Breast Reduction Height Weight Chart

If you know the height and weight of your patient, it’s easy to identify if they fall into a healthy range. But if you want to take things further, how low can they be taken? This Breast Reduction Height Weight Chart will give you an indication of what a patient can expect based on their height and current weight. This article also discusses breast reduction size requirements and breast reduction BMI requirements.

Good surgical judgment and some experience are required to anticipate how much tissue should be removed from each breast during breast reduction surgery.

Breast Reduction Height Weight Chart

It is important for your weight to be stable before undergoing surgery, especially if you are planning on losing weight. It is recommended to achieve weight loss goals before the procedure to ensure optimal results and reduce potential risks. A BMI of 35 is considered high, and it is generally best practice to operate on patients with a BMI of less than 30. For example, if you weigh 190 pounds or less, your BMI would fall below 30, making you a better candidate for surgery. By maintaining a stable weight and achieving a lower BMI, you can improve your overall health and increase the likelihood of a successful surgical outcome.

WHAT WILL INSURANCE COMPANIES COVER?

We understand what insurance companies will deem a medically necessary procedure. When you come to Rosenberg Plastic Surgery, we will perform the proper analyses to make an accurate determination for your health.

HOW THE SCHNUR SLIDING SCALE IS USED

We utilize the Schnur Sliding Scale in evaluating a patient’s potential medical requirements for breast reduction surgery. The scale helps determine the minimum required amount of tissue that needs to be removed from each breast in order for it to be considered a medical need.

When a patient comes to Rosenberg Plastic Surgery, Dr. David Rosenberg draws from his years of experience and professional judgement in reviewing the amount of tissue that will need to be removed in order to be approved based on the criteria in the Schnur Sliding Scale.

ABOUT THE SCHNUR SLIDING SCALE

The Schnur Sliding Scale is a chart used in evaluating a patient’s medical requirements when considering breast reduction surgery. It compares the patient’s body surface area by the weight of breast tissue to be removed in surgery.

A health insurance company is unlikely to approve surgery if a patient’s body surface area and weight of removed breast tissue are below the 22nd percentile.

Alternately, if body surface area and removed breast tissue weight are above the 22nd percentile, the procedure has met the required criteria to be considered medically necessary.

Blue Cross Blue Shield Breast Reduction Calculator

Are you unsure of your Body Surface Area (BSA)? You can find it on this calculator.

Schnur Scale Chart

BREAST REDUCTION, THE SCHNUR SCALE, AND INSURANCE COVERAGE. WHAT IS THE SCHNUR SCALE? THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW.

I love to do breast reductions.

When your breasts are large and droopy, it profoundly affects how you feel, your ability to exercise, what clothing you wear.  Most of the breast reductions I performed when I first started my practice were insurance-covered. It was simple: a woman who had large droopy breasts came in; I agreed her breasts were large and droopy; we submitted it to insurance with photos; and usually it was covered with a removal of 300g of tissue.

Then the Schnur scale came out, I adopted the short scar vertical breast reduction, and things changed a bit. Now it is tougher to get insurance coverage.

1. Insurance companies vary on their criteria for breast reduction coverage. There are rare plans which do not cover breast reductions at all, but most still do.  What they want is for you to prove it is “medically necessary.”  To show this, they require a certain WEIGHT of tissue be removed.

Weight does not equal volume.  Imagine two women with 34 DDD breasts who want a 34C/D cup.  How much do I need to remove?  Well, it varies.  When you do a reduction, you compact the tissue which is there. Some people will go down a cup size or two just from the compression (imagine how you look smaller in a minimizer bra or jog bra.  No surgery, just compression.)

Your breast is like a pillow. Some people have dense pillows which don’t compact well and weigh a lot.  Others have a light pillow which can smash down into a small package. Insurance companies are focused just on the weight, not the cup size.

I have had some patients where the amount “required” by insurance for me to remove would be equivalent to removing the entire breast. We can’t safely do that, so insurance will not cover.

