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Breastfeeding Ability After Breast Reductions: What does the Literature Tell us in 2023?

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Abstract

Introduction

Reduction mammaplasties are routinely performed on women of child-bearing age, yet there still exists some uncertainty regarding a patient’s ability to breastfeed following the procedure. This is due to inconsistent definitions of “successful” breastfeeding, a variety of pedicles implemented, and inadequate follow-up in the published literature. Our aim was to summarize the current data and provide clear recommendations for counseling patients on expected breastfeeding outcomes following reduction mammaplasty.

Methods

A systematic review and meta-analysis in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines was conducted. We included papers that reported proportion of breastfeeding ability following reduction mammaplasty.

Results

We identified 33 papers that met our inclusion criteria. We found that women who undergo reduction mammaplasty are at a 3.5 times increased odds of not being able to breastfeed compared to controls. Overall, reduction mammaplasty patients have a breastfeeding success rate of 62%. The breastfeeding success rate for patients with inferior pedicles was 64%, superior pedicles was 59%, and lateral pedicles was 55%. No conclusions could be drawn regarding medial, central, vertical, and horizontal pedicles on breastfeeding ability.

Conclusion

Current data suggest that women undergoing reduction mammaplasty have an increased odds of unsuccessful breastfeeding when compared to similar women who have not undergone the procedure. Based on the current literature, pedicle type does play a role in rate of breastfeeding success, although there is a need for further research on the aforementioned pedicles. Physicians should be aware of the likelihood of successful breastfeeding following reduction mammaplasty so that patients can be more thoroughly counseled prior to a decision for surgery.

Level of Evidence I

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of South Florida Health Morsani College of Medicine, 560 Channelside Dr, Tampa, FL, 33602, USA

    Bilal Koussayer, Emily Coughlin & Rahul Mhaskar

  2. University of Central Florida College of Medicine, 6850 Lake Nona Blvd, Orlando, FL, 32827, USA

    Justin Taylor

  3. University of Florida College of Medicine, 1600 SW Archer Rd, Gainesville, FL, 32610, USA

    Jamie Warner

  4. Florida State University College of Medicine, 1115 W Call St, Tallahassee, FL, 32304, USA

    Mohammad Tahseen Alkaelani & Taylor Blount

  5. Department of Plastic Surgery, University of South Florida,, 2 Tampa General Circle, 7th Floor, Tampa, FL, 33606, USA

    D’Arcy Wainwright, Abby Threet, Nicole K. Le, Kristen Whalen & Lauren Kuykendall

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Correspondence to Bilal Koussayer.

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Koussayer, B., Taylor, J., Warner, J. et al. Breastfeeding Ability After Breast Reductions: What does the Literature Tell us in 2023?. Aesth Plast Surg 48, 1142–1155 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00266-023-03690-8

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