Breast Reduction (Reduction Mammaplasty)
Vancouver, BC
Carrying the weight of heavy, overly large breasts can place continuous strain on your entire body, affecting everything from your posture to the clothes you wear and the activities you can enjoy. At Dr. Jennifer Prince Plastic Surgery in Surrey, BC, we offer breast reduction to provide meaningful, life-changing relief. Dr. Price focuses on providing functional restoration as well as a cosmetically pleasing result.
Dr. Jennifer Prince focuses on making the breasts smaller, lighter, and completely proportional to your frame. This comprehensive plastic surgery doesn't simply reduce breast size; it elevates the tissue into a youthful position, resolves painful skin irritation, and rebalances your body symmetry so you can move through life with effortless confidence.
Reduces breast size and reshapes the breasts to provide physical relief and more balanced body proportions.
1 to 2 weeks for daily activities; 4 to 6 weeks for physical activity and strenuous exercise
Immediate weight relief, with final breast shape settling as swelling subsides over a few weeks
Outpatient or short-stay surgical procedure; performed in about 1-2 hours under general anesthesia
Breast reduction (reduction mammoplasty) is a reconstructive and cosmetic breast surgery designed to remove excess breast tissue, fatty tissue, and skin from one or both breasts. For many women, carrying heavy breasts leads to a condition known as macromastia or hypermastia, where the sheer volume of the breasts is out of proportion with the rest of the body frame.
The primary purpose of this procedure is to sculpt a smaller, lighter, and more manageable breast shape. Unlike a standalone breast lift that targets loose skin, breast reduction removes underlying breast tissue to physically change the size of the breasts.
During your initial consultation, Dr. Prince will carefully review your medical history, perform a thorough physical exam, and develop a highly customized surgical plan that addresses your goals while restoring beautiful body proportions.
On the day of your surgery, you will be cared for by our elite healthcare team in a fully accredited surgery center. Breast reduction is performed under general anesthesia and is typically an outpatient procedure. To create a beautiful, youthfully elevated breast profile, the procedure involves strategically removing excess fat, tissue, and skin, followed by shifting the nipple and areola upward into a higher, more balanced position.
Dr. Prince stands out in her field due to her advanced approach to tissue sculpting. She employs a superomedial pedicle technique to ensure that the breast tissue left after surgery fills out the upper pole of the breasts for a round, lifted profile. By preserving internal volume at the top of the breast mound, this technique maintains cleavage and fullness over the long term, preventing the breasts from dropping prematurely or "bottoming out."
To minimize scarring and preserve natural tissue health, Dr. Prince matches the degree of your tissue reduction to one of two common breast reduction techniques, with incision choice shaping both how much tissue can be removed and the final scar pattern:
Scars from these patterns are permanent, though they typically soften and fade over several months.
Overly large breasts create a continuous pull on the upper torso, causing a range of painful symptoms. This surgical procedure provides relief from:
The physical and psychological rewards of reducing excess breast tissue are immediate and profound, allowing most women to feel lighter from the moment they wake up after surgery.
Immediate Weight Relief: Taking the heavy burden off your chest instantly relaxes the muscles in your neck and spine.
Radical Wardrobe Freedom: Enjoy a seamless, comfortable fit in standard sportswear, button-down blouses, and swimwear without having to size up.
Youthful, Perky Elevation: Simultaneously acts as a high-impact breast lift, reshaping a "deflated"-looking breast shape into a youthful, perky position.
Perfect Symmetrical Balance: Corrects significant asymmetry, bringing both breasts into beautiful proportion with each other and your frame.
If you are suffering from chronic neck pain, physical limitations, or recurring skin rashes due to very large breasts, you are likely an excellent candidate for this procedure. Ideal candidates are healthy individuals close to their goal weight, as significant future weight changes can alter their final results.
We recommend waiting until breast development is complete before moving forward. In some cases, the Medical Services Plan may cover breast reduction surgery when certain criteria are met, but a referral from your family physician is required. Generally, coverage requires a significant amount of tissue removal and a substantial reduction in breast size. Dr. Prince will review these criteria with you to help verify your coverage.
Your recovery period is structured to ensure your incisions heal smoothly with minimal complications. When you wake up, you will be resting comfortably in a soft, supportive surgical bra—a special compression bra used to minimize swelling and support healing. Most women experience moderate soreness, swelling, and temporary alterations in nipple sensation for the first few weeks, which are safely managed with prescription medication and rest.
