If you had a breast reduction at a younger age and weren’t happy with your new size, or if your surgery created an asymmetry in size or position, it’s absolutely possible to undergo a second breast reduction, when you choose an experienced plastic surgeon.

Perhaps you’ve gained weight after your first breast reduction or become pregnant and ended up with more breast volume, stretched skin and sagging breasts. Other situations that prompt many women to seek a second breast reduction and/or breast lift include the desire to create a more a youthful figure or simply regain comfortable posture without shoulder pain.

When performed by an experienced breast surgeon, secondary breast reduction surgery has a high satisfaction rate. Your breast surgeon can prepare a detailed surgical plan to provide expert advice and achieve your goals for smaller, well-formed breasts.

Am I a Candidate for Secondary Breast Reduction?

If you are healthy and your first procedure was completed more than a year earlier, you may be a good candidate for a second breast reduction. If you are seeking a second breast reduction because you were unhappy with a fairly recent surgery, be sure you have allowed plenty of time for the first procedure to heal before you judge your results; at least a year is recommended.

If you’re planning to have children, we recommend that you should wait before undergoing a breast reduction or a secondary surgery, because significant weight gain and loss can affect your result. If you are undergoing an unusually high amount of stress or if your expectations are unrealistic, your surgeon may urge you to wait or reconsider your surgery. Stress interferes with healing and unrealistic expectations lead to unsuccessful surgery.

An expert surgeon will explain your options and what can be achieved, in line with your desires. For a successful surgery, you and your surgeon must be working toward and expecting the same goals for your surgical outcome.

Keep in mind that your original surgeon’s technique will play a part in what is possible during a second breast reduction. Scar tissue formation will add another variable to surgical planning, so some breast reduction limitations may need to be accepted when you’re setting your goals for your second surgery’s result.

See an expert breast surgeon so that you’re given the most options to achieve the breast reduction you really want the second time around. Don’t go forward until you find not only a top breast specialist but also a surgeon with whom you have excellent communication. Find a surgeon you trust so you can go forward with confidence.

Things to Keep in Mind for Your Second Breast Reduction

Your second surgery will be more complex because of scar tissue formation from the healing process of your prior breast surgery. Also, your skin may be less elastic than it was for your first procedure. Seek an expert breast surgeon to ensure you get the good breast reduction outcome you want and expect.

Your second breast reduction surgery may take more time due to the need for a gentle touch to avoid re-traumatizing the breast tissues. Make sure to choose a breast reduction surgeon with 10+ years of experience because s/he will need to make judgment calls during surgery to deal with any challenges the original surgeon’s technique (or subsequent scar tissue) might have created.

Your second breast surgery will likely be more expensive since more time and skill are required and because costs may have risen over the years since your last procedure. You should check your insurance coverage since the procedure may be covered in whole or part, depending upon your case details and your company’s regulations. Your surgeon should be happy to provide medical information or records the insurer may need to approve coverage.

You will need a plastic surgeon with breast reconstructive experience for your second breast reduction surgery. A true breast specialist with this set of skills can draw on the expertise, using the most advanced techniques to preserve nipple sensation and proper blood flow to keep the breast tissue and breast skin healthy.

An excellent sense of aesthetics is required for a successful secondary breast reduction. This enables your surgeon to remove the proper amount of excess breast tissue and skin, reshape the breast mound with proper volume and projection, and place the nipple correctly to achieve a natural look. A surgeon with years of experience and reconstructive skills should have a well-honed sense of artistry with respect to the breasts and body.

You can reassure yourself by looking at and discussing your surgeon’s before and after photos of prior breast reductions. Although each woman’s situation is unique, this will give you insight into the skill and artistry of the surgeon.

Second breast reduction does carry a higher risk of complications including volume loss, reduced sensation or nipple loss. Choose a top surgeon to advise you about risks and complications. A surgeon’s experience can help mitigate risks, but not eliminate them. Your surgeon can advise you of your specific risk profile.

Dedicated breast specialists will not go forward with surgery if they feel the risks outweigh the benefits to the patient. In the end, however, the decision is yours. Nevertheless, you shouldn’t choose a surgeon who glosses over risks or doesn’t explain clearly. You should feel confident in the expertise and advice of your doctor.

Your records may be helpful. Although not required, your records from your previous surgeon may help your second surgeon with surgical planning for your breast re-reduction.

What Are My Size Options for A Second Breast Reduction?

There is a limit to how small you can reasonably go, depending upon your specific build, weight and original and current breast size. The reason has to do with looks and function of your breasts. For example, if you want to go from a triple-E cup to an A, you may get a better result by aiming for a C cup instead.

In a larger breast reduction, more skin must be removed and your scars would be longer, perhaps unacceptably so. In addition, preserving nipple sensation and necessary blood flow (circulation) to the breasts would be more of a challenge. Don’t let this discourage you, however! Only when you meet with a top breast surgeon and discuss your wishes with him or her, will you know for certain what options you have.

Consult an Expert about Your Second Breast Reduction

At Cohen/Winters Aesthetic & Reconstructive Surgery, we are dedicated to improving lives through our practice. We are happy to help you understand your options for a second breast reduction and talk through your goals for the outcome of this surgery. Please contact us in Bergen County, NJ for a personalized consultation.

breast surgeon NJ

Dr. Cohen

About Dr. Cohen

Dr. Cohen specializes in breast lifts, augmentations, revisions and reductions as well as breast cancer reconstructions. A long time dream of Dr. Cohen’s was to travel to developing countries and provide expert surgical care to those who have no other possible access to medical care. This became a reality in 2007 when she became a founding member and Vice President of ISMS Operation Kids.