Breast Reduction Regret

A Life-Changing Procedure

While all plastic surgery procedures can be transformative for a patient, a breast reduction is often one of the most life changing. A study reports that this procedure offers high patient satisfaction. But there’s still that small faction of patients that isn’t happy with the results—and in fact, some end up regretting having done the procedure at all. Breast reduction regret, albeit rare, is a very real thing.

We observed that the majority of patients who regret their breast reduction surgery had experienced some significant complications—in particular, tissue necrosis of the nipple. This is why it is important to choose your surgeon carefully, as your choice of surgeon can make or break the outcome of your procedure. The best way to prevent breast reduction regret is to go to a plastic surgeon who is board certified, who does a high volume of these procedures, and with whom you feels comfortable.

Patient Dissatisfaction

That said, there remains a segment of patients that regrets breast reduction despite a safe outcome. To help prevent dissatisfaction with your own surgery, read on—we break down a few aspects of this specialised procedure that can cause breast reduction regret.

Breast Reduction Regret #1: Scarring

There are a few different incision techniques used when performing a breast reduction, with the most common three being periareolar (around the nipple); lollipop (around the nipple, with another incision traveling down vertically from it); and an anchor incision, which is like the lollipop technique but with an added horizontal incision. The incision used typically depends on how much skin needs to be removed.

How the scars turn out largely depends on patients’ genetics. If you are prone to keloids, you likely already know this, and you’re at greater risk for significant scarring post-procedure; it really comes down to the luck of the draw.

Breast Reduction Regret #2: Size

While it can be jarring to suddenly have smaller breasts—and some patients may regret breast reduction surgery because they went too small, it’s more common to regret not going even smaller. That said, shock surrounding the size of one’s new breasts post-procedure can be mitigated during the consultation. It is important to discuss your desired size and good practice to bring in photographs of your ‘perfect-world breasts’ for your plastic surgeon, to prevent any misunderstanding.

The aspects that are most important to keep in mind when choosing your post-procedure size are how dramatic the change would be and the proportions of the rest of your body. Radical changes in breast size—from very large to very small—or a mismatch in the size of the breast relative to your size can be more disruptive to your self-image than a more subtle change. Whenever possible, it’s preferable to design a reduction that leaves the breasts in harmony with the rest of your body.

Breast Reduction Regret #3: Regrowth

It’s rare but possible: breast tissue can grow back after a breast reduction. This often happens because of weight gain—if you’re someone who tends to gain weight in their breasts, you could be at a greater risk for regrowth. Other causes include pregnancy (which causes hormonal changes that can trigger the breasts to grow in size) and getting breast reduction surgery too early in life, before your breasts have finished growing.

Breast Reduction Regret #4: No Improvement to Back Pain

Even rarer than breast regrowth is no improvement to back pain. This comes with a caveat: patients with almost instantaneous relief have had their breasts lifted above the inframammary fold and have removed at least 500 grams (around one pound) of tissue from each breast. Simply having lighter breasts will not guarantee a reduction in discomfort.

Breast Reduction Regret #5: No Change to Self-Esteem

For many, the transformation to one’s mental health is the most significant benefit of undergoing a breast reduction. The psychological uplift of being able to wear a swimsuit, exercise comfortably, and even something as simple as easily buying a bra is nothing short of miraculous. The freedom one feels after removing 2 to 10 pounds of breast tissue is beyond description for most patients. Studies show that in the majority of cases, breast reduction surgery can alleviate depression and anxiety as well as improve quality of life and self-esteem.

However, for those who have preexisting body images that are not resolved with this surgery, undergoing breast reduction can lead to regret. Preexisting body-image issues are critically important to elucidate as surgery will not improve these issues, but exacerbate them on the contrary.

What to Do If You Regret Your Breast Reduction?

If you have yet to undergo this surgery and are wary of potential regret, let us reiterate that the majority of patients who get breast reduction surgery are very happy with their outcomes. Those who have undergone and regret breast reduction surgery typically feel remorseful around the 6- to 12-week mark, after seeing the scar or breast size as the swelling resolves. If you’re regretting your choice, speak to your provider right away—but also be gentle with yourself. You’ll still be healing from your procedure, and it’s somewhat normal to question the decision to get plastic surgery during recovery, especially when you’re uncomfortable.

Should you fully recover and determine that you do, in fact, regret your breast reduction, you have options. If you decide you want to enlarge your breasts with an augmentation surgery, your breasts’ weight, size, and shape should be stable for at least one year before booking a new procedure. Breast augmentation after a breast reduction is not particularly common, but it’s not unheard of.