Breast Reduction in Orange County & Newport Beach

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Procedure: Enhanced shape, proportionality, and physical comfort of breasts by a) removal of excess glandular tissue, fat and skin from large breasts, b) lifting and improving shape and contour of the breast, c)adjustment of nipple and areola shape and position, and d)possible liposuction of excess fat from armpit area.

Length: 2 to 5 hours of operative time depending on amount of reduction.

Anesthesia: General anesthesia

Place of Treatment: Outpatient surgical suite or hospital operating room.

Recovery: Patients will have full recovery within 6 weeks of surgery. Patients will be able to return to work if it is not strenuous within two week of surgery. Patients will be allowed to wear a sports bra as early as 2 weeks following surgery and regular undergarments 4 weeks following surgery.

Duration of Results: Breast reduction surgery typically yields permanent results. However, changes in breast size and shape can happen due to pregnancy, weight gain/loss, and gravitation forces requiring minor revision surgery.

Side Effects: Side effects are events that may be experienced by patients as a result of your surgery and should not be considered adverse events. Our patients are counseled regarding these effects and if experienced they are tolerable and often temporary in duration.

1. Numbness: Swelling after surgery usually results in loss of feeling in the breast and nipple area during the first several weeks.  This impairment should be temporary and last no longer than a few months.  In some cases, the loss of feeling can last longer or become permanent following inadvertent injury to sensory nerves not detectable by direct vision.
2. Scarring: Incisions may be lumpy and red for a few months, but they become less apparent over time and may fade to thin white lines.  Healing scars can usually be covered completely by your bra or swim suit.  Please note that smoking impedes the healing process and typically results in more prominent surgical scars.
3. Breast/Nipple asymmetry: Breasts may not be the same size and shape and nipples could be positioned slightly uneven depending on the degree of preoperative asymmetry.
4. Nursing problems: Women may not be able to breast-feed since the surgery removes many of the milk ducts leading to the nipples.

Risks: Risks are unwanted events that may occur during or following surgery. These events are recognized as “complications” but their occurrence is minimized by appropriate patient selection, proper surgical decision making, effective surgical technique, and thorough preoperative and postoperative patient management.

1. Hematoma: Hematoma refers to the accumulation of blood in the early postoperative period which pools into a surgical pocket. Hematomas provide a perfect medium for harboring growth of bacteria. So if you have an infection anywhere in your body, the bacteria will travel through the blood stream and grow in the hematoma; this can lead to an infection as well as an open wound. In order to avoid a hematoma, drains may be placed in surgery if the surgeon finds that you are oozy so that any fluid accumulation can be drained. Drains are usually kept in place for 4 to 5 days. In addition, patients are checked preoperatively to make sure that they do not have a blood clotting deficiency.
2. Seroma: Seroma formation refers to the accumulation of plasma fluid in pockets created by surgical elevation of the soft tissue and disruption of lymphatic vessels. This fluid accumulates due to a low blood count and protein deficiency, both of which promote leakage of plasma through severed vessels. This fluid can be a nuisance to patients requiring several aspirations in the office prior to their resolution. More importantly, these plasma fluid pockets may harbor bacterial growth and result in a clinical infection.
3. Infection: An infection can occur after breast reduction surgery and may disrupt incision lines and leave the patient with an open wound. Prolonged antibiotics are required to fight the infection and to prevent further extension of the infection. Infections are usually avoided by using sterile technique, using intra-operative antibiotics, and sealing all incisions sites so that bacteria can’t get in through external contact. In addition, infections are less likely in patients who don’t smoke cigarettes or in patients who quit smoking for at least 1 month prior to surgery.
4. Pulmonary embolism: Blood clots in large leg veins (deep vein thrombus) may travel up to the heart and lungs and cause pulmonary embolisms (a blockage of the pulmonary artery or one of its branches).  Although rare, pulmonary embolisms are the leading cause of death after surgery.