Breast reduction for 17 year old?

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My 17 year old is a 32K bra size and has been since she was 15. Her breast size is an issue for her, she wants to perform and dance and even great sports bras don't make a big difference. It is impacting her confidence massively and we're going to look at a reduction for her. We may qualify for NHS treatment but think may go privately as imagine wait lists are massive. Would love advice from anyone who has had a similar situation and your experiences and advice from making the decision, where you had jt done, to the difference it made to your daughter. Thank you

No direct experience personally but I know 2 people who have had a reduction in later life and both wish they'd done it much sooner for the back ache alone never mind anything else.
Good luck, I hope she can choose with confidence and enjoy her youth the way she wants to.

Just wanted to wish her (and you) best wishes. I have a friend who didn't take this route but feels she should have. It would have made her life more comfortable and she would have been happier.

My only concern would be how much growing is left? Could she hold out until 21 or 25? I know someone who had it done young and had to repeat the op years later. Also, search the arse out of surgeons before you go ahead. They can talk the talk but make absolutely sure they can walk the walk. I've also seen people unsatisfied with the aesthetics after and this will affect her intimate life going forward if she's unhappy visually after.

She may also not be able to breastfeed later in life as the nipple will be repositioned. Sorry don't know the medical aspects but a surgeon will talk you through this.

You may need to go private. My dm had it done and had 4.5kg removed! She had to move counties to get Nhs approval as she was turned down 6 times. When she finally met her surgeon, he said she was one of the worst cases he'd ever seen.

I had this done on the NHS around 10 years ago at the age of 21 and I would have done it sooner if possible. the surgery and recovery all went smoothly and it completely changed my life. I had a new found confidence and this led to finding enjoyment in exercise that I hadn’t had before.

To the poster that mentioned breastfeeding, this is a consideration although now surgical techniques have improved the impact on breastfeeding has reduced. Personally, I have been able to exclusively breastfeed my 7mo without issue.

Happy to talk further if it would help!

I was similar and had a reduction at 16. It was the best thing I ever did and I’ve never regretted it.

I wasn’t able breastfeed my twins, because it took too long for my milk to come in and supply was limited, but with my son (3 years later) I had no trouble with it at all and my surgery was over 20 years ago, so things are probably even better now.

If she wants it done and you can afford it, I wouldn’t hesitate.

She's unlikely to get it on the NHS without evidence that it is affecting her back and if it, they might expect her to undergo physio first.

The waiting list is also very long in some areas (over a year).

I had one at the age of 45 but wanted it done from the age of 20. I really wish I had done it when I was younger because I spent my whole life being self conscious and not being able to wear the clothes I'd have liked to. I didn't realise just how much my confidence had been draining away as I spent my life hunched over trying to hide my huge boobs from the world.

There is scarring to consider but they do fade if you use scar reduction tape. I wasn't so bothered but a younger person may be worried by that.

The actual operation didn't leave me in pain - it's more discomfort of having to sleep in a surgical bra and only on your back for a few weeks - the first week post surgery is the worst part but after that it's fine.

I went private 7 years ago and it cost £5500 and included a year of post surgery care and even a little tidy up of loose skin under local anaesthetic once the swelling and gone down.

They have not grown back despite what lots of people assumed would happen.

Interested to hear from the OP is possible - I wonder if you have any update? My 16 year old is very keen to explore getting a breast reduction (she is 28HH).
I can see the impact her breast size has on her life already - from the social impact from unwanted attention, incorrect assumptions about her personality/ potential promiscuity, to not being able to find clothes that fit and discomfort when she exercises (plus the expense of specialist bras and the emotional toll of feeling different - would love her to manage a trip to Bravissimo without tears)
But I'm nervous too as its major surgery and she has previously been diagnosed with an eating disorder (her body image has definitely been impacted by breast size and her significant puberty was probably a trigger for the eating disorder she developed).
Would love to hear from other people who have gone through this as a teen/ YA or with a teen/YA. (I'm a 32D on a good day so I have no personal experience I can share with her)
After much begging on her part I have booked for her to speak to a consultant surgeon that we have been recommended (appointment later this month) but I don't want to rush into this either - By same token I know the NHS is not going to even consider funding this unless and until she is experiencing significant physical symptoms and don't want to wait for that to happen either.
Otherwise she is concerned about the potential impact on breastfeeding - but it might be 15+ years before she becomes a parent and I don't think she would be keen to wait that long... and she isn't overweight so loosing weight is not going to make a significant difference - (and any suggestion by doctors that she could consider weight loss makes me anxious due to earlier Eating Disorder ...)

They are almost impossible to get on the NHS now. Even the areas that do offer them have such strict criteria it’s unachievable.

