Macromastia or very large breasts cause significant physical problems for women.  When a teenager or woman has very large breasts, her level of physical activity usually is impaired.  Large, pendulous breasts also cause neck and back pain and may cause recurrent fungal rashes under the breast.  Furthermore, the breasts drop from the weight of the large breasts and the aesthetic shape becomes worse as the nipple and areola migrate lower and lower.  The worst kind of breast ptosis (breast drop) is seen in women with very large pendulous breasts.

The insider’s understanding (that of a Plastic Surgeon) of Breast Reduction is that there are a lot of mediocre boxy looking results from breast reduction surgery.   Many things have to go right: 1) the design of the breast reduction needs the proper three dimensional shape to create an aesthetic smaller breast shape; 2) the choices during the operation a surgeon has to make to sculpt the breast and execute the operation to create an aesthetic shape is vital to the overall outcome; 3) the choice of sutures to close the wounds and create the final subtle scar is also important.

If the amount of Breast Reduction is small to moderate, your insurance company will consider this operation as cosmetic and not cover the operation, no matter how many physical problems you may have.  If the Breast Reduction is substantial, then your insurance company may consider this as a medical necessity and cover the operation.  Only a request for authorization from your insurance company will lead to an answer.

The most important thing, however, is to get the right size and shape of your breasts from breast reduction surgery.