Breast Reduction Surgery: How to Get Started

Breast reduction surgery is an increasingly popular form of cosmetic surgery in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe. Breast reduction surgery, known as "reduction mammaplasty" in medical terms, is a complex series of procedures that removes excess breast tissue and reshapes a woman's breasts to bring them into proportion with the rest of her body.

Reduction mammaplasty is done for a variety of reasons, but always only at the request of the female patient. Women choose reduction for a variety of reasons: the weight of the breasts, difficulty finding bras that fit, poor self-esteem concerning body image, pain associated with such heavy breasts, or occupational concerns. While each woman's reasons for choosing this surgery are different and unique, they all have one factor in common: the need for medical justification for the surgery in order to qualify for medical insurance coverage for the procedure.

Health insurance companies have cracked down over the past decade on cosmetic procedures. Breast augmentation, for instance, in usually not covered by medical insurance-having breast implants inserted to increase the size of the breasts for cosmetic reasons is viewed by most health insurance companies as a personal choice, not a medical necessity. The implants are covered, however, for some reconstruction surgeries after severe accidents or illnesses in which breast tissue was removed, such as cancer-related surgeries. But the average woman walking into a plastic surgeon's office who wants to have larger breasts for her self-esteem will not have the surgery covered by medical insurance.

On the other hand, when a woman goes to a plastic surgeon for an initial consultation to ask about a reduction, the doctor must determine whether the woman is a candidate for the reduction, and whether medical insurance will cover the procedure. In general, five criteria must be met:

1. The woman's breasts must be out of proportion to her body shape and height.

2. The woman must experience physical pain-normally back and neck pain-because of the overly large breasts.