Breast Reduction

55. Breast Reduction

Joshua Lemmon, Michael R. Lee, Daniel O. Beck, Elizabeth Hall-Findlay

PATHOPHYSIOLOGY

Breast hypertrophy is thought to be an abnormal end-organ response to circulating estrogens.1,2

Normal number of estrogen receptors and normal levels of circulating estrogens have been found in women with hypermastia; thus an increased sensitivity to the hormone is suspected.3

Hypermastia typically begins within the hormonal milieu of puberty or pregnancy.

With the increasing obesity epidemic, breast hypertrophy is often from excess adipose tissue rather than glandular hyperplasia.

Studies suggest that fat accounts for 46%-61% of modern breast reduction specimens.4,5

INDICATIONS FOR SURGERY

Breast reduction has an extremely high patient satisfaction rate and has been shown to improve self-image.6,7

MEDICAL INDICATIONS

Neck pain

Back pain

Shoulder pain

Bra strap grooving

Persistent or recurrent intertriginous infections, rashes, maceration, and irritation

Chronic headaches

In extreme cases, degenerative arthritis of the cervical and thoracic spine

EVIDENCE

Netscher et al8

Symptomatic hypermastia is better defined by symptom complex than by volume of tissue removed.

Kerrigan et al9,10

Symptomatic hypermastia affects quality of life on par with other significant chronic medical conditions (e.g., kidney transplant, living with moderate angina pectoris).

Symptoms are more important than volume in determining health burden and surgical benefit.

Weight loss, special bras, and medical treatments are not successful.

AESTHETIC INDICATIONS

Women with hypermastia frequently report aesthetic dissatisfaction with breast size and shape.

Complaints include pendulous appearance and wide nipple-aerola complex.

Excessive size may limit clothing selection and athletic participation.

TIP: Determining the aesthetic or medical necessity of reduction mammaplasty is ambiguous and nonstandardized by health insurance carriers in the United States.

PREOPERATIVE EVALUATION

PATIENT HISTORY

Age (>50 years of age with higher complication rate, according to Shermak et al11)

Medical history of comorbid disease(s), clotting disorders

Surgical history pertaining to breast

Social history of smoking or nicotine use

Familial history of breast disease, anesthesia problems, deep vein thrombosis (DVT)

Breast history of lactation, changes with pregnancy and weight fluctuations, tumors

Previous medical or therapeutic treatment for hypermastia

PHYSICAL EXAMINATION

Sternal notch-to-nipple distance: Allows detection of asymmetry in nipple position

Nipple-to-inframammary fold distance: Serves as a measurement of the redundancy of the lower pole skin envelope

Base width: Allows detection of asymmetrical breast footprint

Areolar diameter: Widening of the areola is very common in patients with hypermastia (normal areolar diameter is 38-45 mm).

Classification of ptosis severity (see Chapter 52)

Breast examination for mass or lymphadenopathy

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

Skin quality: Presence of striae indicates the inelastic quality of affected skin.

Parenchymal quality: Fatty, fibrous, or glandular parenchyma

MAMMOGRAM

When indicated

PHOTOGRAPHY (see Chapter 3)

Anteroposterior (AP), lateral, and oblique photographs should be obtained.

Photographs of shoulder grooving and rashes, when present.

PATIENT EXPECTATIONS

Breast shape

Reduction mammaplasty will not result in a virginal breast.

Most techniques will naturally result in a pendulous, mature-looking breast, but with a size more proportionate to the body habitus of the patient.

Breast size

The desired postoperative breast size can vary widely between patients and should be dicussed at length at the initial consultation.

Inform patients that complications with breast reduction are more common in larger reductions (>700 g) and in patients with a higher BMI.12

TIP: Although surgeons and patients frequently discuss bra-cup size, surgeons can better determine patients’ wishes by asking them to find representative photographs of the desired postoperative size in magazines or professional portfolios.

