Is breast reduction surgery a commonly performed procedure?

Because large breasts can cause physical and mental stress over a long period of time,

it is not easy in our society to readily undergo

breast reduction surgery.

This is due to perceptions of

breast surgery and anxiety about it.

In fact, when you think about breast reduction surgery

and tell people around you,

it is common to hear negative reactions such as,

'Isn't it better to have large breasts? Why reduce them?'

'It's not something you show anyway, so why have surgery?'

Since the breast is not a part of the body that is

usually exposed to the outside,

the people around them tend to understand the problem less

than the stress experienced by the person concerned.

When breasts become large, a number of problems arise,

including not only the physical pain caused by the weight

but also skin conditions and mental stress.

In contrast, understanding and concern from people around them

are far from sufficient and are often distorted,

so it seems they have no choice but to carry

this lonely concern alone.

This situation becomes even more serious, especially when

someone is struggling because their breasts are excessively large during their school years.

Changing clothes becomes uncomfortable,

they may avoid physical education class,

posture becomes hunched,

and a passive personality may develop,

which can also lead to difficulties in social relationships.

If a person with large breasts does not undergo reduction surgery

and simply endures it through the series of processes of pregnancy, breastfeeding, and aging,

the breasts will become much larger as a result,

and the resulting physical pain

and mental stress will also increase.

However, if we assume that reduction surgery has been performed,

after the surgery the breasts will have become smaller,

and tissue will have been removed accordingly.

As a result, the total amount of glandular tissue is reduced,

so later, due to childbirth or breastfeeding,

the degree of enlargement is inevitably less.

In other words, even if they become larger again,

they will grow less and sag less,

so the discomfort caused by this will also be significantly reduced.

I think reduction surgery is not simply a matter of whether it is aesthetically pleasing or not.

Breast reduction surgery is an operation that improves functional inconvenience

and suffering, ultimately enhancing quality of life.

Considering all of these points,

I think breast reduction surgery is a case where

'the sooner, the better.'

Another reason people hesitate to undergo reduction surgery is the perception that it is a 'dangerous operation.'

Of course, reduction surgery is more difficult than other surgeries

and takes a long time,

but it is not relatively dangerous.

It is not an operation on internal organs,

as in surgery inside the thoracic or abdominal cavity.

Even among breast surgeries,

it is less painful than augmentation surgery, which inserts implants.

Breast augmentation surgery involves separating the muscle

and creating a space beneath it for the implant.

Breast reduction surgery, on the other hand, is an operation on the chest muscle above the ribs,

as well as the glandular tissue and skin that are above this muscle,

so the inner muscle is not touched.

In other words, because breast reduction surgery is performed without touching

internal organs or muscles at all,

it can be said to be an operation with much less risk and pain.

Strictly speaking, breast reduction surgery operates on the outer skin

and glandular tissue rather than the inside,

so the relative risk is not high.

However, because the surgical area is wide and the incision line is long,

and because it must go through a delicate process of suturing each part one by one,

it can be said to require a great deal of time and effort from the medical team.

In the United States, breast reduction surgery is one of the very common plastic surgery procedures.

Although there are still no exact statistics in Korea,

the U.S. performs around 100,000 reduction surgeries a year.

If we calculate that rate and apply it to Korea,

it seems it would be around 15,000 people.

Has your vague anxiety about reduction surgery eased a little?

I hope this has been of some help to those considering surgery.