Symptomatic Macromastia: A Quality of Life Evaluation after Reduction Mammaplasty

Abstract: The aim of this retrospective study is to present the severity of symptoms and clinical signs attributed to macromastia and the extent to which reduction mammaplasty relieves them. We studied, both by specially designed questionnaires and review of their clinical records, 92 patients, aged 18–64 years, who underwent bilateral reduction mammaplasty for symptomatic macromastia. The most common symptoms were breast pain and discomfort, shoulder grooving and pain, back and neck pain, intertrigo, and in one case, ulnar paraesthesia. The mean weight of removed tissue from each breast was 720 g. The complication rate was 11%, the most frequent being postoperative infection. The mean follow-up period was 27 months. Postoperatively 88 patients presented with significant improvement of symptoms, whereas in 3 patients the breast discomfort persisted apparently due to residual fibrocystic elements. The majority of patients would recommend the operation to friends and relatives with macromastia. The significant degree of symptom recess supports the reconstructive value of reduction mammaplasty.