I frequently get asked is there a best time of year to have a breast reduction? Some people have the theory that the recovery from the procedure may be easier over the winter months. The theory goes in the winter months you can hibernate more easily without people noticing you are not around for a couple of weeks and that it is easier to rug up and keep warm than it is to keep cool if we were to get a heat wave just after the procedure. Other feel being able to wear lighter cool clothing during the warmer months will be less uncomfortable. Some people will have access to air conditioning in the summer months and others may not. This may influence an individual woman's decision making process. The truth is there is no ideal time to have any medical procedure and this is true of breast reduction also. Whatever time of year you choose there will be inconvenience and rescheduling of your life around this for a period of weeks. When women are planning the timing of...

The question "What size will I be after breast reduction?" is clearly one of those questions that is going to be at the top or near the top of your list when you talk to a doctor about breast reduction. Most women have a good understanding that this is a more complicated question than it might appear at first thought. Any woman who has bought a bra in recent years will know that cup size can vary significantly from brand to brand .When you are fitted by a different person they will often tell you that you are different cup size than the previous person . Many women considering this procedure are not convinced they have ever been able to get a correctly fitting bra in their living memory. What is the value of being told you are a EE cup and given a bra that you believe doesn't fit you comfortably? Does this mean you are a EE or is it misleading? The key concept in consideration breast reduction is that the surgeon and yourself are working together to rest...

Do you suffer from a rash under your breasts? You most likely have a condition known as intertrigo. Intertrigo is a skin condition (dermatitis) caused by the friction of skin folds rubbing together in the presence of heat and moisture. In this case we are talking about under the breast fold but it can be seen in other areas such as the groin. It is most commonly seen in the summer months when the weather conspires to create the conditions likely to contribute to developing the issue. Mostly intertrigo is diagnosed by the patient themselves (even though they may not know the medical name of the rash). Most often people just refer to it as a "heat rash". If not usually the diagnosis is made by your doctor by just looking. The risk factors are being overweight, heat and humidity. It is often made worse by exercise because the additional movement and rubbing of the skin surfaces over each other during sports increases the friction and superficial damage ...

It is here for another year. Every year about this time all the women who have been struggling with the problems disproportionately large breasts cause are rueing the fact they have let another year pass without addressing the issue. With all the hot and in some places very humid weather we are all experiencing the classic symptoms leading women to consider breast reduction are coming to the front of mind. Perhaps the most frustrating and distressing thing of all is that people who don't have the problem really fail to understand how physically and socially distressing having overly large breasts can be. No prizes for guessing the issues relating to shoulder, neck and back pain are just made worse by the general tiredness and fatigue we can all experience in extremely hot and humid weather. What a lot of people fail to understand is that the summer weather creates a lot of additional physical and social issues for women with overly large breasts. To start with...

Every year at this time I see women who have promised themselves that they will not go through another summer enduring the pain and additional discomfort summer brings due the weight and size of their breasts. Life gets in the way over the cooler months  and a busy life just means you may have not got around to talking to someone about your breast issues. Before you know it we are back to the hotter weather and the same old problems are back again. The rashes and irritation in the breast fold, the shoulder ,neck and back pain, the difficulties with summer clothing not to mention the feelings exhaustion and frustration in the heat. Unfortunately we are back in this cycle again. Summer is here. The good news is that if it suits your needs you can still have the procedure performed over summer . The recovery is not affected by what time of year the procedure is performed. The other issue is how to break the cycle of yet another year passing and nothing progressi...

Are you interested in contributing to medical research? We are trying to help Dr. Kelly Ann Bowles and Megan Jepson with their research project to see if posture and body shape affect shoulder and/or neck pain in some women. The aim of the study is to understand the causes of neck and shoulder pain in women by looking at posture and body shape (Your breasts can be a big factor in both your posture and body shape). By gathering this information the hope is to positively influence outcomes for women going forward. This data can potentially influence bra design and the indications for breast procedures like breast reduction. We all are increasingly aware we live in data driven world now. By gathering data about what factors influence or produce neck and shoulder pain in women, researchers can advocate more strongly for women's health initiatives. I will keep you updated on the findings when they become available. Click here for further information   ...