Breast feeding after reduction mammaplasty performed during adolescence

Reduction mammaplasty (RM) can be performed during adolescence if the functional capacity of the breast is preserved. Future breast feeding must be carefully considered in the therapeutic decision making process.

Breast feeding after reduction mammaplasty performed during adolescence was assessed to determine surgical factors influencing outcome and patient reception of information concerning breast feeding.

A questionnaire was sent to 109 women who had undergone reduction mammaplasty between 1981 and 1997 when they were 15-17 years old to ascertain their reasons for having surgery, their satisfaction, and their attitude towards breast feeding.

Sixty-five questionnaires (60%) could be analyzed. Mean delay since surgery was 8.1 years. Seventeen women (26%) had delivered 25 infants (mean 1.5). Mean delay after surgery to first delivery was 7.68 years. Five women (29%) nursed their first infant for a mean 11.3 days. None of the women interrupted breast feeding for a reason related to a nipple anomaly or difficult sucking. Twelve women (71%) did not nurse their first infant, because of the prior breast surgery for six of them. Among the 48 nulliparous women, 24 (50%) stated they would nurse their future infant. Although information on breast feeding was systematically delivered, 41 women (63%) stated they had not been informed. There was no statistical relationship between breast feeding and degree of satisfaction, patient-assessed scar quality, or nipple disorders.

Adolescents who undergo reduction mammaplasty can nurse their future infants with a complication rate similar to that in the general population. Special attention must be given to delivery of information on breast feeding.