Breast reduction alternative: Encore Health
Although a large bra size can be portrayed as desirable, the reality for many women is that large breasts can cause physical and emotional discomfort. Carrying the extra weight can result in back, neck or shoulder pain and can limit physical activities.
Some women also experience feelings of self-consciousness and struggle to find well-fitting clothes.
The good news is Dr Grant Bellaney, founder of the Encore Cosmetic Clinic, offers women an alternative to traditional breast reduction surgery, with extremely good results.
“Most breasts consist of 40 to 60 percent fat, so the removal of some of that fat through a procedure called tumescent liposuction can give a significant reduction in breast size,” he says. While traditional breast reduction surgery is carried out by plastic or general surgeons, breast reduction procedures using tumescent liposuction have been developed and practised by dermatological surgeons such as Bellaney, who are skin and fat specialists. The procedure is suitable for all ages, particularly those over the age of 35. It was first used in the 1980s and has an outstanding safety record, he adds.
“The procedure also has huge advantages over traditional surgery. It is safer because it is performed under local anaesthetic, which has fewer risks than surgery that is carried out under general anaesthetic. It is also simpler and less painful than surgery and the recovery time is far quicker. “There are also fewer side effects and less scaring. With traditional surgery all patients will have visable scaring of some degree, whereas little or no visable scaring is present with this technique. With traditional surgury about 10 to 15 percent of patients can experience a loss of sensitivity in the nipples or an inability to breastfeed afterwards. With tumescent liposuction, the risk reduces to less than one percent.”
Dr Bellaney was the first specialist to introduce tumescent liposuction to the South Island and has continued to develop and refine the procedure ever since. “These incisions are virtually scarless and heal very quickly, usually without needing sutures. It’s a day procedure, so women can go home afterwards and are usually back to their regular routine within a few days.”
Dr Bellaney has successfully performed this procedure on hundreds of women over the last 10 years.
Call his modern clinic at 248 Papanui Road in Merivale to make an appoinment, phone 03 356 0214 or visit the website www.encorehealth.co.nz.
