Women face battle for breast-reduction surgery

More public funding is needed for life-changing breast-reduction surgery, advocates say.

Student Erika Johnstone, 25, wants reduction surgery for her F-cup breasts but cannot get it through the public health system.

Johnstone would be refused the surgery because her body mass index (BMI) is too high. Publicly funded breast reduction is offered only to people with a BMI below 32. ‘‘It is a double-edged sword because I want to lose weight so I can qualify for the surgery but then it is really hard to exercise because I am in constant pain with my back,’’ she said.

Private breast-reduction surgery can cost between $8000 and $21,600, and Johnstone’s health insurance does not cover it, so she is trying to raise $15,000 to pay for it herself.

Plastic surgeon Jesse KentonSmith said there was a ‘‘huge number’’ of women who would benefit from breast-reduction surgery but who could not afford it.

‘‘In a resource-limited system, the bar for breast reductions must be set extremely high.’’

Plastic surgeon Katarzyna Mackenzie said more resources were needed. This year she had performed an average of four breast reductions a month.

‘‘There needs to be funding for public hospitals to accommodate women who cannot afford treatment in the private sector.’’

Stacey Johnson, 21, was under the BMI threshold when she sought medical advice for her HHcup breasts. She was told they were not causing enough ‘‘physical or mental discomfort’’ to qualify for a publicly funded operation. She unsuccessfully applied to ACC three times for help to pay for the operation privately.

ACC funds breast reductions for injuries caused by a medical treatment, or as treatment for an injury. It received 203 breastreduction claims in the past five years and approved 81.2 per cent, amounting to $815,000.

Johnson eventually saved the $8000 she needed to have the surgery done privately in May. ‘‘I can find clothes that fit properly, go running but, most of all, my back has stopped constantly hurting.’’

She said it was a ‘‘failure of our health system’’ that so many women had to pay for a surgery that ‘‘undoubtedly’’ improved their quality of life.

Canterbury District Health Board figures show the number of people accepted for breastreduction surgery at Christchurch Hospital dropped by almost two-thirds in the past three years. In Wellington the average wait time was 214 days in the Capital and Coast District Health Board area and in Auckland it was 121 days in Counties Manukau, which also handles referrals for the Auckland DHB.