INFORMED CONSENT

Recommend items to be included in the informed consent:

A general description of the procedure and location of incisions

A sufficient description of potential risks

Bleeding and hematoma

Infection

Delayed healing and wound separation

Nipple necrosis, complete or partial

Change in nipple and skin sensation

Potential changes in breast-feeding

DVT and pulmonary embolism (significant risk with BMI >3013)

Asymmetry and poor cosmetic result

Poor lactation (70% of patients can lactate after surgery, but many require supplementary feeding.)14,15,16

Poor scar quality

SURGICAL OPTIONS

Most techniques described in Chapter 53 were initially developed for breast reduction. Most patients with hypermastia also have breast ptosis. For detailed information on short-scar techniques, please see Chapter 53.

Liposuction has been described as an additional or sole treatment for reduction mammaplasty.

Reduction mammaplasty by excision can be thought to include the following four elements:

1. Selecting a pedicle to provide vascularity and innervation to the nipple-areola complex (NAC)

2. Determining the quadrants of the breast from which to resect tissue

3. Excising excess skin after removal of breast parenchyma

4. Creating an overall aesthetic breast shape.17

SUCTION LIPECTOMY

Liposuction is often used in combination with excisional techniques to limit scar burden but can be used alone to reduce breast size.18

PATIENT SELECTION/INDICATIONS

Ideal candidates:

Have a normally positioned NAC

Good skin quality

Predominantly fatty breasts.

A useful technique in elderly patients with significant symptoms of hypermastia and insignificant cosmetic concerns19

ADVANTAGES

Smaller scars

Preserves lactation and vascular supply to the NAC

Preserves existing sensation

Can be easily performed with local and intravenous sedation

DISADVANTAGES

Most surgeons agree that breast ptosis cannot be adequately treated with suction lipectomy alone and may be worsened in patients with poor skin quality.

Postoperative edema and induration often take months to resolve.

The evacuated breast tissue cannot effectively be sent for pathological evaluation.

Unexpected breast malignancy may go undetected.20,21

The absence of adequate pathological evaluation has brought controversy.15,2224

TECHNIQUE

Lateral and medial inframammary fold (IMF) stab incisions are used.

Wetting solution is infiltrated.

3-5 mm cannulas are used to treat both superficially and deep.

Postoperative compressive bras are worn for 6 weeks.

NOTE: Ultrasound-assisted liposuction has been used in the breast, but surgeons are advised to obtain exhaustive informed consents from their patients, discussing the unknown effects of ultrasonic energy on breast tissue.

EXCISIONAL TECHNIQUES

PEDICLE SELECTION

Options include inferior pedicle, superior/superomedial pedicle, and central mound technique.

Inferior Pedicle (Fig. 55-1)

image

Fig. 55-1 Inferior pedicle technique.

Has been the preferred method (in the United States) and is easily teachable25

NAC maintained on an inferior dermal-parenchymal pedicle

Lateral, medial, and superior breast tissue can be removed.

Usually paired with an inverted-T skin excision

May use short-scar periareolar inferior pedicle (SPAIR) introduced by Hammond26

Advantages

Large parenchymal resections can be done safely.

Reliable neurovascular supply

Lactation preserved in most patients14,15

Low complication profile (11.4%)27

Disadvantages

When nipple to fold is >18 cm, the pedicle becomes bulky, limiting extent of reduction.

Passive creation of breast shape from tailoring skin around parenchyma

Often creates a boxy breast

High rate of bottoming out

Superior/Superomedial Pedicle (Fig. 55-2)

image

Fig. 55-2 A, Superior pedicle. B, Superomedial pedicle.

Lassus28,29 is credited with introduction of the superior pedicle technique.

Lejour22,30 is credited with refinements and popularization of the technique.

Hall-Findlay31popularized the superomedial pedicle.

Nahabedian and Mofid32 and Lista and Ahmad33 made contributions.

Modifications include Strombeck horizontal bipedicle technique.34

NAC is maintained on a superior or superomedial dermal-parenchymal pedicle.

Lateral, medial, and inferior breast tissue can be removed.

Advantages

Large parenchymal resections can be done safely, and involve resection of the ptotic tissue.

Pedicle is created from main blood supply of NAC.35

Pedicle is superior, where fullness is commonly desired.

Allows creation of inferior pillar support to limit bottoming out

Ease of use with short-scar techniques

Nipple-areolar sensation reliably maintained

Disadvantages

Learning curve for technique

Creates dead space at dependent part of breast, where fluid may accumulate

Central Mound Technique (Fig. 55-3)

image

Fig. 55-3 Central pedicle/mound.

