. McHugh removes the necessary tissue (sometimes using liposuction to remove excess fat) and repositions and reshapes the remaining tissue.
In many cases, Dr. McHugh can keep your nipples attached to their original blood supply and nerves and simply repositions the nipple after he’s removed the necessary tissues. He can also reduce the size of your areola if you feel it’s too large.
If you’re struggling with pendulous breasts in which your nipples are fairly far down, Dr. McHugh may have to detach them and reposition them up higher.
After your breast reduction surgery, you should expect to have sutures, bandaging, and perhaps a drain, and we give you all of the necessary instructions for overseeing these. We also have you wear a special bra or garment that supports your newly shaped breasts to help them maintain the right position and shape during your recovery.
You may experience some discomfort and swelling, so you should plan on taking it easy for a week after your surgery.
Rest assured, we monitor you every step of the way, and we advise you as to when you can get back to more normal activities based on how well you’re recovering.
Your patience and your adherence to our aftercare instructions will be well rewarded when you can venture out with confidence that your breasts aren’t going to be the first thing people notice about you.
If you’d like to explore whether you’re a good candidate for breast reduction surgery, please contact our office in The Woodlands, Texas, to set up a consultation.
