Contact the Breast Reduction Team

Arranging an assessment

Contact the outpatient line to arrange a breast surgery consultation with the aesthetic surgery service. Ask specifically for an assessment for heavy or symptomatic breasts, and tell the booking team if you have had previous breast surgery, if you are still breastfeeding, or if you are planning a pregnancy — each of those changes how the appointment should be arranged.

What to bring

Bring any imaging you have had, a list of your current medications including anything bought without a prescription, and the name of any condition you are treated for. If you have kept a record of your symptoms, bring it: how often the pain occurs, what makes it worse, what you have already tried, and which bras or supports have helped. A specific symptom history is more useful to a surgeon than a description of appearance.

What the consultation involves

A history of your symptoms and goals; an examination and measurements; a discussion of the incision patterns that fit your measurements and the trade each one makes; and an explicit conversation about scars, sensation, breastfeeding and what the operation will not change. You should leave knowing what the operation would involve, what it would cost you in recovery time, and what remains uncertain. If you do not, ask again.

Second opinions

You are entitled to one, and asking for it is not a criticism of anyone. If you have been offered a breast reduction elsewhere, a second assessment at a tertiary hospital will either confirm the plan or explain why it would be done differently, and either answer is useful to you.

Interpreting and international patients

Patients travelling from outside Chongqing, and patients who need interpretation, can arrange both through the hospital’s international patient service. Ask when you book so that the appointment is scheduled with enough time for a full discussion rather than a short one.