Incisions are made in the curve beneath the breast, up from the center of that curve and around the areola. For women with especially large breasts who want to be considerably smaller, or for women who are overweight, the central cone technique doesn t work, as the cone can t be made small enough and still support the nerves and blood flow to the nipple. For those women, a surgeon might employ the free nipple graft, in which the nipple is removed completely and reattached after the sculpting of the breast tissue. Generally, the detachment and reattachment of the nipples permanently reduces nipple sensation and rules out future breast feeding. More recent innovations in technique are concerned with leaving less scarring, but, according to Dr. Robert Ley, a board certified cosmetic surgeon with a practice on California s Central Coast, You re usually going to trade poor aesthetic results for less scar.
Few people do a good job of it.
In three hours of surgery, my relationship to other people and the physical world shifted dramatically. For the first time since puberty, people looked me in the eye or more often than not didn t look at me at all. In 1992, nearly 40,000 people chose breast reduction. By 1997, that number reached 65,000. Thousands are seeking reprieve, under the surgeon s shiny scalpel, from back and neck pain, rashes, punitive clothing choices and freak or goddess stature.