Large, heavy breasts can be the cause of breathing difficulties, neck and back pain, poor posture, and painful bra strap indentations. It can also cause irritation and chafing underneath the breasts. Large breasts can interfere with normal daily activities such as exercise and decrease a woman’s sense of attractiveness and self-confidence. Breast reduction surgery can give women with heavy breasts a sense of freedom in their bodies they may have never dreamed possible. By reducing breast size and producing a more attractive contour, breast reduction can eliminate health problems associated with excessively large breasts and improve a woman’s self-image.

In order to determine insurance coverage for breast reduction, the Schnur Sliding Scale is implemented. 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 with the weight of breast tissue to be removed in surgery. If a patient’s body surface area and removed breast tissue weight are not within a particular percentile, surgery is considered to be a cosmetic procedure and is unlikely to be approved by a health insurance company.