Women who would like to reduce the size of their breasts usually know they want the procedure in order to achieve a lighter, more attractive breast shape. However, they also need to know whether the procedure is considered medically necessary, as insurance companies typically pay for breast reduction if it is deemed so. Dr. Cohen uses the Schnur Sliding Scale to help patients determine if their breast reduction is medically necessary and then present the proper information to insurance companies.
What is the Schnur Sliding Scale?
The Schnur Sliding Scale chart is an evaluation method used with individuals who are considering breast reduction. This evaluation method was developed by a plastic surgeon who did a study on women who required breast reduction surgery for medical reasons. The sliding scale is a chart that takes into account the patient’s body surface area and the average weight of breast tissue that would need to be removed.
A breast reduction surgery is deemed medically necessary if the patient’s body surface area and weight of breast tissue removed are above the 22nd percentile. If they are below the 22nd percentile, breast reduction is not deemed medically necessary.
History of Schnur Sliding Scale
In 1991, Dr. Paul Schnur and his team published a study establishing a relationship between the amount of breast tissue removed during reduction surgery and a patient’s total body surface area (BSA). They proposed a framework for categorizing patients into three groups: those with clear medical necessity, those requiring further evaluation, and those for whom surgery might be primarily cosmetic. Today, the Schnur Sliding Scale is commonly utilized by insurance providers across the western United States to guide preauthorization decisions for breast reduction procedures.
Working with insurance companies
Dr. Cohen’s insurance authorization team works to help patients who need medically necessary operations get these approved prior to their surgery. Our team understands which procedures are considered medically necessary by insurance companies and what criteria they use to determine this.
How the Schnur Sliding Scale is used
It takes expertise and experience with breast reduction surgery to know ahead of time the amount of tissue that will need to be taken from each breast. Dr. Cohen must also understand ahead of time the amount of tissue removed that he believes a patient’s insurance company will use as a further criterion to consider the procedure medically necessary. He uses the Schnur Sliding Scale to help him determine these factors with integrity and proper judgment.
Dr. Cohen's Breast Reduction Patient Before & After Photos
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About this patient
This patient is a 36-year-old female who presented to my medicaloffice with complaints of breast size larger than desired with severe drooping, which caused back, neck, shoulder pain, bra strap grooves, and difficulty with fitting into clothes and exercising. I felt that patient would benefit fro...
About this patient
The patient is a 41-year-old female who presented to my office with complaints of breasts which were larger than desired. She also had significant back, neck and shoulder pain due to extremely large breasts. I felt a breast reduction would give the patient significant improvement in her back and neck...
About this patient
This patient is a 42 year old female who requested a consult at my facility due to problems with oversized breasts. This patient had severe drooping and heaviness of the breasts which caused neck pain, back pain, shoulder discomfort, and difficulty with physical activity...
About this patient
This patient is a 20 year old female who flew in from New Mexico with interest in breast reduction surgery. This patient was suffering from the usual complex of symptoms including back, neck, and shoulder pain, bra strap grooving, and difficulty with exercise due to her heavy breasts. She wished to...
About this patient
This patient is a 23 year old female who flew in from out of state to my practice with interest in breast reduction surgery. This patient had all of the classic symptoms of oversized breasts including neck pain, back pain, bra strap grooving, shoulder discomfort, and difficulty with physical activity...
CLICK HERE TO CALCULATE YOUR BSA
|
Body Surface Area |
Average grams of tissue per breast to be removed |
|
1.35 |
199 |
|
1.40 |
218 |
|
1.45 |
238 |
|
1.50 |
260 |
|
1.55 |
284 |
|
1.60 |
310 |
|
1.65 |
338 |
|
1.70 |
370 |
|
1.75 |
404 |
|
1.80 |
441 |
|
1.85 |
482 |
|
1.90 |
527 |
|
1.95 |
575 |
|
2.00 |
628 |
|
2.05 |
687 |
|
2.10 |
750 |
|
2.15 |
819 |
|
2.20 |
895 |
|
2.25 |
978 |
|
2.30 |
1068 |
|
2.35 |
1167 |
|
2.40 |
1275 |
|
2.45 |
1393 |
|
2.50 |
1522 |
|
2.55 |
1662 |
|
2.60 |
1806 |
|
2.65 |
1972 |
|
2.70 |
2154 |
|
2.75 |
2352 |
|
2.80 |
2568 |
|
2.85 |
2804 |
|
2.90 |
3061 |
|
2.95 |
3343 |
|
3.00 |
3650 |
|
3.05 |
3985 |
LEARN MORE ABOUT BREAST REDUCTION SURGERY
|
Body Surface Area |
Average grams of tissue per breast to be removed |
|
3.10 |
4351 |
|
3.15 |
4750 |
|
3.20 |
5186 |
|
3.25 |
5663 |
|
3.30 |
6182 |
|
3.35 |
6750 |
|
3.40 |
7369 |
|
3.45 |
8045 |
|
3.50 |
8783 |
|
3.55 |
9589 |
|
3.60 |
10468 |
|
3.65 |
11428 |
|
3.70 |
12476 |
|
3.75 |
13619 |
|
3.80 |
14867 |
|
3.85 |
16230 |
|
3.90 |
17717 |
|
3.95 |
19340 |
|
4.00 |
21112 |
|
4.05 |
23045 |
|
4.10 |
25156 |
|
4.15 |
27459 |
|
4.20 |
29972 |
|
4.25 |
32716 |
|
4.30 |
35710 |
|
4.35 |
38977 |
|
4.40 |
42543 |
|
4.45 |
46435 |
|
4.50 |
50682 |
|
4.55 |
55316 |
|
4.60 |
60374 |
|
4.65 |
65893 |
|
4.70 |
71915 |
|
4.75 |
78487 |
|
4.80 |
85658 |