I really understand how bad it is for your daughter but her age might present a difficulty.
I started a thread about mine last year but there’s a great community of pre and post op ladies with a wealth of knowledge.
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/AMA/4642493-i-had-a-breast-reduction-ama?page=39&reply=130326341

Hi there, as above I was 20 or 21 when I had my reduction (now 10 years ago). I had mine on the NHS after back pain led to investigation for a suspected spinal fracture! I lost quite a bit of weight after being told it may reduce their size and realise now that led to some unhealthy eating habits so I would say you’re right to be cautious around that. Honestly, the recovery was a total breeze. I don’t recall feeling much pain and being so young, I sailed through it.

On the breastfeeding issue, definitely speak to the consultant about these concerns. There are different surgical techniques which have different impacts on ability to breastfeed. I have just stopped breastfeeding my little one, I managed successfully for 15 months! I was given access to an NHS breastfeeding specialist in the later stages of my pregnancy and early postpartum days. She said that the longer between the surgery and pregnancy, the more successful the breastfeeding is likely to be. She said in her experience, most post-reduction women managed to breastfeed to some extent and that the literature was much less optimistic than reality!

Happy to answer any questions!

I would go for it. Why wait if she can have it done and they think she has finished growing. If you can afford private do it. It will drastically improve her life. I know someone who had it done at 35 and she wished she's had it done 15 years earlier. She had permanent damage to her spine from them being so heavy.

Thank you both for your responses - you validate some of the concerns I have that come from not doing anything - and it is encouraging to hear that you have managed to breast feed for 15 months MSJK - how wonderful!

MSJK - Having had the surgery as a young women did the scars bother you? I've read opinions of women who are older and getting the surgery who fear if they had been younger the scars might have bothered them (my daughter watched a documentary about the operation and seemed incredibly non-plussed about the physical reality of the procedure but I think this is something I might find hard to process)

Also I'm interested whether having had the surgery young did you continue to grow/ I assume you haven't returned to your earlier size? (I went down 2 cup sizes post pregnancy - but obviously its common to get bigger as we get older and one risk I'm also hearing is that a younger woman might need to have the surgery twice - (although its always a choice isn't it and referring back to the risk you highlight of not doing it/ waiting 30 years to do it...)

I wish I had done this at this age. I would have avoided lots of damage to my neck and skin. Also, it would have made it much easier to do lots of physical activities I wanted to do but was put off by my bust.
It may cause problems for breastfeeding in the future if your daughter does want children, but the gain to your daughters quality of life far outweighs this.

I wish I’d had mine done at a young age. The comments, the leers, the not being able to wear Strappy tops comfortably.

l had them done at 52, Life changing.

Best of luck

I had one at age 20 and I wish I'd waited. I wasn't able to exclusively BF my children (which when I was 20 I didn't care about, but PND/hormones made this a very big deal for me 10 years later), and post children my body has changed so now my boobs are a bit bigger and I feel v insecure about them again.

For balance: When I had it done I was thrilled. I felt amazing. It totally changed the way I saw myself. Recovery wasn't too bad. 20 year old me had a very different perspective to 40+ year old me.

The scars have never been an issue for me, they are fairly subtle and much easier to hide than huge boobs! They grew during pregnancy/breastfeeding around 2 cup sizes. I’ve only recently stopped breastfeeding so hope that they will settle a size or so lower. Either way, they are still a much better size and I’d be happy enough if they stayed where they are now. I totally get your reservations about the surgery, my parents were very anxious about it at the time (although they tried their best to hide it)!

Thanks all for the wishes of luck and sharing your experiences - I've been going around in my own head on this for several months and if I'm honest I was feeling a bit trapped by my concerns and fears in all directions - can't tell you how helpful it is hearing a range of honest real world reflections & experiences.

Sounds like the key is that she is confident she understands the risks and reality whatever she decides. I do feel that there is a difference between having the operation at 16 or at 20 (for example) but the key is if or when she does do it its a confident decision and its her informed decision.

I particularly hear what you say CocoPlum that '20 year you' and '40 year old you' can feel differently - (Separately and FWIW I couldn't exclusively breastfeed either - but for different reasons - and it was also something I felt/feel sad about too. I suppose we all live without a crystal ball or the ability to experience the decision we didn't take and have to find a way to process that... )

I totally understand the concerns around breastfeeding and I think I was quick to dismiss the risk at 20 because it seemed so far away, I didn’t know whether I’d even have children. I suppose the risk benefit analysis is the risk of not being able to bf over the benefits of having the surgery which many have attested to. Even if she did decide the risk of not being able to bf was too great, she may not have children/decide not to bf/not be able to bf for other reasons entirely when/if the time comes!

Hi, I am glad to hear I am not the only one. My 15 Yr old soon to be 16 has been going through a bra size every 6 to 8 months we are now on 28HH. I took a long time to get a referral to pediatric plastics. But we have an appointment next week, I know there is a medical condition macromastia. It's hard and extremely expensive to find bras at that size. My fear is she is still growing what if this is not normal. What was Yr daughters size at that age?
Best Regards

@DeliahSampson sorry to resurrect an ancient thread! My 28hh 16yo has said she wants a reduction so I am looking into it, I would love to know any advice you might be able to share?