'100 surgeries per year': Kenyan women who are opting for breast reduction

After Sandra* got her first child, her body drastically changed. Her breasts would not seem to stop growing, prompting her to undergo what has come to be known as a mummy makeover, a procedure that is becoming popular among women who have had children.

For years, Sandra dealt with macromastia, a condition where one has abnormally large breasts. 

Sandra’s main reason for doing the plastic surgery was not to boost her confidence as most people would assume, hers was more of a medical case. 

Sandra says that she has had the issue since her teenage years and had earlier been diagnosed but brushed it off, only for it to get worse after giving birth.

“After I gave birth to my first child, my breasts only became larger. They became a burden; I could not even do simple tasks like house chores with the risk of having back and arm pain. The situation forced me to take frequent breaks at work,” she said.

“I underwent the procedure and now I feel 4.2kg lighter. That was the amount of kg that were removed from my breasts, it was worth it as now I am even able to lift my child and I couldn’t before.” 

She wishes medical insurance companies would introduce breast reduction covers for those with a medical condition.

Wananchi Reporting visited a plastic surgery clinic in the Capital city to find out about the procedures Kenyans often go for and why.

Dr. Martin Ajujo, a consultant plastic surgeon at AJ Plastic Surgery, said he has been performing surgeries for 5 years.

He said, ‘In my 5 years of experience as a Plastic Surgeon, 2 as a cosmetic surgeon, and 3 as a reconstructive plastic surgeon, I have received both male and female patients. The majority are ladies but that doesn’t nullify the fact that men are also patients of plastic surgery.’

Cosmetic surgeries like liposuction and the Brazilian Butt Lift are more popular among ladies between their early 20s and their early 30s, while mummy makeovers are mostly done by women who are between 30-60 years of age while the main procedure done on men is the gynecomastia surgery which is a surgery done to get rid of breast tissue on a man.

In another interview with Joy* a lady who had undergone a tummy tuck surgery speaks about her journey back to confidence.

Joy spoke about how her tummy never went back to being how it was 14 years ago, before bearing her first child even with exercise and strict diet. 

She says that the reason for her pursuing the surgery was mainly because she needed to boost her confidence, as it was greatly being hindered by the size of her tummy.

As she speaks about her healing, she says she experienced some discomfort and pain but was not as extreme as she expected. She encourages anyone wishing to pursue the surgery to ensure they follow the doctor’s instructions to smoothen their healing process.

‘Follow the doctor’s advice to the letter to get the result you want from the surgery,’ she says.

Before undergoing such surgeries, Dr. Martin insisted on the importance of coming clean about any medical condition or activity that could be a possible hindrance to the procedure.

‘Plastic surgery, just like any other surgery has its risks, most of them are caused by dishonesty with the patients during consultations. It is important to be completely honest with your doctor during these consultations. It will help us not to fly blind,’ he says.

According to the doctor, breast reduction, being the most requested surgery by Dr. Ajujo’s patients for various reasons is becoming a major procedure.

‘I perform up to 100 breast reduction surgeries in a year. I get around 2-5 patients for breast reduction in a week, most of them are normally for medical reasons than personal.’ Dr. Ajujo says 

‘Mummy makeovers cost about 8 thousand US Dollars to 10 thousand US Dollars, depending on the number of procedures being done, the least number of procedures, the less amount to be paid,’ Dr. Ajujo says. 

Research has shown that there are about 4 million cosmetic surgeries and 5.2 million reconstructive surgeries done yearly.

There are two types of Plastic Surgery; reconstructive surgeries which are normally done for medical reasons and there’s cosmetic surgeries which people do mainly for personal reasons.

*Names changed as interviewees sought anonymity