Dr. Karen Leong | 11/09/2020
I’m Dr. Karen Leong in Newport Beach, CA and I’m here with one of my patients who recently had a breast reduction! Breast reduction is a procedure that she’s been thinking about for quite a long time and she’s young, only 25! She’s been gracious enough to agree to share a little bit about her experience, funnily enough she wrote an essay question and then we will do a question and answer session!
Patient: Like Dr. Leong said I thought about the procedure for years and it always seems so far-fetched. The practical factor, the pain and the questions of do I really need this? Can I accept my body for what it is? So I always felt really just for mis proportioned, I’m only 5”. My breast always made me feel uncomfortable, in middle school I would wear two sports bras in an effort to keep them from growing anymore. (Also because that was the only way I would feel comfortable.) They never went away even with weight loss, so early on in my teen years I gave up swimming, gymnastics, and basketball because I just felt so uncomfortable. Don’t get me wrong I know there are plenty of women who have succeeded despite having a large chest, I just didn’t feel like it was worth it or comfortable for me. So now I’m in my mid-twenties and I keep thinking why am I spending my youth being so consciously upset about my body?! So I decided to just take the first step and just go for a consultation. I was not expecting to go through with it anytime soon and I’m so glad I did because that first meeting with Dr. Leong put me at ease and really paved a way I didn’t think was possible, in such a short amount of time! I finally feel so comfortable in my own body!
Dr. Leong: Thank you for sharing, it is very meaningful to hear another experience and also the thought process that led into a consultation. A couple of things I just wanted to ask: how old were you when you first started developing breasts?
Patient: I want to say I want to say around 10 or 11.
Dr. Leong: Okay when did you get your period?
Patient: I was in seventh grade. I remember the first day of 7th grade.
Dr. Leong: And how old were you when you started feeling discomfort?
Patient: 8th grade, 13 soon after I started developing I really wore bras or sport bras all the time so I felt very different. Very self-conscious about that.
Dr. Leong: So at the time you and I met, what was your bra size?
Patient: 36 Double D and they were already kind of spilling over.
Dr. Leong: I had a chance to meet your mom, and she is much smaller. Unfortunately, you are blessed with more than most! Just a couple more questions… Going through the procedure, everyone always likes to ask how did you feel on the day of surgery, how did you feel during the recovery, and in the first couple of days after? Anything you would recommend to people thinking about doing this?
Patient: Honestly it went by so fast it was such a blur! The day of I thought I would be way more nervous than I was, but I was just ready to go in and get it over with! Recovery was a very dull pain if anything, I’d compare it to when I got my wisdom teeth taken out. It wasn’t painful, it was just a dull aching pain in the first few days again, mostly a blur they went by so quickly. I think I was asleep most of the time
Dr. Leong: Any advice to someone considering this procedure?
Patient: I think at the very least you can do for yourself and go for a consultation! At that point you can decide for yourself, after you have all the details and you understand the process and how it looks for you! I think the first job just to go in for consultation and you (Dr. Leong) made it so easy because you never pressured me into anything I didn’t want to do.
Dr. Leong: I’m so glad! Was it hard to picture yourself with a smaller breast size?
Patient: So it’s funny because I used to edit with an app just to kind of get an idea of what I would look like and it really convinced me to go in.
Dr. Leong: Thank you for sharing with us, thank you for your essay that was very meaningful. I really appreciate it.