Breast reduction in unequal breasts

before

after

This 31 year old woman underwent breast reduction in which approximately one and one third pounds of tissue was removed from the right breast and almost two pounds of tissue was removed from the left breast.

In this individual’s case, the incisions used to perform the breast reduction were of the “lollipop” or short scar type. This method of breast reduction avoids any incisions in the cleavage and in most instances along the lower fold of the breast.

This woman, like many others, had noticeably asymmetric breasts. In her case, the left breast was noticeably larger than the right breast. I make every effort to correct this during surgery, but ultimately, no two sides look identical after surgery- just as they did not before surgery.

Also very visible in this individual are the "shoulder grooves" from her bra straps. This is a common issue in women who have extremely large breasts or "macromastia." The pressure from the bra straps typically cause pain, open wounds and sometimes even numbness and tingling in one or both hands from compression of the underlying nerves. Breast reduction can alleviate these symptoms almost instantaneously.

BEFORE PHOTOGRAPH: This is a frontal view of a 31 year old woman who had differently sized breasts prior to undergoing breast reduction surgery. No two sides of the human body are identical. In the case of the breasts, it is very common to find marked differences between the breasts. This is normal and can be related to differences in the shape of the right and left sides of the rib cage on which a woman's breasts sit, the shape of her spine (i.e. whether or not a woman has scoliosis and to what degree it is present), differences in the developement of each breast and whether or not she breast fed preferentially on one side.

AFTER PHOTOGRAPH: Frontal view of a 31 year old woman who differently sized breasts prior to undergoing breast reduction surgery. Every effort is made to make each side look as similar to the other. However, no two sides can every look exactly identical after surgery. Also notable in this case study are the "shoulder grooves" from bras straps. Pressure from bra straps can cause pain locally, changes in the skin underying the bra straps that ranges from discoloration to open wounds and even numbness and tingling in the hands from downward displacement of the scapula.

BEFORE PHOTOGRAPH: This is a right frontal oblique view of a 31 year old woman who had differently sized breasts prior to undergoing breast reduction surgery.

AFTER PHOTOGRAPH: This is a right frontal oblique view of a 31 year old woman who had differently sized breasts prior to undergoing breast reduction.

BEFORE PHOTOGRAPH: This is a right profile view of a 31 year old woman who had differently sized breasts prior to undergoing breast reduction.

AFTER PHOTOGRAPH: This is a right profile view of a 31 year old woman who had differently sized breasts prior to undergoing breast reduction surgery.

Breast reduction in unequal breasts

Dr. Ksenija Belsley

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