Celebrity Plastic Surgery Trends: Breast Reductions on the Rise

Amber Rose is the latest celebrity to publicly discuss her desire for a potential breast lift, a popular plastic surgery procedure.

While I’ve seen much speculation on breast augmentations, the breast lift, or mastopexy, and breast reduction are two of the least-mentioned cosmetic surgery procedures, but they are two of the most important. My patients, and indeed patients in general, are overwhelmingly satisfied with their results. And, these two operations are among the fastest growing plastic surgery procedures, with the number of procedures performed up 70% in the period 2000-2014 according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

Now, as more celebrities discuss their plastic surgery procedures openly, we are seeing public figures also beginning to discuss these breast procedures, including a very recent post by Amber Rose on Instagram, Queen Latifah’s interview to People, and even Kris Jenner.

Technically speaking, a breast reduction is a more involved version of a breast lift, and a reduction must involve removing breast tissue as part of the surgery. In reality, most breast reductions and lifts fall somewhere in the spectrum between the two. I almost always need to remove at least some breast tissue during either a lift or a reduction.

It is a little-known fact that beyond the cosmetic consequences, women with large breasts can experience significant amounts of daily pain in both shoulders and back. I have even been told by a prospective patient that she had trouble sleeping. Society as a whole seems incredulous of the idea that a woman’s breasts may be too large, but with a breast reduction especially, shoulder and back pain are gone almost overnight. These two types of cosmetic surgery make a real difference in the quality of life of my patients. Many users commented on Amber Rose’s post to that effect as well. Due to the pain, breast reductions may be covered by insurance if properly documented and approval granted prior to surgery. My office helps prospective patients through that process.

It is important to visit a skilled and experienced board-certified plastic surgeon. Large breast reductions especially can be challenging. The surgeon must create a result that is of the patient’s desired size, re-shape the breast mounds into a natural-looking form, place the nipples appropriately, and more. Please visit my Before & After Gallery to view some of my great breast lift and reduction results. And finally, choose your plastic surgeon wisely!