Extremely large heavy breasts can cause problems ranging from muscle pain to skin inflammation. Abnormally large breasts (also called macromastia) is a medical condition that can strain your muscles and cause pain in your shoulders, neck, and back. So, is there a way to relieve the symptoms caused by heavy breasts? Breast reduction surgery is probably the only effective way to treat macromastia symptoms, with the added benefit of giving you better-looking breasts. Our plastic surgeons are among the most experienced in performing breast surgery and breast reduction in Australia. The procedure can be done alone or combined with breast implants or breast lift for the best cosmetic outcomes.
There are many causes of neck pain and shoulder pain like obesity, disc problems, osteoarthritis, and nerve problems, and these might sometimes be the primary cause of your problems. Macromastia is thought to be a contributing factor to neck and upper back pain and is not usually the only cause. Either way, upper body musculoskeletal pain remains one of the most common complaints in patients wanting to reduce the size of their boobs. Thanks to gravity, heavy breasts pull down excessively on your upper body muscles and ligaments, causing you all kinds of problems. Having abnormally large breasts disturbs your center of gravity, so your shoulder, neck, and chest muscles will have to constantly work extra hard in order to support your breasts and adjust your posture. Even when you’re wearing a bra, the tight straps will still pull down on your shoulders and disturb your normal anatomy. This usually leads to muscle fatigue and strain, which can cause neck stiffness or pain, shoulder pain, chest wall pain, rib pain, and upper back pain in patients with heavy breasts.
Macromastia (also called gigantomastia) is the medical term used to describe breasts that are disproportionately large compared to the rest of the body. In simpler terms, Macromastia means having extremely big breasts. So how big is TOO big when it comes to breast size? This is actually not an easy question to answer. The diagnosis of macromastia is not usually done according to a specific breast weight or breast size, and it rather depends on your specific case. If you have very large and heavy boobs that are causing you discomfort or medical problems, your plastic surgeon will diagnose you with macromastia and recommend breast reduction. Women with very heavy boobs most commonly complain of neck, shoulder, and upper back pain, all of which can be treated with reduction mammaplasty.
In addition to causing neck and shoulder pain, large boobs can cause a wide range of problems:
So, you have very large breasts and are wondering if you should reduce them? There are many reasons why a woman would want to get a reduction mammaplasty:
If your large breasts are causing you unpleasant symptoms, your plastic surgeon will recommend breast reduction.
See more of Dr Carmen’s Breast Reduction Surgery Real Patient Before and After Gallery
Reduction mammaplasty (breast reduction) is the treatment of choice for women who have abnormally large breasts that are causing them problems. The procedure is usually done in a hospital’s operating room. You will be put to sleep by a certified anaesthetist so that you don’t feel anything during the operation (a process called general anaesthesia). After cleaning your skin with antiseptic, your plastic surgeon will perform an incision around your nipple (periareolar incision), and extend it vertically on the lower pole of your breasts. A horizontal incision is then done along the underboob crease (inframammary incision). Your surgeon will then cut out the excess tissue and any excess skin to achieve the desired breast size. After that, the remaining skin will be pulled together tightly and your wound will be closed.
After breast reduction, you might spend one night at the hospital to make sure everything is going well. Your surgeon might leave in a drain or two to drain out any leaky fluid or blood. These drains might be left with you for a few days when you leave the hospital. The change in size and shape of your breasts will be apparent immediately after surgery, however, it might take a couple of months to achieve full recovery. During the first few days after your surgery, you will naturally experience some pain around your breasts. This is usually controllable with oral painkillers that your surgeon will prescribe. You will also notice some bruising and swelling around your wounds. These are completely normal, and will slowly resolve slowly with time. You should take 10-14 days of home rest, during which you should avoid any strenuous activities.
Our surgeons use meticulous techniques to make sure the surgical wounds leave minimal scarring on the breasts, but still, reduction mammaplasty will leave a thin scar on your breasts. The scar around your areola is usually unnoticeable and fades into the surrounding pigmented skin. The same goes for the inframammary scar, which will blend into the underboob skin crease. The only noticeable scar will be the one extending from your nipple to the lower pole of your breast. Scars usually take a year to fully mature, during which they will become less apparent and leave a minimal trace. Our surgeons will provide clear recommendations and post-operative care plans to reduce scarring as much as possible.
Reduction mammaplasty is generally a very safe procedure that carries a low risk of complications. Here are the possible risks of breast reduction:
Yes, in fact, many women who request breast reduction have saggy breasts and want to make them perkier in addition to reducing their size. Reduction mammaplasty can be combined with the following procedures:
Luckily, Medicare and insurance are very likely to cover your breast reduction surgery if your plastic surgeon demonstrates that it’s a medical necessity. If your heavy breasts are causing you back, shoulder, or neck pain, skin inflammation, or mobility restriction, you are likely to be eligible for a rebate. If you want reduction mammaplasty purely for cosmetic reasons, you might not be covered by insurance.
Most women who have large and heavy breasts complain of back pain, neck pain, and shoulder pain. These problems, and other conditions caused by heavy breasts, can all be effectively treated with breast reduction surgery.