Reduction Mammaplasty for Macromastia in Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Pooled Analysis

Reduction mammaplasty for macromastia is one of the most common operations performed by plastic surgeons. There remains hesitancy in operating on adolescents, as there is ongoing debate about breast regrowth and potential impact on breastfeeding. The goal of this study was to analyze these concerns by reviewing the current literature.

A systematic review of MEDLINE, Scopus, and Google Scholar was conducted using the following terms: "breast reduction" or "mammaplasty" or "breast reconstruction" and "adolescent" or "youth" or "pediatric" or "child" or "teen." Primary outcomes were success of breastfeeding after the procedure and procedure-related complications.

Twenty-three studies (87 percent retrospective), consisting of 2926 patients with preoperative cup sizes of C to KK (mean, DDD), met inclusion criteria. Mean age at the time of surgery ranged from 16 to 21 years, with the youngest patient being 12 years old. The overall complication rate was 27.3 percent (95 percent CI, 14.4 to 42.5 percent). Minor complications (22.8 percent; 95 percent CI, 10.2 to 38.5 percent) were more common than major (4.2 percent; 95 percent CI, 1.6 to 7.9 percent). Eighteen percent of patients (95 percent CI, 2.2 to 43.8 percent) reported regrowth of their breast tissue postoperatively, with 2.7 percent (95 percent CI, 0.9 to 5.5 percent) undergoing a second revision mammaplasty. Fifty-three percent of patients (95 percent CI, 36.0 to 69.3 percent) did not attempt breastfeeding. Of those who attempted, 55.1 percent (95 percent CI, 34.4 to 74.9 percent) were successful.

Prospective data are lacking. Patient counseling should focus on encouraging a trial of breastfeeding, despite surgical history. One-fifth of adolescent patients may notice breast regrowth postoperatively; however, the amount of regrowth is likely small and unlikely to reexacerbate symptoms, as the rate of revision surgery is small.