My daughter, 16, has 32DD breasts that seem to be extreme tubular breasts. She struggles with her self esteem and confidence from this. She can’t wear anything without a bra tightened all the way. She has pain from the weight and has indents on her shoulders from the bra. Will surgeons preform on her because of the major psychological effects? Would this be considered cosmetic or medical?
Large breasts can certainly cause physical symptoms as well as psychological stress. Some girls also have breasts that are abnormally shaped. The biggest concern would be whether your daughter has completed her breast development. This depends on what age she started her periods (breasts usually stop growing about 2 years or so later), whether her weight is stable, and if she has reached her adult height. Operating on younger women carries the risk that they will trade their discomfort about breast size/shape with discomfort about the necessary scars. Their ability to breastfeed may be diminished. And their breasts may be changed by later pregnancy, breastfeeding, weight fluctuations and aging for which they might want further surgery. The best place to start is by consulting with a board certified ASPS member plastic surgeon. Your daughter can be examined and suggestions for treating her concerns can be discussed.
Dr Johnson’s response is perfect. I consider it medically necessary . Do it now and send her off to college happy and well adjusted. Critical to choose a very, very experienced breast surgeon who is also a member of this society. Frankly, Seattle not far from Sacramento. I would send her to Dr Johnson or surgeon more local who Dr Johnson recommends. I just do Brazilian Butt Lifts and lost touch who does most of breast surgeries in Northwest (used to live in Portland, Oregon). Good Luck!
Thank you for your question. Insurance companies have certain criteria that need to be met to cover the surgery. Find out what your insurance company’s criteria is. I, personally, stopped dealing with insurance companies. I prefer to make my own decisions and provide what’s best for my patients and not what an artificial criteria requires. I prefer to do a short scar breast reduction/lift and not an anchor scar. I do these surgeries in our certified office surgery suite under intravenous sedation only. If your daughter desires surgery, should wait until her spring or summer break from school.
See a board certified plastic surgeon experienced in all aspects of breast surgery for an in person consultation/evaluation. Good luck.
I did respond to your daughter but will elaborate here. Yes, sometimes, depending on what type of insurance your daughter has, it can be covered. We send in photos and try and get a pre-authorization. This we do for many of our patients who are out of the area of our offices. I usually do this surgery as an outpatient and recovery is about two weeks. You would need to be in the area of office for a minimum of several days.
Dr. Edward Jonas Domanskis is Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery
Newport Beach(main office), San Francisco,Miami, EU, Anguilla
Assistant Clinical Professor of SurgeryWOS-Plastic,University of California (Irvine)
Orange County’s Physician of Excellence/America’s Top Physicians/Top Doctors
Plastic Surgery
President,American Society of Bariatric Plastic Surgeons
Organoderm Skin care/ScaRxTape
Thank you for sharing your question. From your narrative it sounds as if your daughter is a candidate for a reduction for medical purposes. We typically like to wait until a woman's breasts have fully developed but reductions can be done before with the understanding that they may still grow into the future.
Hello Awilliams. Your daughter needs to correct her condition to avoid bullying, lower self esteem and be able to wear fashion according to her age. Since I do not work in US I do not know if insurances cover this kind of surgery. She just need your authorization to undergo surgery, since she is still a minor.