Breast Reduction Risks and Complications

Breast reduction is a surgical procedure attached with all the normal risks and complications of breast reduction to decrease the size and shape of the breasts. Most women tolerate complications from breast reduction surgery to get rid of painful discomfort and other conditions such as shoulder pressure, back pain, rashes, skin tags, etc. while others undergo surgery just to improve the appearance and shape of their breasts.

Risks and complications should be expected with any surgery. The more severe the surgery is, especially involving tissues removal, the more is a probability of complications. There are many breast reduction risks and complications too. Firstly there is a possibility of an allergy to the anesthetic.  There can also be reactions to medications so you must watch for symptoms like difficulty in breathing, sudden rashes, changed heart rate, anxiety, wheezing, fainting, and vomiting tendency, dizziness, and nausea.

A common breast reduction surgery risk is temporary loss of sensitivity. Since nerve endings are severed during surgery, sensations will return only after they regenerate. Again permanent sensation loss in the areola or nipple area of breasts may also happen. Another breast reduction risk that you can’t possibly avoid is scars. Apart from unnoticeable scars, there is also a small risk of hypertrophic scar tissue, inner scar tissue or keloids. 

Another breast reduction risk and complication is that there may be asymmetry requiring another surgery. Permanent hyper-pigmentation i.e. permanent dark spots from the bruising may also take place. During and post operation blood loss is one of the rare post breast reduction complications and require immediate medical attention. Hematoma & Seroma are also possible risks where clotting or clotted blood in a body cavity takes place and can cause pain, infection, scar tissue and more. According to unconfirmed reports, breast cancer risks are also increased after the surgery.
One of the major breast reduction risks is Fat & Tissue Necrosis, which means death of tissue. The fat turns orange colored if it becomes necrotic due to lack of blood supply. It can also spread and worsen the condition.  Tissue necrosis can also cause gangrene. There are also possible risks of an infection. Usually the symptoms of infections are visible in the initial days. A common one is Staphylococcus, while another severe one is Methyl Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA.  Signs of infection usually include redness around the breast area, severe swelling, colored or transparent discharge, severe pain which develops much later and refuses to go away, high temperature of the area and a fever over 100.5º F. All these are serious risks of breast augmentation and must be attended to by the surgeon immediately.
Last but not the least there is an emotional breast reduction risk of getting the results not what you expected.  If you end up with too much tissue removed from your breasts then you might have smaller breasts than you would want.  Be sure that you exchange a few words about your desired post-operative cup size with your surgeon. 
Breast reduction surgery usually works well for most women. The surgery can not only relieve you from that never ending back or neck pain, but can also give your confidence a boost with a new body image in spite of the risks involved.