2.The Schnur scale came out of a study done by plastic surgeons to prove the medical improvement in posture, neck and back pain from doing breast reductions. A side effect was it correlated this improvement with body surface area, and so for many patients the weight needed to be removed increased.

Body surface area correlates to BMI.  What they are saying is if you are overweight, your breasts are big because you are overweight.  They require more volume taken out because of this.  If you want to find out what your Body Surface Area is, there is a link to a body surface area calculator.

I have VECTRA 3D imaging in my office. It helps estimate what the volume of your breast is.  I also have sizing implants which show what 300cc or 500cc looks and feels like, to help you visualize your change.

3.  I “cut out” less than I used to because of my shorter scar technique.  In my short scar vertical breast reduction I liposuction the tissue which runs into the axilla and bra line. In the Wise anchor pattern breast reduction I would cut out this tissue, so even though it is fat, it would be included in the weight total. Now it is liposuctioned, and many insurance companies will not let include it in the weight total.

When you come into my office, I will review all of this with you.  There are other factors which can show medical necessity, but many companies have refused patients of mine who had objective changes in neck Xrays, jaw pain, and other issues, because they said we must hit the Schnur scale number.

The Schnur scale is listed below. For reference, 500g is a little over one pound of tissue.

Breast Reduction Size Requirements

In most cases, a reduction of one or two cup sizes is desired by the patient. The amount of breast tissue you choose to remove should result in a proportionately slimmer body and a smoother, more natural profile. Certain women with naturally large breasts may require an additional reduction of one or more cup sizes to achieve their aesthetic goals.

During a reduction, what is it that is taken away?
During a breast reduction, the surgeon will cut away any excess skin, fat, or glandular tissue, as well as reduce the size of the breasts themselves. The extent of breast reduction in terms of how much of each component is removed depends on both your aesthetic goals and the unique make-up of your breasts.

For instance, some women’s breasts are made up primarily of fat, while others’ are made up of glandular tissue; this means that more fat will be removed during surgery for these women. The procedure to lift the breasts into a higher, firmer position will also involve the removal of any excess skin. Your breasts’ final size, shape, and firmness will depend on how much excess tissue was removed during surgery.

How Much Does a Margin Decrease Weigh?
Depending on your starting breast size and the amount of tissue that is reduced during your procedure, a breast reduction can result in a significant weight loss. Between 450 and 600 grams of breast tissue is typically trimmed away during a breast reduction procedure. One kilogram of excess weight loss is possible, depending on the size of the patient’s breasts and the amount of tissue that is removed.

Why Do Women Often Seek Reduction?
There are a number of factors that influence a woman’s decision to undergo reduction surgery, but one of the primary ones is the pursuit of improved self-esteem. Some of the most common explanations for why people decide to have this procedure done are:

EXCESSIVE PAIN AND SKIN IRRITATION
Having breasts that are too big for your frame can be very uncomfortable and even dangerous. Pain in the neck, shoulders, and back are common complaints among women who have large breasts due to the strain that this extra weight places on the muscles and bones in the upper body. Chafing and other forms of skin irritation under the breast fold can be extremely painful for some women. Tenderness is a possible side effect of having large breasts.

CLOTHING WE WEAR ON A DAILY BASIS AND TOGETHER
It can be difficult to find clothes, both casual and intimate, that fit properly when you have large breasts. Finding bras that fit properly is a common problem; the underwire and straps can be extremely painful, especially if they dig into your shoulders. It may also be challenging to locate well-fitting, supportive athletic tops and bottoms.

Breast Reduction BMI Requirement

Weight-to-height ratio (BMI). One’s weight is indicated by this value. It is a rough estimate based on your height and weight, so take it with a grain of salt. Instructions on determining your body mass index (BMI) can be found at the end of this text.

Insurance companies vary in their requirements for approving breast reduction surgery, with some requiring a body mass index (BMI) of less than 30, others requiring a BMI of less than 35, and still others requiring proof that the patient has made prior attempts to reduce their weight through means such as diet, exercise, or surgical means.

This is due to the fact that smaller breasts are a real possibility when dieting.