Breast enlargement on the NHS - is it possible?

[quillfram]

I’m really struggling. I was bullied relentlessly as a young person for having no chest.
I’m now 36, have had a child, and still have no breasts, barely at all. Pushup bras don’t help, there’s nothing to push up! Just little flaps of skin with nothing in them.
I find that I can’t buy clothes which fit, and certainly never dresses, as there’s always a huge gape of fabric hanging almost to my belly button due to it not being held up by breasts.
Its making me utterly miserable, I feel like a freak.
Has anyone had breast enlargement on the NHS?
Is that even possible these days?
If so, what criteria makes you eligible?

I think if you have no breast tissue present (which is essentially a medical condition) then it can be done. My friend had an enlargement on these grounds when we were early 20’s but that was a few years ago. I imagine it varies trust to trust.

I would be really surprised if it was available on the NHS for someone other than needing breast reconstruction (e.g after cancer) or via a gender clinic for M2F trans surgery in some very select cases and even then not sure! Maybe if what you have is a medical condition of actually no breasts rather than small breasts?

Simple google says no. It’s cosmetic and isn’t ‘needed’ no matter how much you want it. Given the star of our NHS currently I can’t see any doctor approving this as from what you have said it doesn’t seem like an exceptional circumstance.

You can have breast enlargement on the NHS, but only in
exceptional circumstances with clear medical or severe psychological need, like significant asymmetry, underdeveloped breasts, or as part of breast cancer reconstruction, as it's generally considered cosmetic and self-funded. Your GP must refer you, and a specialist doctor will assess if your case meets strict criteria for funding, which usually involve significant physical or mental distress, not just aesthetic preference.

You would need to ask a clinician about this. There are rare cases where it might be possible, but I think it would only be on a case by case basis. You would need to be evaluated by highly trained medical professionals to know if they would even consider it, or indeed whether your body would cope with it even if it was allowed.

I think it’s highly unlikely in the current climate of the nhs.

You can get them done privately from around £5k.

You said a google said no but then set out possible criteria which OP definitely might meet.

OP I considered pursuing this when I was much younger because I have tuberous hypoplastic breast development. I decided not to as even if I had gor anyone to agree to it I felt the risks were too high. Oddly; my breasts have changed shape with age (not due to pregnancy) and in my mid 40s I am quite happy with them as my nipples at least point forwards rather than down as many women of my age do. I'm sharing this because you might find the same happens to you with age.

Probably not, unfortunately. It's only in very specific, extreme circumstances.

There's no harm in talking to your GP, but I would start saving.

I think it’s incredibly unlikely.

Saving up or getting a loan would be your best option.

My friend didn’t have breast tissue (just nipples)she was offered a breast enlargement on NHS but this was twenty years ago things may have changed.

I think you need to maybe be clearer, have you no breast tissue at all? Have you previously seen a doctor about this? Or do you have breast tissue but just small?

What’s available on the NHS and what isn’t seems to vary so much around the country. I’d suggest having a chat with your GP and see what they say.

I'm not unsympathetic but honestly, I think the NHS should prioritise more serious issues, and all said and done you can get a boob job privately that's not cripplingly expensive. Appreciate your good health, and look at a way to fund this independently.

Yeah because Google did say no considering thr OP’s reasons. They don’t sound extenuating, they aren’t reconstructive etc.

I'm a 32A and have given up on bras for the most part. They were uncomfortable years before and nothing's changed. I was bullied a lot in school and I hated my body as a result. Kids can be so mean. Breasts feed babies, that is their primary and only function. I don't know how well known it is, but 007b.com is a good place to get some reassurance. As long as you check them from the armpit down regularly for unusual textures, lumps and bumps, I wouldn't get down about them.

Ultimately, nobody can tell you what to do. If they're really causing you a lot of daily distress, then you can still ask the NHS.

I have heard of it being done on the NHS but i think it has to be having a severe impact on your mental health or a medical condition like tubular breasts to qualify.

I totally agree, our amazing NhS is on its knees due to demand and has to prioritise what is being treated.

on the flip side of your question is my friend who has since being a teenager had extremely large breasts that dominate her petite frame, receiving much unwanted attentions, causing her psychological distress (not recognising her body as her own, but this is paired with chronic illness) and additionally back pain. She was refused treatment on NHS and is going to get them reduced privately.

I had a boob job 15 years ago. The consultant said I was eligible for it to be done on the NHS - I was less than a AA cup, literally no breast tissue whatsoever.

However, I choose to pay privately for it as I wanted to have it done sooner and I assumed going down the NHS route would have taken ages.

I used to feel like you OP, and I was so so self conscious. I dreamed of getting a boob job, researched it endlessly and swore that if I ever had the money it would be the first thing I did. They didn’t even get any bigger when I was pregnant! No change at all.

At 37, just after DD was born, I found out I had breast cancer. Now I’m left with one barely there boob and one “nothing” - and for the first time in my life, I don’t give a shit and I don’t want implants (despite now having a “better reason” to get them). I want to be able to feel if the damn thing comes back, for a start. Some clothes actually hang better on smaller chests, I think. Because I barely had anything to begin with, you absolutely cannot tell what happened to me and I’m grateful for that. I found I was more far self conscious about losing my hair than I was about my boobs. Drastic way to cure a decades-long hang up 🤣 but I feel so free now I no longer fixate on having no cleavage!

The NHS does not (rightly in my opinion) do cosmetic plastic surgery expect in cases of reconstruction (cancer, burns, severe accidents etc) anatomical abnormalities or severe psychological reasons which still require assessments by a psychiatrist and I think attempts of various treatments that haven't worked.

It's still worth asking your GP as they can likely tell you about good support services to help you but it will have to private for the surgery.

Make sure if you do go private whether here or overseas you get someone qualified and safe as often people may not get thhe surgery done well come back to the UK and need intervention by the NHS due to infections, pain and sometimes worse. Check the credentials of where you choose to get it done.

I sympathise but it's not a fair burden for the NHS and taxpayers to fund with no true medical reasons and it not being needed other than personal choice. That personal choice and no medical reason should make it your own responsibility.

No it’s not possible,not in my trust anyway. My friends teen dd has a condition where only one breast formed tissue and the other is flat with no tissue. The NHS would only offer prosthesis and she had to pay privately.
Also breast augmentation needs to be re-done every 10-15 years so it’s not a one and done procedure. I sympathise as I too have no boobs but its not an NHS issue
You can normally get payment plans now