One of the most common questions that Dr. Paul Pin gets from his patients who are considering breast reduction surgery is how small they can go with their surgery. His breast reduction patients may have spent years enduring unwanted attention, shoulder and back pain, and difficulty finding clothes that fit. Understandably, they want to reduce their breast size significantly.

Dr. Pin can reduce your breast size, but there are certain constraints and guidelines. Read further to find out what to keep in mind when considering how much you want to reduce your breast size.

Keeping Everything in Proper Proportion

Reducing the size of your breasts is more than just a matter of removing breast tissue. Dr. Pin must also consider the size of your overall frame. For example, if you have a large frame with a wide chest, reducing your breast size too much could affect the overall proportion of your body. On the other hand, if you have a small frame with a narrow chest, you can afford to have more breast tissue removed.

Breast Reduction by the Insurance Numbers

If you are hoping to get your insurance to pay for your breast reduction procedure, going that route may actually dictate how much breast tissue Dr. Pin can remove.

For a breast reduction procedure to be considered medically necessary, and therefore covered by insurance, you must be able to prove that your breasts are so large that they cause you significant health issues. These can range from neck, shoulder and back issues, to skin rashes underneath your breasts, to difficulty breathing while lying on your back.

If this is the case, the insurance company calculates the minimal amount of breast tissue that should correct the problem, based on your height and weight. Obviously, this will affect the final size of your breasts, as the insurance company is likely to set the minimum amount rather high.

If you do not want that much reduction, you will need to pay for the procedure as an elective procedure, so this may be something to consider when you think about how small you want to go with your breast reduction procedure.

Keeping Blood Flow to the Nipple

One of the most important goals of a successful breast reduction procedure is to keep a proper blood supply to the nipple. This will retain sensation. Because the breast tissue supplies blood flow to the nipple, enough must be maintained to keep the nipple healthy, so this can also place a limit on how much your breast size can be reduced.

However, if a large amount must be removed, such as for a case of medical necessity, as outlined above, Dr. Pin can do a nipple graft, in which the nipple is removed entirely from its original location. He will then reduce the breast size, and graft the nipple onto a new location on the breast. Within a few days, a new blood supply should be established to the grafted nipple.

A breast reduction can dramatically improve you, both physically and emotionally. If you are looking for a more permanent change, a breast reduction might be the right decision for you.