Physical Benefits of Breast-Reduction Surgery

A study of more than 4,000 women has found that breast-reduction surgery improves physical symptoms as well as quality of life in large-breasted women. The findings of the study, in which researchers reviewed and analyzed 29 past studies, appeared in the May issue of Mayo Clinical Proceedings (Mayo Clinic, Rochester, NY, USA).

Following the surgery, called reduction mammoplasty, women had decreased back, neck, and shoulder pain, headaches, breast pain, and numbness and pain in the hands. In an editorial in the same issue, two doctors note that health insurance providers have been reluctant to cover breast-reduction surgery, claiming that the reason women have the operation is cosmetic, not therapeutic. While this may be true for a few patients, it's not true for the majority, the doctors assert.

They further note, "In the study, ample data support the claim that this is a procedure of health benefit to the patients involved. We believe the magnitude of the effect on the signs and symptoms pre- and postoperatively with this procedure is sufficiently well documented to be convincing.”




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