A 22-year-old woman with 34H breasts says she's been denied reduction surgery on the NHS because her body mass index is too high.
Leonie Reynolds claims she has been asking for the operation since she was just 12 and an E-cup bra size.
Leonie says she suffers crippling back pain as a result - and has done for the last 10 years. She explained that when she initially asked for help, doctors told her to wait until she was 18 - and told her that she should take paracetamol and ibuprofen to cope with the pain.
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Leonie, from Chelmsford, Essex, told Essex Live: "I just got used to a certain level of pain, but I was always tired and a bit lethargic. And I started getting irritable around that age. In hindsight, it was due to the pain I was always in."
Leonie revealed she became very self conscious when she was younger.
"It was a big point of insecurity for me," she said. "I was just the girl with the big chest from day one." She had physiotherapy and also an MRI scan to see if she had spinal problems.
Due to Leonie’s BMI, she was not allowed to have the surgery, despite meeting all the other criteria. Leonie is 5ft 4ins tall and says: "My normal weight is 12 stone 2, which I know is bigger than some but I didn’t ever see that as big, looking at the frame of my body. I felt like I was in proportion.”
She then lost a stone for the surgery, and was then told she still couldn’t have the reduction as her weight needed to be stable for two years. Leonie said: “I was just in shock that even with losing so much weight I was still denied.”
She continued: “I felt betrayed by the NHS because they knew the overall hope was to get this reduction. Up until last year, my weight wasn’t stable, but that’s because they told me to lose the weight. For me, it just felt like I’ve done it all for nothing.”
Leonie was forced to quit her jobs in 2019 due to the amount of pain she was in, and the fatigue it was causing her. Leonie said: “I’m so drained and so tired and in so much pain that I can’t physically go out to work."
She studied animal management at Writtle University College and was working there during the summer, looking after animals. She said: “I really love animals and I’ve always wanted to work with them. I feel like I’m most myself when I’m around animals.”
A spokesperson for the Mid and South Essex Integrated Care System, said: “We wouldn’t be able to discuss individual cases, but would ask Leonie to please get in touch with her GP to talk about any concerns she may have, particularly in light of recent changes to our local service policy.
“Breast reduction surgery within mid and south Essex is only offered to patients who meet the clinical criteria set out in our service restriction policy. The eligibility criteria is designed to ensure that surgical procedures, such as breast reduction surgery, are only carried out when clinically necessary, safe, and after other less invasive treatment options have been tried."
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