I received an email today from  a young woman who is not happy with the size of her breasts following a breast reduction (reduction mammaplasty) procedure.  She writes, “When I was 16 I suffered from very large breasts.  I had a lot of neck, shoulder, and back pain which was improved by my reduction.  I’ve always felt that I was made too small.  Now, I’m 24 and I’m going to be married next summer.  Is it possible to have a breast augmentation after a breast reduction in your center in Houston?  I really want to look good in my wedding dress.  Please help.”

There are over 100,000 breast reductions performed in the United States each year.  The literature addresses many of the complications of this procedure but long term outcomes studies have failed to identify patients who are unhappy with their final size.  Women may experience immediate dissatisfaction if the breasts are over reduced and little breast tissue remains following the procedure.  Other women may become dissatisfied with time as changes occur in the breast due to volume loss following weight changes, pregnancy, or with age.  

A recent study by Colwell et al. identified 7 patients who felt that their breasts were too small following their breast reduction surgery.  The study shows that breast augmentation can be a useful technique in women with this problem.  All of them had an improvement in their body image scores following breast augmentation.  5 out of 6 of them were very satisfied following the procedure.  

Here is an example of a patient that underwent a breast augmentation in my practice following a breast reduction by another surgeon.  She is a 36 y/o woman who underwent a small breast reduction in 1997.  She was pleased with her surgery until recently when she has felt that her breasts have become “deflated”    On examination, she had lost upper pole fullness and volume in her breasts.  She also has pigmented scars typical of a patient with a prior history of a breast reduction.  Here is the preoperative photograph:

During our consultation, she decided that she would like to use a 325 cc implant to help restore her breast volume.  Due to her prior history of a breast reduction, I elected to put her implant into the sub pectoral plane.  I used a small segment of the breast fold incision that she already had as the approach.  Here is the postoperative result:

The operation achieved her goal of a fuller breast following breast reduction surgery.    It should be noted that this patient also underwent a tummy tuck (abdominoplasty).

Our websites www.beauty-surgeon.com and www.drmckane.com have additional information about breast augmentation and before and after photographs for review.  I invite you to schedule a consultation with me if you would like to learn more about this procedure.  Please feel free to contact our office at (713) 661-5255 if you have any questions.

-Brice W. McKane, M.D.