Breast Reduction and BMI*

Women with higher body mass index (BMI) often suffered from macromastia. And while weight loss is encouraged and recommended, it often does not improve the breasts very much and in fact breast ptosis or drooping gets even worse after weight loss. Many insurance companies will not approve a breast reduction if the patient is overweight, or they are required to show at least 3-6 months of attempts at weight loss. This 49-year-old woman wore a K cup bra and wished to get down to a D cup if possible. Her body mass index was 36. She had attempted weight loss but found it very hard to exercise with her large pendulous breasts. Because insurance would not cover this, she chose to do self-pay. She underwent bilateral breast reduction with removal of over 2-1/2 pounds per breast getting her down to a D cup or perhaps even double D. She was quite pleased with the improvements and now has been able to improve her efforts at weight loss feeling more comfortable with exercise. Many surgeons limit breast reduction to patients with body mass index of 30 or less. Given that the patient is an otherwise appropriate candidate, Dr. Lyle will frequently do higher BMI patients but in a hospital setting. Generally, he limits his patients to body mass index of 35 or less with a few exceptions.