AboutAlan M. Engler, MD, FACS Expertise Dr. Engler has answered over 2700 plastic surgery questions for Allexperts. His expertise is in cosmetic plastic surgery including breast surgery (breast enlargement with implants, breast reduction, breast lifts), liposuction, eyelid surgery, tummy tucks, facelifts etc.
Dr. Engler has been listed as one New York`s Top Doctors, and as "One of the World's Most Famous Aesthetic Surgeons" (Aesthetic Surgery, TASCHEN Books, Angelika Taschen, Editor). He is the author of 4 books, including "BodySculpture" (a best-selling plastic surgery book on breast surgery, liposuction and tummy tucks), "EyeScapes" (Plastic Surgery of the Eyelids), "Restylane," and "The Slim Book of Liposuction."
Dr. Engler has two US Patents for surgical instruments that he's designed, and has appeared on numerous television shows, including The Tyra Banks Show, The Ricki Lake Show (four times), and the Dr. Keith Ablow Show. Videos of his appearances are available on YouTube (SEARCH FOR "DR. ENGLER"). His website is www.bodysculpture.com.
Experience Dr. Alan Engler is a board-certified plastic surgeon in New York and the author of BodySculpture - Plastic Surgery of the Body for Men and Women (ISBN 0966382749) one of the top-selling plastic surgery books on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, etc.
Education/Credentials Dr. Engler graduated from Yale University (undergraduate) and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University (medical school). He did his residency training in General Surgery and, after that, Plastic Surgery, at the Montefiore Medical Center in New York. He is on the faculty of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.
Question Okay, so I'm a 14 year old transsexual with 36DD breasts and it's really caused me problems with my mental status. Aside from that, I've had to visit the chiropractor many times to get my back worked on, due to a mixture of my school bag and breast size. I was wondering if there was any possible way to qualify for breast reduction surgery at my age, and if there was, would there be any marks left (Basically scarring) and how reduced could I get them?
Answer from Dr. Alan Engler
www.bodysculpture.com
Hi Edwin,
I want to discuss this in two parts. The technical discussion will be second; although important, the initial issue is that you are only 14 years old. Because the age of majority is either 18 or 21, depending on where you are and what the particular concerns are, none of the following will apply to you because you may not have the right to make such a (potentially) drastic and certainly irreversible decision on your own. I am very sensitive to the concerns that you have, but age 14 might be a tough one to have something like this surgery done. We'll get back to that.
From a technical standpoint, you would essentially need to undergo some kind of a mastectomy (removal of breast tissue) and this cannot help but to leave some scars. There is typically a scar underneath the breast and another one around the areola (the dark area around the nipple) which, for breasts this size, would probably have to be removed entirely and then replaced as a skin graft. There are other techniques that would leave a scar only around the areola but (a) there is a limit to how much the breasts can be reduced in this manner, and (b) that scar risks stretching out over time and, depending on the ultimate appearance, being worse - if it is an overstretched, large, noticeable areola - than if it were a smaller scar there and another one underneath the now-removed breast tissue. As you can see, there are a lot of issues.
You should of course see a few plastic surgeons in consultation, so that you can find out what the options really are for you. You can find some near you at surgery.org, and try to go with a friend or relative for support, and to help you remember what was said (you may be nervous, and forget a few things!).
Then you'll have to get permission from a parent or guardian and, even at that, many plastic surgeons may be uncomfortable, in the absence of clear documentation from a psychiatrist, progressing to the surgery. It is, as I noted, somewhat drastic and clearly irreversible.
So - here's the order:
1) Talk to your parents/guardians about whether or not they would even allow it.
2) See one or more plastic surgeons to see if you would really want the surgery,
3) If so, see your psychiatrist to see what has to be done to document your level of commitment, concern, intensity, etc., and of course your ability to give informed consent associated with your maturity. Nothing personal; I just think that that's what we'd have to do.
If all of the above are okay, you may be able to proceed with the surgery - assuming that you have a plastic surgeon you're comfortable with, and who's comfortable doing this surgery on you.
Sorry for the long answer, but it's not a simply issue!
