My daughter is a 34DD and is 12 years old. Is she too young to have a breast reduction?

3 years after her first period or menstruation you can proceed and visit an ASAPS plastic surgeon.

Breast Reduction in very young girls is a major problem because their breasts are still growing. At a DD size, she may be able to increase the support and still function well. This is something that you and she need to discuss at length. I would consider doing something only if the size of the breasts interferes significantly with her normal activities or the things she would like to do but cannot because of the breast size and weight. You also did not say anything about her weight. Young girls that are overweight are more likely to have quite large breasts. If, in fact, she is such, I would strongly suggest weight reduction before doing anything. If she is of normal weight and the breasts markedly interfere with her activities, there are 2 options surgically. First you could simply liposuction the breasts to reduce the weight. This can be done on several occasions without markedly interfering with blood supply. Once the breasts stop growing, she could then have a formal breast reduction. The other option is to do a formal breast reduction now. However, you must be prepared to redo this in the future after the breasts have grown back to probably a larger size than desirable. Re-doing a reduction is always a problem because of the risk of nipple death from lack of blood supply. See a plastic surgeon member of this organization with significant experience in breast reduction if you decide to pursue surgical options.

At age 12 years, your daughter is still growing. If you can delay the surgery until she is finished growing it is much better physically and psychologically. After breast reduction at age 12 the chances that she will continue to grow and would need another surgery is high. The chances that an insurance company covering the procedure is very unlikely. Meanwhile I suggest to my patients to support the breast with two bras, one with full cup, wide straps, and wide chest band and another good sports bra. In my patients I have involved the parents, the pediatrician, and a psychologist and do a temporary procedure as liposuction of the breast. If this was my daughter, I would have a very tough decision to make.