A woman says she has been refused breast reduction surgery due to her weight.
Leonie Reynolds, from Chelmsford, has a bra size of 34H/HH and says she has been asking for the operation since she was only 12-years-old but was told she would have to wait until she was 18. However, medics are now refusing to agree to the operation because her body mass index (BMI) has been deemed to be too high.
Leonie said she has been suffering from back pain as a result of her breasts for the last 10 years and says medics have told her she should take paracetamol and ibuprofen to cope, reports Wales Online.
She said: “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 says the issue caused her to become very self conscious when she was younger: “It was a big point of insecurity for me. 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 her BMI, Leonie was not allowed to have the surgery, but met all the other criteria.
She says she feels like her body is in 'proportion' to her size.
Leonie is 5’4, 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 says she lost a stone for the surgery, but was then informed that she still couldn’t have the operation because her weight would need 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 had to quit her jobs in 2019 because of the amount of pain she was in, and the fatigue this was causing.
She said: “I’m so drained and so tired and in so much pain that I can’t physically go out to work.”
Leonie studied animal management at Writtle University College, while working there during the summer, caring for 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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