A mother-of-one whose massive breasts were causing her agony and unwanted attention has shared her outraged after the NHS refused to pay for reduction surgery.
Caitlin Telford, 27, from Glasgow, has suffered with excruciating back pain for years having been rejected by the NHS for breast reduction surgery when she was just 17-years-old, and already sporting a size 32G chest.
By the time she was just 25-years-old her breasts had ballooned to a whopping 36K, after the birth of her son Luca in January 2023.
But the young mother, now in constant pain and having developed grooves in her shoulders from the sheer weight of her breasts, was refused treatment once again.
‘It just puts you down as you feel like no matter how much weight you lose, because you have a bigger chest you’re never going to be a weight that you can be,’ she said.
Ms Telford said she felt ‘hopeless’, uncomfortable in her own body but unable to afford the £10,000 it would cost to have the surgery done privately in Britain.
‘By the time I had left primary school, I was already bigger than most of the girls in my class and they just continued to grow and grow,’ she recalled.
She added: ‘They were getting in the way of everything and I would get a lot of unsolicited male attention when I went out.’
Caitlin Telford was forced to take painkillers for the excruciating back pain caused by the weight of her breasts
At 17, Ms Telford visited her GP for a consultation which she hoped would lead to breast reduction surgery.
‘But the doctors pawned me off and said because I was young, I hadn’t stopped growing so they would not put me forward for it,’ she said.
‘Then the pain started across my back. I was also developing grooves in my shoulders where my bra was pulling on them constantly.’
Before becoming pregnant with her son, Ms Telford did everything she could to lose weight in the hopes that this would make her an appropriate candidate for surgery, dropping an impressive five stone to help her case.
‘I went back to the doctor when I’d lost the weight and I got rejected again,’ she said.
‘It was annoying as they seemed to be taking my overall weight for my BMI and not thinking about the weight of my chest,’ she added.
At the beginning of this year, after seeing people celebrating New Years Eve in little dresses, she recalled thinking: ‘I just can’t do this anymore’.
In a final effort to end her misery, Ms Telford started looking for private clinics further afield.
Ms Telford said when she used to go out she would get a lot of unsolicited male attention from the age of just 17-years-old, already sporting a 32G chest
Her surgery means that she will no longer have to take painkillers to manage her symptoms and has already boosted her confidence ahead of her birthday when she is looking forward to wearing a strapless top
She was then recommended a clinic in Istanbul, Turkey, who offered to do the reduction surgery for just £3,600 less than half of the £10,000 she was quoted in the UK.
Using a loan from her parents, Ms Telford underwent the ‘life changing’ operation last month that saw her drop 11 cup sizes to a modest C-cup.
‘A few people I knew had been to Turkey, and the price difference was unreal,’ she said.
‘I’m very happy with my new breasts and it’s changed my life.
‘Now I can put on a vest top and not feel like I’m exposing myself.
Ms Telford is not the only woman suffering pain from large breasts who has been denied surgery on the NHS.
However, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde maintains that only cases meeting all necessary criteria are considered for breast reduction surgery, through a clinical assessment which considers the severity of symptoms and overall health.
Whilst some experts are concerned that women are seeking these procedures for cosmetic reasons, Dr Judy Evans, honorary secretary at the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh, told the BBC that far too often women are being dismissed.
She said: ‘Breast reduction is an operation which can free people from neck pain, from back pain and enable them to look after their children better.
‘It’s the most wonderful operation in terms of what it does for the person, but also I believe in the long term it saves a lot of money for the NHS.’
While Ms Telford enjoyed success by going overseas for surgery medics have warned Britons to be wary of going overseas for cheaper procedures.
At least 25 Britons are known to have died during or shortly after surgery in Turkey in recent years.
Many more have been injured, with some requiring life-saving care upon return to the UK for complications like infections.
While all surgery carries risks, campaigners and surgeons have urged patients to thoroughly do their research before opting to go under the knife overseas.
Breast reduction surgery is usually carried out under general anaesthetic and involves repositioning the nipple, removing excess fat and tissue and reshaping the remaining breast.
It takes around two to three hours and often requires patients to stay in hospital overnight to recover.
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