Woman with boobs so big she can’t even play with her son denied surgery by NHS
A mum who says her boobs are so big she has to take painkillers everyday and can't go into soft play with her son for fear she'll get stuck says she's been refused reduction surgery on the NHS five times.
Charlotte Innes, 24, said her breast size was 32HH/I and they left her in 'excruciating pain' as she constantly feels like she's 'wearing a weighted vest'.
She's also been diagnosed with kyphosis, which is an increased curvature of the spine, and having two bulging spinal discs in November 2025, which she claims doctors said is a result of her bust size.
Charlotte said she'd tried five times since September 2025 to get breast reduction surgery without success, and is having to increase the amount of time her son spends in nursery as the pain she suffers means she's not able to look after him.
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Getting the operation privately would cost her £8,500, which she can't afford, and is currently waiting to hear about the results of her sixth attempt to get breast reduction surgery on the NHS.
If she gets told 'no' again then she's going to put in a seventh appeal.
"I can't run around because it's unbearable"
She said: "Now that my son is getting older I'm finding it extremely difficult to be the parent that I want to be with him. I want to be the young mum, going to the park with him, getting in and out of soft play, running around the field playing football.
"Instead, I'm counting down the seconds until we can go home and I can lie down on a hot water bottle. I can't run around because it's unbearable unless I'm holding my boobs tight to my chest, which is so embarrassing.
"Sitting on the floor with him playing games I'm unable to do, or I can for a very short period of time as I have no support on my back.
"It breaks my heart that I can't play like my mum used to with me."
Charlotte said she was also unable to take her son to soft play as she feared she'd get stuck, saying if she 'had to crawl in anywhere to get to him' then she might not be able to get back out.
She's also worried that she would just be in too much pain to play with her son there anyway, and fears she's missing out on the experience of being a mum to a young child as she said it was being 'ripped away from her'.
"Even if I do get a reduction now, by the time I'm fully recovered he's going to be starting school," the mum lamented.
"Both my breasts together weigh 5kg"
Charlotte's chest size has always given her back pain, having been a size 30FF before getting pregnant and having them grow to size 32GG.
She first spoke to a doctor about getting reduction in 2018, and says an MRI scan of her spine now shows it's a 'complete S shape' where it's 'completely out at the top and then right in at the bottom'.
She's been getting physiotherapy treatment but has had to stop going to the gym because of the pain being caused, and that even though she's just 24 she feels like she's 'got the body of a 90-year-old'.
"I'm well aware that getting a breast reduction isn't going to get rid of all my back pain but both my breasts together weigh 5kg [11 pounds] - it's like wearing a weighted vest on you all the time," she said.
"With all the back problems as well, it's just ridiculous."
Charlotte says the NHS have said she's provided 'insufficient evidence' for her appeal to succeed.
The mum, who wears a brace at home, said it was 'gut-wrenching' to get that reply back.
She said: "I put on the last appeal that I was in so much pain that if it wasn't for my son then I would seriously consider not being here because it's a ridiculous amount of pain for feeling like you're not being heard.
"It feels like you're being passed from pillar to post just for no one to help."
A spokesperson for the NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board said: "The ICB has a robust and evidence-based process for considering exceptional funding requests, which aims to promote consistency, fairness and equity in funding for specialised, non-standard treatments.
"Our approach is detailed in the policies available on our website.
"Requests are carefully considered by the ICB's exceptional funding team through a screening process, with some cases also going to a panel which meets monthly and is made up of GPs, public health and patient representatives."
The criteria for having a breast reduction on the NHS
The health body explains that you may be able to have a breast reduction on the NHS if other options have been exhausted, and you have health problems caused by having very large breasts.
These include:
- Back, shoulder or neck pain
- Skin irritation under the breasts
- Grooves on the shoulders from bra straps
- Low self-esteem or depression
- Not being able to take part in sport or exercise
The NHS adds that 'the size of your breasts, your weight, your general health and if you smoke may also be considered', but the exact criteria for having the op can differ depending on where you live.
Joe Harker