Breast reduction patients are some of the happiest patients that plastic surgeons see.  The relief from neck and shoulder pain is almost immediate.   There are some common questions that all reduction patients ask.  First - ”Will I need a lift as well?”  Answer -  a reduction is also a breast lift.   The difference between a reduction and a breast lift is that a reduction lifts the breast and at the same time reduces the size of the breast.  A breast lift only lifts the breast but does not change the size of the breast.   Second- Will my insurance cover this?   Answer -  In many cases.   Insurance companies have set criteria for the amount that breasts need to be reduced in order to qualify as a medically necessary procedure and be covered by insurance .  In general a reduction of two or more cup sizes will usually be covered.  In addition  chronic neck and shoulder pain as well as grooves in the shoulders from the bra straps digging in ( sounds painful!) are evidence that insurance companies look at in order to determine if they will cover the procedure.

Patients who have lost significant amounts of weight often are concerned about the appearance of their breasts.  For many patients they are unclear if the best procedure for them would be a breast reduction or a breast lift.  A breast lift (also called a  Mastopexy) repositions the breast on the chest wall but does not change the size of the breast. A breast reduction not only repositions the breast higher on the chest wall ( a lift) but also removes some of the breast tissue to make a smaller breast.  In some cases if a large enough amount of breast tissue is being removed a breast reduction may be covered by insurance.  A breast lift is not usually covered by insurance as it is considered a cosmetic procedure.  In some cases during a breast lift a breast implant will be placed in order to restore breast volume lost by pregnancy or weight loss.  If you are unclear about which procedure is best for you try and pinpoint what bothers you most about your breasts ( for example -   I don’t like the droopiness but I am happy with the size) and then the best procedure to address those issues can be chosen.