First-of-its-Kind Study Links Breast Reduction to Reduced Back Disorders

According to new research presented at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) Plastic Surgery 2009 conference, Oct. 23-27, in Seattle, women who have breast reduction surgery may be at a decreased risk for spine and other back disorders. Macromastia (overly large breasts) can be an unhealthy condition resulting in significant shoulder pain, back pain, and deep shoulder grooves caused by bra straps. In the study, women who had breast reduction experienced decreased stress in their lower back while performing a physical activity or task. In addition, participants reported dramatic improvements in their ability to perform dynamic movements and withstand static positions. To gather the results, eleven women, determined to need breast reduction surgery, participated in a biomechanical analysis/task that involved lifting a 5 lb. weight and responded to a questionnaire prior to and following their surgery.

By the Numbers:

According to ASPS statistics, nearly 89,000 breast reductions were performed in 2008, up 5 percent since 2000.

Breast Reduction May Lead to Cancer Detection in Patients

There may be some new added benefits to breast reduction surgery. Testing tissue and fat removed during the procedure may lead to increased cancer detection, reports a new study presented at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) Plastic Surgery 2009 conference, Oct. 23-27, in Seattle. Two-hundred-two cases were evaluated. Cancerous or pre-cancerous cells were found in 12.4 percent of patients. Age was significantly associated with negative pathologic findings. The rate of cancer was 6.2 percent in women 40 years or older and 7.9 percent in women 50 years or older. None of the lesions were identified on pre-operative mammograms. The authors suggest that increased testing in breast reduction patients can help to identify at-risk patients, especially in breast reduction patients over 40.

By the Numbers:

Nearly 90,000 women had breast reduction surgery in 2008, up 5 percent since 2000, reports the ASPS.

Source: American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS)

What Influences Women’s Opinions On Their Breast Surgery?

The six major factors that affect how happy a woman feels with the outcome of her breast surgery have been uncovered. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Women’s Health have determined that, as well as final breast appearance, there are five other major concerns that influence surgical satisfaction.

“Patient satisfaction with breast appearance was without doubt the key theme and is a salient factor in determining the success of breast surgery. However, other themes were also identified that related to the broadened notion of quality of life, including concepts such as physical, psychological and sexual well-being”.

The authors found that breast conditions and breast surgery impact women in the following six main areas: satisfaction with breasts; satisfaction with overall outcome; psychosocial well-being; sexual well-being; physical well-being; and satisfaction with the process of care. Although these six themes were common to women in all three groups, the importance ascribed to each was seen to vary by surgical group. According to Pusic, “While physical well-being was of only limited importance to breast augmentation patients (only a few reported pain and discomfort post-operatively), it was often the main motivation behind breast reduction surgery (patients reported substantial pain and activity limitations pre-operatively), and was often an issue for women following breast reconstruction”.

Pusic and her colleagues have used their framework to develop a new patient-reported outcome measure called the BREAST-Q©, which consists of three procedure-specific modules (Augmentation, Reconstruction and Reduction). The authors hope that their findings may be used to guide the development of patient education materials and facilitate shared medical decision-making. They conclude, “The combination of extensive detailed qualitative research and modern psychometric methods make it possible to measure constructs, such as patient satisfaction, in a more clinically meaningful and scientifically robust way than has ever been done in this patient group”.

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Source: BioMed Central Limited

Breast Procedures Leave Women Extremely Satisfied

99% Would Have Surgery Again, Says Study Presented at ASPS Annual Meeting

Chicago – Breast augmentation, breast lift, combination lift/augmentation and breast reduction achieve high satisfaction rates; enhance self-esteem and quality of life; and 99 percent of women would have their surgery again, according to a first-of-its-kind study presented at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) Plastic Surgery 2008 conference, Oct. 31 – Nov. 5, in Chicago. The study found breast lift and lift/augmentation to have a high level of patient satisfaction that rivals breast augmentation and reduction.

“Many studies have shown breast augmentation and breast reduction are highly gratifying procedures for women, but until now we’ve had limited information on patient satisfaction for breast lift or combination lift/ augmentation. This data fills in the gap,” said Eric Swanson, MD, ASPS Member Surgeon and study author. “When the vertical technique is used in the augmentation/lift procedure, patient satisfaction is high.”

In this prospective study, 325 patients were interviewed about their breast procedures over a five year period, with a response rate of 81 percent. Almost all patients, 99 percent, would have their procedure again and 91 percent of patients reported improved self-esteem. Overall, patient satisfaction was 96 percent. The average result rating was 9.2 out of 10. According to Dr. Swanson, the high patient satisfaction rates for breast lifts and reductions in the study applied only to the vertical technique, which was used on all patients.

The study also evaluated preferred breast shape, discomfort level, and recovery. Most women preferred a convex breast shape, i.e., fuller contour at the top of the breast.

“Naturally, breasts are fuller towards the bottom, but our study found patients want more fullness on top, which is hardly surprising in view of the purpose of bras,” said Dr. Swanson.

Patients reported using prescription analgesics an average of 5.4 days, resumed driving in 5.8 days, returned to work in 7.5 days, and felt “back to normal” in 27.8 days. Pain rating was moderate overall, 5.4 out of 10, higher for breast augmentation (5.9) and lower for breast reduction (3.3).

Nearly 348,000 women had breast augmentations in 2007, making it the number one cosmetic plastic surgery procedure performed last year, according to ASPS statistics. In addition, more than 106,000 women had breast reductions and 104,000 women had breast lifts last year.

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Breast Implant before and after photos

Before and After a breast augmentation surgery

Increase in Self-Esteem After Breast Reduction

Study shows breast reduction can improve physical, social and emotional quality of life

New York, NY  – Findings from a study published in the July/August 2008 issue of the Aesthetic Surgery Journal show a marked improvement in quality of life for patients who underwent breast reduction surgery, indicating that benefits of the procedure go beyond the mere aesthetic result.

One hundred patients with breast hypertrophy were chosen to participate in the study, and randomly allocated into two groups.  One group was selected to undergo breast reduction, while the other was put on a waiting list and served as a control group.  At the beginning of the study, all patients were interviewed to collect demographic information, as well as to measure their self-esteem and functional capacity.  The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and Rolland-Morris (widely used self-esteem measures) were used for these quality of life measurements.  Pain intensity was also measured using a visual analog scale. These measurements were evaluated again six months after the surgery.

After surgery, a decrease in the score on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale indicated a marked improvement in self-esteem in these patients versus those in the control group.  Functional capacity had also improved in this group of patients, who also reported a significant decrease in intensity of pain in the lower back.  It is reasonable to conclude that these improvements were brought about by the breast reduction surgery.

“Patients seek out breast reduction surgery for many reasons, not the least of which is to ease pain and discomfort associated with having larger breasts,” said Miguel Sabino Neto, MD, PhD, a plastic surgeon in São Paolo, Brazil and lead author of the study.  “However, there is also an emotional discomfort as well, including low self-esteem, social and sexual embarrassment, and frustration with difficulties in performing daily routines.  It was our goal to determine quantitatively whether these emotional issues improved, as well as the physical.”

According to statistics from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), 153,087 breast reduction procedures were performed on women in 2007.

“This study further demonstrates that the connection between the aesthetic results of plastic surgery and the emotional, social and physical quality of life of our patients cannot be underestimated,” said Alan H. Gold, MD, President of ASAPS.  “These findings will go a long way towards helping us to evaluate and better understand the impact of plastic surgery on patients’ lives, and serves as an example of our commitment to evidence based medicine and outcome studies in aesthetic surgery.”

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