Reduction mammaplasty (breast reduction surgery) provides immediate relief of physical symptoms associated with macromastia (large breasts) and leads to an increase in body image satisfaction, according to a study published in the January issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (Vol. 103, No. 76), the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

"Reduction mammaplasty has one of the highest patient satisfaction rates in all of plastic and reconstructive surgery," said Brian Glatt, M.D., of the University of Pennsylvania Hospital and co-author of the study. "The results of the study provide evidence that reduction mammaplasty is an effective procedure to eliminate or significantly reduce the physical symptoms of macromastia, regardless of a patient's preoperative body weight."

Women invest in breast reduction surgery with the hope of alleviating or completely eliminating the physical symptoms of macromastia including grooves from brassiere straps, neck, shoulder, back and breast pain. In addition, prospective breast reduction patients frequently report difficulty with many types of exercise, have problems with finding properly fitted clothing and experience personal embarrassment, associated with the size of their breasts.

A study of women who underwent breast reduction surgery, was conducted by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the University's Edwin and Fannie Gray Hall Center for Human Appearance. One hundred ten patients who had reduction mammaplasty surgery at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center between 1982 and 1996, were mailed questionnaires designed to evaluate changes in both physical symptoms and body image after breast reduction surgery, as well as to assess the relationship, if any, between body weight and the physical and psychological outcomes of the patient. Sixty-one women (55 percent) responded to the survey.

Pre-operative data were collected from patients' medical records revealing that 92 percent of the pre-operative conditions were associated with back pain, 84 percent with shoulder grooves, 67 percent with patients having trouble finding clothing to fit properly and 66 percent with breast pain during exercise. Surgical data included the type of surgical procedure and the amount of breast tissue being removed from each patient. The compilation of post-operative data required the women to complete the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Examination Self-Report, a measure of the dissatisfaction of one's own body image, and the Breast Chest Ratings Scale, which assesses women's breast size preference.

The study revealed that post-operative patients reported substantial improvement in their physical signs and symptoms after surgery. The vast majority of patients experienced elimination or improvement in physical symptoms, with 83 percent reporting improvement or elimination of shoulder grooving and breast pain without exercise, and 78 percent reporting improvements in back and shoulder pain.

Also, the study showed no difference between obese and non-obese women concerning the relief of physical symptoms and improvements in body image. The study concluded that reduction mammaplasty patients reported significantly greater satisfaction with their body image after surgery than women seeking all other forms of cosmetic surgery, or women who were not contemplating cosmetic surgery. The survey revealed that 84 percent of the women were very satisfied with the results, ninety-two percent would have the surgery again and an even greater number, ninety-eight percent, would recommend the procedure to others.

Co-authors of the study include: Christine Hamori, M.D., Don LaRossa, M.D., David B. Sarwer, Ph.D., Daniel E. O'Hara, M.D., and Louis P. Bucky, M.D.