Was this Celebrity’s Breast Reduction a Huge Mistake? #ReductionMatters

Lovely ladies! So you may have noticed that there’s been quite a lot of chat recently in the media surrounding breast reductions. It's just come to light that curvaceous Latino actress Sofia Vergara said she is considering having a breast reduction to decrease the size of her 32DDD (UK 32F) boobs after her 17 year old, Modern Family co-star, Ariel Winter underwent the same surgery 6 months ago.

It was widely publicised that Ariel had decided to reduce her bust from 32F to a 34D and she even made headlines again a couple of weeks back, after proudly displaying her surgery scars at the SAG awards in a super sexy, low backed gown. Doesn’t she look hot?!

So, when questioned, Ariel stated that the reason she went through with the surgery was: “I had a lot of back problems. I really couldn't stand up straight for a long period of time. My neck was hurting so bad and I actually had some problems with my spine.”

This seems to be the case for many women with large boobs considering this type of surgery. Plastic surgeon Jonathan Staiano, from BMI Priory hospital in Birmingham even said, “Many say that their bra strap digs in. They tend to hunch over and that can affect their posture. They may also suffer from rashes or fungal infections where the skin of the breast meets the body.” – So some pretty serious stuff!

However this all sounds a little familiar to us. Below is a table showing the list of symptoms required to be considered for breast reduction on the UK's National Health Service (NHS) and also a list showing the symptoms that we find women experience when they have large breasts a wear the incorrect bra size.

So pretty bad symptoms huh?! A well-fitting bra could be the answer. It might not work for everyone but it could certainly work for some.

So to illustrate the lack of education surrounding breast size we re-visit Ariel’s breast reduction story. As it goes she was originally a 32F and had them reduced to a 34D, however as a professional bra fitter this doesn’t really make much sense to me, mainly for the following reasons:

1. Ariel Winter is not and was never a 32F – from our point of view she was in completely the wrong bra size. If fitted by a professional her tiny ribcage would be in a 28” back and her breasts in at least a H/HH cup to lift and support her.
2. From having a breast reduction Ariel also, unbelievably, seems to have acquired a larger back size, going from a 32” back to a 34” back. (The back size definitely should not be affected if you are only removing breast tissue – how does that work?!)
3. Lastly, if Ariel has really gone from a 32F to a 34D, she has really only achieved a bra size that is 2 cup sizes smaller since going under the knife. 

So from looking at all these issues, it could be concluded that had Ariel seen a professional bra-fitter instead of a plastic surgeon, she may have felt differently about her boobs. We understand there are hundreds of reasons why women may want breast reduction surgery (aside from physical pain/symptoms) but from a fitting point of view many women aren’t given all the facts from the beginning and this could help to some degree. So could education and the prescription of bras be a way of cutting back on the number of the reductions carried out in the UK and across the world?

An article from the Daily Mail 2014 states: “many thousands are carried out each year by the NHS. According to some reports, 21,328 procedures were carried out between 2006 and 2011, some on girls as young as 15 - which, at £5,000 each, cost taxpayers more than £106 million.”

A pretty big number but it turns out not everyone who asks for a reduction gets one on the NHS. One of our gorgeous Star in a Bra finalists, Alice Rayman, who now wears a 32K, visited her GP a few years back requesting she were put forward for a reduction, however she was refused. It was only when Alice found correctly fitting lingerie that she realised a reduction was pretty extreme and the pain and discomfort she was experiencing could easily be eradicated without going under the knife. A pretty big break-through and something that could easily help certain women.

So this really does pose the questions - Could the humble bra and a basic knowledge of how to fit them save the UK government millions of pounds and also potentially deter women from having dangerous and unnecessary surgery? Would training plastic surgeons in bra fitting and breast size mean that fewer women go under the knife? And lastly does there just need to be more education provided to help women make a more informed decision?

We’d love to hear your thoughts – Have you considered a reduction? Were you refused or did you change your mind? Do you think the bra alone could tackle women’s perceptions of their breasts? Do you find it shocking that highly trained and intelligent plastic surgeons are giving women false bra sizes- more than likely un-knowingly? If you have an opinion then let us know by tweeting us @curvykate using the hashtag #ReductionMatters.

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