Case study: “I was 5ft 1in and had 32FF boobs.”

Even with some Primary Care Trusts spending as much as £1m a year on cosmetic surgery patients like 25-year-old, hairstylist, Lydia Buist, still choose to take the private route.

Lydia started having severe back problems due to her large breasts when she was still in school. “When I was 14 I was big,” she says. “I was 5ft 1in and I had 32FF boobs. Nothing fitted me and I was always self-conscious.” 

When she turned 18, Lydia asked her GP about breast reduction but was told she had to wait. “My doctor said to me: ‘You will be accepted, but they want you to become an adult and get comfortable with being an adult before that happens.’”  

Lydia did wait for five more years only for her back problems to get worse: “It was a long stressful few years. It really ruins your back. I used to wear a bra all the time, except for when I would take a shower. I was so depressed about it too. It’s crazy to me why people get implants. I have no idea why they do it.”

The NHS gives the example of breast reduction procedures conducted due to severe back pain, depression and confidence issues on their website when explaining why they fund cosmetic surgery in the first place. It reads: “In rare cases, cosmetic surgery may be provided on the NHS if it’s required to protect a person’s health, for example, a breast reduction operation, if the weight of a woman’s breasts is causing her back problems.”

Still the waiting times and budget cuts put Lydia off asking her doctor about funding again. “I have a friend who is a 30HH and got refused on the NHS because of the budget cuts. She is struggling to raise money for her reduction now,” says Lydia.  

“Knowing her made me feel really bad when I had my operation,” she explains, “because I was not near the case she was. But I feel so much better now. It’s like I’m free.” 

“I also didn’t go on the NHS because it takes so long and it was only thanks to my parents that I got to have it when I did. Plus private hospitals are so much better and the medication and aftercare is great,” adds Lydia.