Cosmetic Surgery, Health and Fitness Information - The Adams Center, Boston, MA

Will my health insurance cover my Breast Reduction?

Q: Will my health insurance cover my Breast Reduction?

A: I often get questions from breast reduction patients regarding whether or not their health insurance will cover the breast reduction. Typically, breast reduction surgery is only covered if the reduction is greater than 1,000 grams of tissue.

A recent study published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery showed that a breast reduction of even a modest amount could significantly help improve a patient's quality of life and ease some of the pain associated with very large breasts (a condition known as macromastia).

This study was particularly interesting in that one of its goals was to test whether the 1,000g benchmark had any basis in scientific fact, or was an arbitrary number.

The study included 59 patients, all of whom had breast reductions of less than 1,000g. All of these patients reported significant decreases in upper and lower back pain, shoulder pain, breast pain, and more. Also, patients reported an increased ability to play sports, an easier time in finding clothes that fit, and a better quality of life post-breast reduction.

often get questions from breast reduction patients regarding whether or not their health insurance will cover the breast reduction. Typically, breast reduction surgery is only covered if the reduction is greater than 1,000 grams of tissue.

Contact me by e-mail, or by calling me at The Adams Center in my Peabody office at 978-531-0550, or 617-262-2208 in my Boston office for more information on this post, or any other information in my Blog.

Dr. Bill Adams is a greater Boston area board certified plastic surgeon with over 25 years of experience in the field.

Health Benefits of a Breast Reduction

I often get questions from breast reduction patients regarding whether or not their health insurance will cover the breast reduction. Typically, breast reduction surgery is only covered if the reduction is greater than 1,000 grams of tissue.

A recent study published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery showed that a breast reduction of even a modest amount could significantly help improve a patient's quality of life and ease some of the pain associated with very large breasts (a condition known as macromastia).

This study was particularly interesting in that one of its goals was to test whether the 1,000g benchmark had any basis in scientific fact, or was an arbitrary number.

The study included 59 patients, all of whom had breast reductions of less than 1,000g. All of these patients reported significant decreases in upper and lower back pain, shoulder pain, breast pain, and more. Also, patients reported an increased ability to play sports, an easier time in finding clothes that fit, and a better quality of life post-breast reduction.

Contact me by e-mail, or by calling me at The Adams Center in my Peabody office at 978-531-0550, or 617-262-2208 in my Boston office for more information on this post, or any other information in my Blog.

Dr. Bill Adams is a greater Boston area board certified plastic surgeon with over 25 years of experience in the field.

Scarring Concerns with Breast Reduction

Q: I am from Cincinnati and I am moving up there to live with my fiancé around July. I vary between a DD and a DDD breast size. I wanted to get a breast reduction, but I am looking for the best surgeon.  What is scaring usually like for your patients?

A: You’re right to be concerned about scarring.  The scar always exists around the areola, down the front of the breast and, sometimes, below the breast. The quality of the scar varies, but we have performed 100’s of breast reductions, and try to make the best scar possible.

Contact me by e-mail, or by calling me at The Adams Center in my Peabody office at 978-531-0550, or 617-262-2208 in my Boston office for more information on this post, or any other information in my Blog.

Dr. Bill Adams is a greater Boston area board certified plastic surgeon with over 25 years of experience in the field.

2006 Cosmetic Surgery Statistics

2006 showed some interesting trends in both cosmetic surgery, and non-surgical procedures.

With approximately 11.5 million cosmetic procedures (both surgical and non-surgical performed in the U.S. – a small increase of 1% from 2005 – more people than ever are choosing to manage the signs of aging or just look and feel their best.

One of the more interesting points that came out of this report is that while surgical procedures actually showed a decline, more people than ever are realizing the benefits of non-surgical procedures which account for 83% of the total cosmetic procedures performed in the U.S.

Recently, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery released their 2006 statistics for cosmetic procedures, which showed:

• Surgical procedures decreased by about 9%
• Non-surgical procedures increased 3%
• Women had 92% of all procedures – an increase of 1% from 2005
• Men had 8% of all procedures
• African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, and other non-caucasian groups accounted for 21.7% of all procedures – a significant growth over 2005

The top five surgical procedures were:

• Liposuction - 403,684,
• Breast Augmentation - 383,886,
• Eyelid Surgery (blepharoplasty) - 209,999, 
• Tummy Tuck (Abdominoplasty) - 172,457, and
• Female Breast Reduction - 169,314

The top non-surgical procedures were:

• Botox Treatments - 3,181,592 treatments, it was by far the most common cosmetic procedure,
• Restylane and Hylaform combined to account for 1,593,554 procedures,
• Laser Hair Removal - 1,475,296,
• Microdermabrasion - 993,071, and
• Laser Skin Resurfacing rounded out the list with 556,172 procedures

Contact me by e-mail, or by calling me at The Adams Center in my Peabody office at 978-531-0550, or 617-262-2208 in my Boston office for more information on this post, or any other information in my Blog.

Dr. Bill Adams is a greater Boston area board certified plastic surgeon with over 25 years of experience in the field.