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In the United States, breast reduction surgical procedures increased by 54% between 2019 and 2022. A trend that has recently been reflected on social networks, particularly on TikTok. Women who have had this operation are speaking out more often to share their experience with as many people as possible. As a result, the Breast Reduction hashtag has 1.5 billion views.
Back pain, aches, feeling of discomfort, discomfort in certain clothes, difficulties in practicing a sporting activity… there are many reasons which encourage women to reduce their breasts. Amanda DeBoer had a breast reduction and shows herself on TikTok before and after the operation in different outfits. For her, her decision was a real relief, evoking “a real weight less on her shoulders”. “No more back pain, no more neck pain, no more shoulder pain, no more pain in training, my clothes fit better,” he lists. Payton Renee. And there are thousands of videos like this.
Dr Sanjay Warrier, a surgeon and consultant specializing in breast surgery based in Sydney, has noticed a marked increase in the number of women requesting the procedure at his practice. In general, patients resort to it because they have been in a situation of suffering for years. “Many patients with large breasts who wish to undergo breast reduction surgery report that they have suffered from back and shoulder pain for years,” he explains in an article in the New York Post.
In the United States, breast reduction is also increasingly in demand. In 2022, it resulted in 71,364 interventions, compared to 46,340 in 2019, an increase of 54%. “This may indicate a broader trend of people seeking balance and proportionality valuing both comfort and aesthetics in their transformation journey,” says theAmerican Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). Because beyond resolving one or more medical or aesthetic problems, this intervention brings more general well-being to these women. For many of them, breast reduction helped them regain a new self-confidence, a new assurance, brought in particular by the possibility of wearing clothes without being embarrassed.
The pandemic effect and the TikTok effect
According to the ASPS, several factors – all more or less linked to the health crisis – would explain the increase in this operation. Since the pandemic, people have been more attentive to their comfort, well-being and mental health. For some women, these aspects would include the size of their breasts which causes them problems in their daily life and which can make them feel uncomfortable. The pandemic has also raised awareness of the need to adopt a healthier lifestyle which involves a desire to be more physically active. But for some women, their chest constrains them when they play sports. A study published last September in the Journal of Reconstructive Surgery (JPRAS) Open, showed that women who have large breasts tend to do less physical exercise and avoid high-intensity exercises. Furthermore, among the 2,000 women surveyed in Australia, England and South Africa, those who had undergone breast reduction reported having a healthier and more active lifestyle. “Our study showed that breast size affects exercise habits and that breast reduction surgery changes the willingness to exercise,” said Dr Claire Baxter, lead author of the study, in a press release.
The ASPS also evokes the effect of TikTok in the increase in this operation by evoking “the power of digital stories”. According to the Association of American Plastic Surgeons, social networks encourage free and frank speech. Women who have opted for breast reduction do not hesitate to put themselves in the spotlight by telling their story and posting videos before and after the operation. They demonstrate the benefits of this intervention, without hiding the post-op pain. Above all, they serve as sources of information for those who are considering having an operation. “While the choice to undergo a procedure is deeply personal and individualized, this collective spike in numbers suggests an intersection between personal wellness, advances in personal wellness, advances in medicine, and the power of the age digital in sharing personal stories and transformation journeys,” explains the ASPS.
Despite an increase in breast reduction operations, it should be noted that requests for breast augmentation remain more numerous. The ASPS counted 298,568 interventions in 2022 compared to 287,085 in 2019 (+4%). “Breast augmentation has been one of the most popular cosmetic procedures since 2006.” It is one of the five most commonly performed plastic surgery procedures in the United States, along with liposuction, abdominoplasty, breast lift and eyelid surgery.