“Medical breasts reduction?”
I am 13 years old and I wear a size 34g. I'm 5'4". Being that my breasts are very large for my body and age, my back is constantly in excruciating pain. I've spoken with a few doctors who all said the earliest I could get a breast reduction is 16 because I could continue to grow. Recently I sprained my wrist and was told my growth plates are close to being closed, ergo, I won't grow much more. Given this information, I am curious to know if I am able to get a reduction sooner than 16.
Female | 13 years old
Complaint duration: 2 years
9 Answers
My personal rule of thumb for performing breast reduction in a young adult is not before the age of 16 due to not just physical maturity put mental maturity as well. You would have to discuss this on individual basis with the physician you’re working with.
I have performed breast reductions from the age of 15 on. It all depends on the individual.
Frankly, you are lucky (and should be careful) that you found a surgeon that told you that they would do a reduction at 16. There is chronologic age (the number of years you have been alive), there is physical age or maturity (often assessed by growth plate closure and secondary physical characteristics), and there is emotional maturity (how will a person be able to deal with the normal and sometimes abnormal recovery and outcomes of a surgical procedure like breast reduction. I typically find that patients are not quite ready for this surgery until they are at least 18 and I would still have them come in with their parents or significant other to help best assess the later.
Wait until after 16
I have seen a number of young teenage patients like you with similar symptoms and I personally have operated on patients as young as 13-14 in rare cases. Unfortunately, in my experience Insurance Companies these days are very reluctant to even consider coverage of this procedure in patients younger than 18.
Hello, I am so sorry to hear that you are having such complications from large breasts, so early in life. Unfortunately, your breasts may still continue to grow despite your bone growth plates having been closed. This is the reason we wait until the age of sixteen. If you undergo breasts reduction right now, your breasts may continue to grow and you may then need a second surgery, with higher rate of risks and complications.
Hi,
This is truly a challenging question. Certainly, breast reductions are some of the most gratifying operations I perform, and I have even done these on older women in their 70's who regret having waited so long. In your case, I believe that if you are fully aware of the scarring and the risks that your breasts MAY (not for certain) continue to grow as you continue aging, and especially many years from now once you choose to become pregnant, and as long as your parents are supportive (since you are a minor and need their consent), then I wouldn't have a problem performing breast reduction surgery on someone your age. Especially knowing how much it could help you. All this being said, we would have to ensure that such a patient wouldn't need to lose a lot of weight. The information given gives the height, but not the weight. So, if the BMI is too high, then this would need to be addressed first, before proceeding to breast reduction.
This is truly a challenging question. Certainly, breast reductions are some of the most gratifying operations I perform, and I have even done these on older women in their 70's who regret having waited so long. In your case, I believe that if you are fully aware of the scarring and the risks that your breasts MAY (not for certain) continue to grow as you continue aging, and especially many years from now once you choose to become pregnant, and as long as your parents are supportive (since you are a minor and need their consent), then I wouldn't have a problem performing breast reduction surgery on someone your age. Especially knowing how much it could help you. All this being said, we would have to ensure that such a patient wouldn't need to lose a lot of weight. The information given gives the height, but not the weight. So, if the BMI is too high, then this would need to be addressed first, before proceeding to breast reduction.
This situation is one that I do not have experience with. However, under the circumstances, I would do a breast reduction now, and if there should be the circumstance that the growth continues, simply do it again. Three years, under these circumstances, is a long time. There is no guarantee that growth would continue if the reduction is done now.
There is no fixed age but growth plate closure indicates you are approaching max height. I would wait another year or so. You don’t want to have this done twice
