Breast hypertrophy: When having large breasts is not very healthy.

Breast hypertrophy is the exaggerated and rapid development of the breasts in the second decade of life. This condition can occur in one or both breasts.

To determine when a growth should be considered hypertrophy, it is necessary to first review the classification defined for the breasts. A normal breast usually weighs between 250 to 400 grams. From this value, breast hypertrophy is considered and it could be classified as: mild (between 400 and 600 grams), moderate (between 600 and 800 grams), severe (between 800 and 1,400 grams) and gigantomastia (more than 1500 grams). ). 

However, we must consider hypertrophy to be any breast size that makes a woman uncomfortable, aesthetically and physically. This condition usually represents a big problem for these patients. On many occasions, it causes back pain with numbness in the arms and hands, the latter associated with the pressure exerted by the bra straps on the shoulders.

They also present skin irritations due to friction and humidity. The vast majority of the time, patients feel dissatisfied with their breasts, a condition that even affects their self-esteem and security.

These patients are precisely the candidates to undergo a breast reduction plastic surgery procedure.

The most common causes of gigantomastia are related to obesity, glandular disorders, early menopause, puberty, pregnancy after hypertrophy, diabetes, heredity and emotional disorders.

The technique
Reductive mammoplasty, as plastic surgery aimed at breast reduction is called, is a surgical intervention that aims to correct breast hypertrophy, reducing the volume and weight of the breast, by making a series of surgical incisions. , which will allow excess tissue and sagging breasts to be removed. In this way, the breasts are placed in a more harmonious position with the rest of the body and an excellent aesthetic appearance is obtained.

This type of surgery entails three scars that can hardly be ignored. The first is around the areola, the second is vertical (from the areola to the submammary fold) and the third is horizontal (across the submammary fold). The resulting shape is referred to by some as an "anchor."

It is important that the patient who decides to undergo this operation knows that if the appropriate technique is not performed (with the necessary scars) the result will not be satisfactory nor will it last as long as it should. It is preferable to make the scars that are necessary and thus obtain a much more beautiful and lasting shape. In the end, surgical wounds, when they progress satisfactorily, go practically unnoticed.

The main techniques can be used to perform a reduction mammoplasty, which involves preserving circulation with a "pedicle" that carries an artery, vein and nerve to the nipple-areola complex to give it life and sensitivity.

The duration of the procedure, depending on the technique to be used and the anatomical characteristics of each patient, can range between three and four hours and is performed using intravenous sedation with propofol.

In the postoperative phase, analgesics and anti-inflammatories are administered to control pain and discomfort. Routinely, a drain is left in each breast for two or three days, in order to evacuate the blood that is normally generated after the intervention.

The operated patient must wear a postoperative bra for a period that varies between one and three weeks. Ultrasounds and lymphatic drainage are recommended from the third postoperative day.

Return to sports or recreational activities occurs approximately one month after surgery.

The inflammation of the breasts lasts for a few weeks and the definitive shape of the breast can only be evident after the third postoperative month, and definitive changes may even be observed after a year. Reductive mammoplasty does not affect breastfeeding.

Reductive mammoplasty is a surgical procedure with high levels of safety, which achieves an important change in the patients' body image and produces great satisfaction in them.