16 Jun Breast Reduction. A trend or an urgency?
Cosmetic Surgery + News
Breast Reduction. A trend or an urgency?
The Pamela Anderson era is long gone. Now it’s the Kate Moss style that many women want to follow. Is a small breast synonymous with elegance?
Text: Fabíola Carlettis
Source: https://magg.sapo.pt/vida-saudavel/artigos/reducao-mamaria-uma-tendencia-ou-uma-urgencia
If a few years ago we saw women wanting to have their breasts increasingly larger, and often disproportionate to their own body, today the trend is different. The famous phrase Less is more changed the routine of plastic surgery, by increasing the number of breast reduction interventions.
It’s not a current trend, but it’s recent. And Victoria Beckham was one of the first to create this change, when in 2014 she removed the prosthetics she had, as she felt they no longer suited her style.
This step led to many other women doing the same and reconsidering the concept of elegance, as explained by António Conde, Coordinator of the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Unit at Hospital Lusíadas Porto: “I perform hundreds of these types of surgeries per year, and only in 2017 , I did 150. What I see nowadays is that the reason that leads women to do it is increasingly aesthetic rather than for health reasons. But health is a strong reason, as there are many women who suffer from degenerative osteoarticular pathology of the spine, such as hernias, spondylosis or scoliosis, due to the weight of the breast.”
However, it is often not just the health aspect that is at stake. The psychological part is a very important factor in the number of Reduction Mammoplasties that exist in Portugal. Starting with back problems and ending with serious complexes and low self-esteem. Margarida Alegria, psychologist, states: “Breasts have a very strong importance and symbolic representation for women, as they directly represent femininity, self-esteem, sexuality and motherhood. Having a large breast directly influences a woman’s well-being. Many women end up isolating themselves, stopping going to the beach, for example.”
Cases that we can find on forums, where women with this problem talk to each other and give each other advice on whether or not they should proceed with the surgery.
But that’s not the only embarrassment. A couple’s intimacy can also be affected, as Margarida Alegria explains: “There are women who do not undress in front of their husband and do not allow skin-to-skin contact. There are cases of divorce due to lack of intimacy, resulting from the insecurity of women with too large breasts. Whether aesthetic or restorative, plastic surgery provides changes that bring well-being and self-esteem to people.”
This is a problem that affects many women in Portugal, starting from adolescence. In addition to age, this type of operation also covers all social strata. However, according to António Conde, “gigantomastia is a very serious problem and it is usually in the lower social strata that we see more of these cases, and this is clearly due to bad eating habits.”
Which leads to another question. The insurance one. According to António Conde, “this is a very serious and serious issue. Insurance does not reimburse this type of surgery, because they consider it merely aesthetic and unnecessary.”
MAGG spoke to some insurance companies and they all informed us that if the breast reduction is considered aesthetic there is no reimbursement. To be justified for health reasons, the user must have a medical report with this indication to be analyzed, which can still be refused.
This means that many women who need surgery are unable to do so or have to be placed on a waiting list to have the surgery wherever there is space. As?
Those who are unable to undergo surgery in a private hospital register at a public hospital and are placed on a waiting list. If that hospital does not have the capacity to carry out the operation (and can prove it) and the maximum waiting time has already been exceeded, users receive a surgery check to be operated on in private hospitals or other public hospitals. A process that can be quite slow.
So can we consider breast reduction a trend?
According to Dr. Rebelo, yes. “When it reduces, it is always due to the influence of trends. Even if it is for health reasons, the trend also influences. And the current trend is to have small breasts, to look more elegant and appear thinner.”
Proof that trends are cyclical is the difference in the choice of prosthesis sizes over the years “About 15 or 20 years ago the size most asked for was 200ml. Then it changed radically and the average size became between 300 and 350ml. Today, the average is around 260ml.”, explained the plastic surgeon.
In other words, augmentation surgery continues to be the most commonly performed intervention, however, the size of prostheses has decreased significantly.
These prostheses can also be placed when performing a Reduction Mammoplasty, that is, when reducing the breast, if there is a large amount of skin and little breast content, you can place a small prosthesis just to have a fuller, lifted breast. and firm.
Actress and presenter Isabel Figueira is a public case of someone who underwent a breast reduction of this type. “8 years ago, after having my first child, I had a Breast Augmentation and was pleased with the results. After my second child, my mammary gland continued to develop and I had twice as much breast size. This left me with great discomfort and a lot of back pain. Furthermore, with very low self-esteem. Those were the main reasons that led me to have reduction surgery.” Isabel Figueira told MAGG.
But it was only two years later that he was able to make the decision to move forward, “It took me a while to decide, but it was the best I could have done. I removed 350 ml from each breast. It’s a lot. This reduction completely changed my life. Being able to sleep on my stomach going down and wearing clothes that I couldn’t wear before, feels great. For example, I would never wear a neckline like the one I wore to a party on Oscar night, before the reduction. My self-esteem has improved a lot,” she says.
After making this intervention public, Isabel Figueira began to receive several messages on social media from women with the same problem, asking for tips and advice.
What are the surgery procedures? And what are the prices charged?
The way Reduction Mammoplasty is performed differs from doctor to doctor. In the case of António Conde, at Hospital Lusíadas Porto, the surgery is carried out under general anesthesia, lasts around 30 to 45 minutes, requires 1 day of hospitalization, without the need for pain medication and after 3 days he can return to work . “Despite being a more complex surgery, because it requires an inverted “T” incision and the opening of the entire breast, recovery is very simple and not painful. This also means that reduction has become increasingly popular”, he explains.
The value for this intervention is around €3,500. If a prosthesis is placed, in addition to the reduction, the cost increases to around €4,200.
In any case, the woman can resume her normal life within a few days and, if she is a mother, she can breastfeed without any limitations.