The Elephant in the room and the new CSIRO diet book.

We should get something straight at the start of this conversation.

If you have overly large breasts we both know losing weight will not solve the problem. I understand you have already tried that and proven to yourself it doesn't work.

If your breasts are too big and causing physical symptoms like neck, back and shoulder pain or rashes or infection in the fold under your breasts, weight loss will not fix this.

The reasons you should consider losing weight prior to breast reduction if you are carrying excess weight is:

1. If you are at your ideal or near your body weight at the time of your procedure you will get a much more pleasing outcome (your breasts and whole upper body will look better)

2. If you are at or near your ideal body weight at the time of your procedure you will not have troublesome back fat or lateral chest fat ( which is not actually breast tissue) which will lessen your satisfaction with your outcome or means you have ongoing difficulty with bra fittings.

3. Being at or near your expected body weight reduces your risk of a complication following a breast reduction procedure ( infection, wound healing problems, nipple necrosis)

So this is my motivation in raising this issue in our conversation today. I am a professional person . What motivates me in my career is striving to achieve excellence. In my line of work that involves achieving the best possible outcome from a surgical procedure for my patients. If my patients present for the procedure at their ideal or near their ideal body weight then the likelihood of being able to deliver excellence is increased. If you are not at or near your ideal body weight at the time of the procedure this is a compromise so all that can be achieved is a compromised outcome.

I don't think a compromised outcome is what most women are looking for when they present for a breast reduction procedure. I think both the patient and their surgeon are after an excellent outcome and the only way this can be achieved is if everything that can be optimized prior to surgery is optimized prior to surgery including your weight.

So why am I raising this issue today? I think it is timely again to revisit this issue in the light of the release this week of the new CSIRO diet book. You should investigate this yourself .There has been plenty of media about it but the key message I think which is coming out increasingly is that higher fat and low carbohydrate diets are being increasingly accepted as a valid way to lose weight and more importantly keep this weight off in the long term. If you or family members have tendency to type 2 diabetes this information is even more important.

Why not check it out just type " new CSIRO diet " into your search engine and judge for yourself.

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.