Large-Breasted Women Are Often in Agony.

• Position: Brief Article

The level of pain that is suffered by women with breast hypertrophy (large and heavy breasts) can be more severe than that suffered by patients with major health conditions, according to a study by Carolyn L. Kerrigan, professor of surgery, Dartmouth (N.H.) Medical School and section chief and program director, plastic surgery, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. The study included 263 women, age 18-74, who completed a variety of questionnaires including the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ), which measures four categories of pain--total, sensory, affective, and cognitive-evaluative.

Patients with large breasts reported greater total pain on the MPQ scale (27.6) than those with other pain syndromes, including back (26.3); cancer (26.0); phantom limb (25.0); pain following herpes (22.6); dental (19.5); arthritis (18.8); and menstrual (17.5). Despite the severe pain of this condition, breast reduction surgery is often considered a cosmetic procedure and is not generally covered by insurance. "These early results document that the burden of breast hypertrophy is a very significant medical condition comparable to many others that are covered without question by managed care. It is important that this condition be given appropriate coverage," Kerrigan maintains.

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