The best time of year to have a breast reduction.

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 their breast reduction it is usually far more mundane and practical considerations which take priority (not the likely weather conditions).

Factors such as when you can get leave from work, when a spouse or family member may be able to help out with caring for children or elderly parents, sometimes school holidays when children's activities stop for a couple of weeks and the amount of driving around is reduced turns out to be the window of opportunity. Fitting in around the needs of other family members who may also have inflexible work or other demands quite often takes time to work through.

In summary it is not technical issues about the procedure of breast reduction or the ideal weather for recovery which dictate when you will choose to have a procedure. It is all the normal activities of life which your procedure will have it fit in around. Your recovery is not effected by the weather and you will recover at the same rate whatever time of year works for you.

For further information about breast reduction, plastic surgery or to make an appointment contact Dr James Burt - Plastic Surgeon at The Breast Reduction Clinic in Malvern, Melbourne.