Is Breast Reduction Surgery Dangerous? (Surgical Risk vs. Anesthesia Risk)

For those considering breast reduction surgery,

one of the biggest concerns

is the level of surgical risk.

People often vaguely think,

'All surgeries are dangerous,'

or hear advice from others that

'reduction surgery is riskier than augmentation surgery.'

There are many people who have had breast augmentation,

but it is hard to hear about breast reduction cases,

and even after going for a consultation after much 고민,

there are many places that do not actually focus on

breast reduction surgery.

Because it is a 3D surgery and breast reduction

that bring in less profit compared to the time and effort of medical staff,

during consultations people often hear things like,

'If you want to do it, do it; if not, then don't,'

or 'Reduction surgery is dangerous and difficult, so only I can do it.'

Statements like these seem to have created the perception

that reduction surgery is difficult and dangerous.

So today, I would like to talk about

the level of risk in breast reduction surgery.

When considering any surgery,

there are two ways to assess it.

First: the risk inherent to the surgery itself.

Since every surgery carries its own risks,

you should not think of any surgery as completely safe.

That said, you can estimate the relative risk

by comparing it with other surgeries.

In general, when people say surgery,

there are cases such as stomach cancer or lung cancer surgery,

where internal organs in the abdominal or thoracic cavity are operated on.

If we narrow the scope to the chest area,

we can think of the more common breast augmentation surgery.

When performing abdominal or thoracic surgery,

the rectus abdominis or intercostal muscles are cut

so that the internal organs can be accessed directly.

In breast augmentation surgery as well,

because the amount of breast tissue is small and surgery is performed,

the implant is not placed directly beneath the breast glandular tissue.

Instead, after dissecting the pectoralis major muscle,

the implant is inserted beneath the muscle.

In other words, internal organ surgery and breast augmentation

have in common that they involve operating on the muscle layer.

When estimating the risk of surgery,

as well as pain and recovery time,

whether the muscle is operated on

is a very important benchmark.

Most surgeries that involve a lot of bleeding,

pain, or a long recovery period

are surgeries that operate on the muscle layer.

By contrast, breast reduction surgery

does not operate on the muscle layer.

The pectoralis major muscle lies over the ribs,

and the breasts sit above that muscle.

Because the breast is a skin appendage of ectodermal origin,

breast reduction surgery is an extended skin surgery

and is not related to the muscle layer.

Therefore, it has relatively fewer serious complications

and can have a shorter recovery period.

In other words, breast reduction surgery can be said

to have a lower risk compared to other surgeries.

However, surgical risk needs to be viewed from two perspectives.

So the second is the risk related to anesthesia.

The risk related to anesthesia is closely linked

to the length of the surgery.

The longer the surgery takes,

the longer the exposure to anesthetic drugs,

and accordingly, the risk of anesthesia also increases.

Because breast reduction surgery is an extended skin surgery,

the surgical risk itself is not high.

However, since the incision must be closed,

it tends to take a lot of time.

Usually, it takes 7-8 hours at university hospitals,

and even hospitals that mainly perform breast reduction surgery

usually take around 4 hours.

Therefore, due to the long surgery time,

it can be said to be a surgery with a relatively high

risk related to anesthesia.

That is why it is important to perform the surgery

as quickly and accurately as possible

so that no time is wasted.

At Moms Surgical Plastic Surgery,

with a collaborative system between a breast surgery specialist

and a plastic surgery specialist,

the reduction surgery usually finishes in about 2.5 to 3 hours,

so I can say that this length of anesthesia time

is not long enough to place a major burden on the body.

No matter how small the surgery,

it is natural to feel pressure and worry

before any operation.

The medical staff feels the same way.

This is because even in relatively safe surgeries,

unexpected variables can arise at any time.

That is why, before any surgery,

if you carefully understand your own objective condition

and consult cautiously at a place with extensive experience,

you can reduce these variables

and undergo breast reduction surgery beautifully

under a thorough plan, I believe.