A: There is no strict cut off age for breast surgery or a breast reduction. Each individual may be a candidate at any age, and all medical history and factors are all discussed in your intiial consultation with Dr Tony. A breast reduction can provide so much more than size change, it can relieve back and neck pain, improve your ability to exercise and yes fit of clothing including your bra fit.

A: Firstly, it is great that you have had a conversation with your GP about this and taken the step to have a consultation. We need to first do this, to determine the many factors that go into ensuring suitability for the procedure, your goals and to access the pain you're experiencing. We can advise the overall costs including with or without private health cover.

A: Yes, combining surgeries is very possible. We review the desired outcomes and goals of each patient in our initial consultation to review this possibility. It is very common to see the two you mentioned combined but also Mummy Makeover type procedures that include Breast Lift/Reduction, Breast Implants with a Tummy Tuck and or targeted liposuction. There are benefits to combining procedures, such as decreased downtime and recovery once and one hospital stay, but also reduced costs are incurred also.

A: Any initial consultations are via medicare with a gap payable. We have many patients who opt to pay out of pocket for their own surgeries in private hospitals, others take the quote and then opt to join private cover and serve waiting periods. There are certain instances where surgery, especially cancer and emergency procedures can be done in a public hospital setting. In many instances the out of pocket expenses are not as high as patients imagined, and they wish to do it themselves. We would encourage a consult to discuss the procedures and then our admin ladies can put together a detailed quote with pricing for with or without insurance cover. The hospital would then be responsible for providing costs for any hospital stay/theatre costs as we cannot account for any fees outside of our own surgical costs.

A: There are several factors that come into play when looking at scarring and healing. We offer in clinic laser treatments postoperative from 4 weeks onwards to reduce redness, keloid and size and assist and aid with quicker healing. These laser treatments are Medicare bulk billed and can be done as part of any post operative care appointments.

A: The use of drains after surgery is to help prevent seroma. Seroma is fluid that can build after any operation. In breast surgery the use of drains will depend on the type of surgery and the risk of seroma. Generally, breast reconstructions, implant removal or replacements and lymph node clearances are the types of surgery that will need drains. The drains are easy to manage, you will get instructions on how to look after them and they stay in for usually no longer than 2 weeks. The removal of the drains (if done properly) should not hurt.

A: The time to recover and time off work varies with the procedure and type of work you do. We advise against working for at least the first 24 hours if you have had a general anaesthetic. Some bigger operations will need more time off work and we will guide you through the process. We will happily provide certificates for work or insurance purposes

A: Breast reduction typically requires an incision around the areola (the coloured skin around the nipple) and removal of skin and underlying breast. You may experience numbness around the nipple, along the scar and in some places over the breast however permanent loss of sensation of the nipple is unlikely. It is not unusual for the nipple to feel numb or slightly numb for up to 3 months after the surgery.

A: The ability to successfully breast feed after reduction will probably be reduced because we are removing a substantial amount of breast tissue. that said the main milk ducts behind the nipple are not cut so if you're able to produce milk then you may also be able to breastfeed. About a third of women are unable to breastfeed to start with. The decision to pursue breastfeeding is a decision best made in conjunction with your obstetrician, lactation consultant and GP.

A: This is a difficult question to answer. Success of treatment will depend on the type of cancer, how big it is and whether it has spread to the lymph nodes in the underarm. Modern medical treatment can vastly improve chances of being cured of cancer. At our clinic we use a multidisciplinary approach in cancer management so it might mean you are referred to other specialists for combination therapy. Breast cancer treatment is highly personalised and there is no 'one size fits all' approach.