Breast-Feeding after Vertical Mammaplasty with Medial Pedicle

Abstract

A retrospective study was performed in which the breast-feeding success of women of childbearing age (15 to 40 years) with macromastia but no prior breast surgery was compared with that of women of similar age who had undergone medial pedicle/vertical pattern reduction mammaplasty. All women completed a self-administered questionnaire that provided information on their breast-feeding success. The control group consisted of 149 women with macromastia (mean age, 27 years) who had been evaluated for possible breast reduction surgery and who had children before their consultation. The study group consisted of 58 women (mean age, 29 years) who had children after their vertical mammaplasty. The mean weight of breast tissue removed was 610 g per breast. None of the patients had absent nipple sensation. A period of 2 weeks or more was chosen as the defining duration of a successful breast-feeding attempt. Those individuals judged able to breast-feed were further classified on the basis of having breast-fed exclusively or with supplementation. The results demonstrated that, of the women who attempted to breast-feed, 61 percent in the control group and 65 percent in the study group were successful, with no significant difference between the groups (p > 0.05). The breakdown of the successful groups indicated that 36 percent in the control group and 38 percent in the study group supplemented their breast-feeding with formula. The groups were not significantly different (p > 0.05). In conclusion, this study found no significant difference in the rate of breast-feeding success between women who had medial pedicle/vertical pattern reduction mammaplasty and women who had no prior breast surgery.