breast augmentation? no, no, no I mean reduction!!

Plastic surgery: medical operations to improve the appearance of a part of someone's body, either to repair an injury or to make the person more attractive 

Cosmetic surgery: medical operations that improve someone's appearance

These are the two definitions which can be found in the online MacMillan Dictionary. Today I want to point out that there is in fact a huge difference between cosmetic and plastic surgery. Cosmetic surgery constitutes a part of plastic surgery and aims at the improvement of someone’s appearance in order to make them more attractive. People undergoing such an operation haven’t suffered of an injury before. It’s the looks that motivate them. In contrary plastic surgery refers to necessary operations because you suffer. 

I want to draw the attention with this post to a topic which is less common in our society: breast reduction (Reduction mammoplasty).

I’m sure many of you have at least once in their life heard of some cases of breast augmentation. But have you ever thought about the opposite?

Let’s imagine a 20 year old student called Anny. She has an E-Cup, so a very large bra size. And she has never wanted to have such big breasts. 

When do you finally decide for a breast reduction?

I guess the most common problem for Anny is a damaged posture. The weight is enormous that she carries along with her. She has to always make sure that she stands straight and the best would be to practice some exercise improving her posture. But there comes a time when it’s simply not possible to fight the burden with normal exercise. Even the easiest sports like running can become too difficult for her. And that isn’t funny at all!
Second you shouldn’t forget the mental damages that can result out of it. Of course, especially the girls might think “Well, it’s not that hard to be admired by all the guys staring at your breasts!”. In fact for her it is! Anny suffers because of stupid comments; she suffers because she hates what lots of girls dream of. This problem should clearly be taken more seriously!

What do you have to do after you decide to undergo this procedure?

Well, Anny can do the first step and decide that she wants to have a reduction mammoplasty. But keep in mind that it is expensive. So she needs the support of her health insurance company. And that’s the point where it gets difficult. Bureaucracy for the world – at least in Austria.
First she consults her family doctor. He will write a referral to an orthopedist. There she has to do some tests to show that she really suffers of a damages posture. The next step is to make an appointment with the head of the health insurance company because he is the one who approves a subvention to her operation. Clearly he won’t do that with much pleasure so he’s playing God because he knows that he has all the power. If all of the certificates you have so far aren’t enough for him, you’re best making an appointment with a plastic surgeon at the LKH. If he proves that you really suffer because of the size of your breasts, even Mr. Wanna-be-God can’t refuse a subvention. 

How long until you are finally able to fulfill your dream?

Usually it’s one year to the operation. For two reasons:

1.  it’s not as important as urgent cases and the hospitals are generally crowded
   
2.  they want to make sure that you really want this and don’t jump off
   

Personally, I’m not too much in favor with cosmetic surgery. I believe that people are beautiful the way they were born. Usually nobody recognizes that your nose is “too big” or that you have too many wrinkles or whatever. Please feel comfortable the way you are. Cause you’re beautiful no matter what. And what’s really important for me: Age with dignity!! 

Nonetheless, I appreciate the state of medicine that makes it possible to help people who are suffering because of physical deformity or injuries. It’s awesome that there is a chance to make life easier for those people.