Most patients begin feeling more like themselves over the following several weeks, though every recovery unfolds a little differently.
You can expect to return to light daily activities and desk work within 7 to 10 days. However, you must protect your results by avoiding heavy lifting, strenuous exercise, or high-impact running for at least 4 to 6 weeks, and avoiding underwire bras for the first 6 to 8 weeks while healing is underway. Our clinic will coordinate regular follow-up visits to monitor your incisions, guide you through scar management, and support you as you return to full physical activity.
You will feel physical relief from the weight of heavy breasts right away. However, your breasts will initially appear tight, high, and swollen. Over the course of a few weeks, the swelling subsides, and the tissue begins to drop into its correct position. Your final results, featuring an elegant, soft, and naturally balanced breast shape, will emerge fully around the 1 year mark as your incisions continue to mature and fade.
The physical removal of excess breast tissue provides permanent structural changes. While your body will continue to age naturally, your breasts will remain permanently smaller and lighter than they would have been without breast reduction surgery. Maintaining a stable, healthy weight is the best way to preserve your results in the long term, as substantial weight fluctuations can cause your breast size to change.
Achieving an elegant, symmetrical breast reduction that resists the downward pull of gravity requires a plastic surgeon with specialized expertise in reconstructive surgery. Dr. Prince brings decades of surgical experience and advanced skill to her private practice in Surrey. Her extensive background as a reconstructive surgeon allows her to seamlessly balance cosmetic beauty with functional physical relief.
By using the superomedial pedicle method, Dr. Prince delivers a beautiful upper pole shape that standard reduction procedures cannot replicate. As a female plastic surgeon, she provides an uplifting, supportive environment, taking the time to listen to your goals, ensuring you feel completely secure, well-informed, and supported at every milestone.
Your consultation is also an opportunity to get more details about surgical planning, candidacy, pricing, and coverage. Pricing varies based on your needs and the complexity of the procedure, and financing options may be available. If you are pursuing MSP-covered surgery in BC, a referral from a General Practitioner is required for coverage eligibility.
Dr. Prince utilizes advanced pedicle techniques that keep the nipple and areola attached to their underlying glandular tissue, preserving the vital milk ducts and blood supply. If future breastfeeding is a major priority, timing surgery after breast development is complete is also part of the candidacy discussion. While many women successfully breastfeed after surgery, future lactation can never be 100% guaranteed following any breast surgery. If breastfeeding is a major priority, it is often best discussed in detail during your initial consultation.
While a reduction requires visible scars around the areola and along the lower pole, reflecting the removal of excess skin as part of breast reshaping, Dr. Prince uses meticulous closure techniques to minimize scarring. The initial pink lines will naturally fade to soft, thin, discreet markings over the course of a year. Scar quality still varies; people heal differently, and some are simply more genetically prone to thicker scars. Because nerves can be affected during surgery, some patients also experience reduced sensation in the breast or nipple area. Many patients choose to complement their healing with targeted silicone sheets or advanced post-op laser treatments to further refine the skin texture.
Yes, absolutely. Breast reduction surgery is one of the premier tools for correcting severe natural asymmetry. Dr. Prince will carefully calculate the precise grams of excess tissue to remove from each side independently, bringing both breasts into beautiful, proportional harmony with each other and your overall frame.
While the main component of the reduction involves surgically removing dense glandular tissue and skin, liposuction can be added to refine the lateral chest wall. Dr. Prince often incorporates targeted liposuction to remove stubborn fatty tissue rolls along the bra line and underarms, creating a smoother, cleaner contour that blends seamlessly into your back. Liposuction is not an insured service of the Medical Services Plan.
Patients must strictly avoid taking aspirin, ibuprofen, or any other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for at least two weeks prior to surgery, as these medications can thin the blood and alter normal blood pressure during the operation. Our healthcare team will provide you with a comprehensive list of all the medications and herbal supplements to safely pause before your treatment day.
Yes, though the surgical approach is slightly different. When treating male breast tissue development, the procedure is referred to as gynecomastia surgery. It focuses primarily on removing direct glandular tissue and excess fat through a minimal periareolar incision, often combined with liposuction, to restore a flat, structurally contoured chest wall.