NAC is maintained on a central parenchymal pedicle (without dermis).

Breast tissue can be excised laterally, medially, superiorly, and inferiorly, leaving a central glandular component.

Advantages

Less reliable nipple-areolar neurovascular supply

Ideal to preserve lactation

Allows variable resection of parenchyma in multiple quadrants

Disadvantages

Underresection is common.

Safety issues with undermining pedicle as blood supply comes from chest wall.

Breast shape/support largely dependent on dermal support

Possible bottoming out.

TIP: With all pedicle patterns, nipple viability should be checked before thinning the breast flaps. If the NAC is ischemic, the operation can be converted to a free nipple graft and the pedicle debrided to the appropriate level without compromising breast volume.

SKIN RESECTION PATTERNS

Mastopexy procedures (or very small reductions) allow periareolar incisions and skin resection alone, but this is inappropriate for use in patients with true hypermastia.

Vertical Pattern (Fig. 55-4)

image

Fig. 55-4 Vertical pattern.

Allows excision of lax skin in horizontal dimension

With lateral (lazy-J) extension lax skin in the vertical dimension36,37

Some authors advocate tailor-tacking to facilitate incision placement.

Once desired shape and skin contour are obtained, the “tailored” resection pattern is marked and excised.

Other techniques avoid a transverse scar by gathering the skin in the vertical closure, leaving a dog-ear in the inframammary fold (IMF).31 This skin redundancy requires delayed excision in approximately 5% of patients.

More recent evidence, however, cautions against the use of gathering sutures38

Significantly reduce the incision length in the operating room but do not change the areola-to-IMF distance or pucker revision rate.

Gathering negatively influences skin vascularity and wound healing.

SENIOR AUTHOR TIP: If the remaining dog-ear appears exceptionally large in the IMF, do not hesitate to excise it with a small horizontal excision. A small horizontal incisional scar is usually preferable to a revision procedure, even if done in the office.

Inverted-T (Wise) Pattern (Fig. 55-5)

image

Fig. 55-5 Inverted-T pattern.

Skin excision includes both a vertical and horizontal excision.

Horizontal excess is removed through the vertical incision.

Vertical excess is removed with the horizontal excision placed in the inframammary fold.

Especially useful in large reductions with excessive amounts of skin redundancy

Wound separation is fairly common at the intersection point in the IMF.

SURGICAL TECHNIQUES

INFERIOR PEDICLE WITH INVERTED-T SKIN RESECTION39 (Fig. 55-6)

image

Fig. 55-6 Inferior pedicle with inverted-T skin resection.

Markings

Step 1: Place patient in an upright position.

Step 2: Mark the midline.

Step 3: Mark the breast meridian to determine a new horizontal nipple position.

Step 4: Mark the vertical nipple location (Pitanguy point) by transposition of IMF to front of breast.

Step 5: Mark the IMF position, elevating mark a few millimeters onto the breast. This keeps the IMF scar on the breast and not on the chest, because the base of the breast is narrowed during reduction.

Step 6: Measure bilaterally from notch to nipple and from midline to ensure symmetry.

Step 7: Mark the vertical limbs, which should measure approximately 7-8 cm under tension.

Long limbs can always be shortened on the operating table; short limbs may result in closure under tension, which may compromise shape and skin viability.

The angle of divergence determines amount of skin resection.

Step 8: Connect vertical limbs to the medial and lateral aspects of the IMF marking, following a lazy-S pattern.

Step 9: Mark the pedicle approximately 10-12 cm from the midline.

Step 10: Mark the areola at 42 mm; replace at 38 mm to minimize traction and distortion on the areola.

Step 11: Mark all areas to be liposuctioned.

Technical Tips

Develop the pedicle before raising skin flaps. To prevent undercutting, bevel away from pedicle.

Place the patient in a sitting position and tailor-tack, as needed, to achieve desired shape.

Hidalgo40 reviewed the inverted-T pattern markings, along with modifications to improve aesthetic outcome.

SUPEROMEDIAL PEDICLE WITH INVERTED-T SKIN RESECTION39 (Fig. 55-7)

Nov 3, 2020 | Posted by in Aesthetic plastic surgery | Comments Off on Breast Reduction

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