Former Dance Moms star Kalani Hilliker, 23, reveals she is undergoing a breast reduction surgery after being left in agony by her 'big boobs'

Former Dance Moms star Kalani Hilliker has revealed that she is undergoing a breast reduction after suffering from severe back pain and discomfort as a result of the size of her boobs. 

The 23-year-old candidly shared a behind-the-scenes look into her pre-operation appointment with Doctor Daniel Shapiro in a recent TikTok video, before opening up to her 4.3 million followers about her reasons for choosing to do the procedure .

In the video, Kalani - who appeared on multiple seasons of the hit Lifetime reality series as a tween from 2014 to 2017 - documented herself signing off her consent for the operation, checking off her recommended prescriptions and shopping list and prepping for her 'before' pictures.

The dancing sensation shared that the consulting process was 'much easier than [she] thought,' before admitting that being one week away from surgery is making her 'really nervous, but [she's] also getting more excited.'

Former Dance Moms star Kalani Hilliker has revealed that she's undergoing a breast reduction

The 23-year-old candidly shared a behind-the-scenes look into her pre-operation appointment with Doctor Daniel Shapiro, with her 4.3 million followers on TikTok 

Kalani appeared on multiple seasons of the hit Lifetime reality series as a tween from 2014 to 2017 and she admitted that growing up in the public eye has taken a toll on her confidence

However, upon arriving at the appointment, the former reality star confessed that she hadn't been feeling her most confident, revealing that the doctors actually gave her some medicine to help keep her anxiety at bay ahead of the surgery.  

'I was really anxious when I was in there, so they gave me some medicine that will help me with my anxiety leading up to it,' she explained. 

'I'm just definitely afraid of doctors - that's my biggest fear in life. 

'Also [they] said I didn't look anxious, and I was like, "Girl, I'm not doing well."' 

However, her pre-op appointment helped to quell her fears about the procedure, with Kalani admitting that she left her surgeon's office feeling 'excited and ready' to go under the knife.  

'I swear, this appointment made me way less anxious and [I'm] so excited and so ready. I can't believe that I'm literally one week until surgery,' she shared in the clip, which was quickly flooded with messages of support from her fans. 

One person wrote: 'Prayers for a great surgery and speedy recovery.'

A second person commented: 'ITS GONNA GO GREAT!'

A third person added: 'Good luck queen!!!'

In the video, she showed herself signing off her consent for the operation, checking off her recommended prescriptions and shopping list and prepping for her 'before' pictures

'Prayers for a great surgery and speedy recovery,' a fourth person added.  

Other followers shared their personal journeys undergoing the same surgery.

One person wrote: 'My sister [and] my mom had the same procedure and they told me how life-changing it was, so I really hope for the best for you.'

Another person added: 'The best surgery I've ever had! Sad I waited so long.'

A third person commented: 'Just got mine done three days ago! Best of luck. You will be so good!' 

In another TikTok, Kalani shared deeper insight into her reasons for undergoing the procedure - admitting that her time spent in front of the reality TV cameras had been very 'difficult' for her, particularly when it came to people making comments about her body. 

'Growing up, on a public platform and being on a reality TV show, I have been used to people commenting about my body all the time and [at] times, trust me, it has been incredibly difficult,' she explained - although she insisted that her decision to get a breast reduction was something she has 'always wanted to do'. 

'I do think for the most part, I am pretty confident in my body. With being confident in my body, this is still something that I've always wanted to do.'

She continued: 'The first thing a lot of people say is: "Why don't you lose weight? If you lost weight, your boobs would go down."

'That is a true statement [but] even when I lose weight, I still have very big, uncomfortable boobs and personally, I just don't love the shape of them and I just wanna feel more comfortable in my body when I'm dancing. 

Her video got more than 265,000 views, 20,900 likes and lots of followers who cheered her on. One person wrote: 'Prayers for a great surgery and speedy recovery'

Pictured are the young dancers from the TV show Dance Moms. Kalani is pictured to the right of dance instructor Abby Lee Miller in the center

She proclaimed: 'Most importantly I am doing this [operation] for myself. I am not doing it for anybody else. This is something I've wanted to do for so long and I'm so excited about [it]'

'I'm a very active person and anytime I do anything, my boobs are constantly flying out of my sports bras. It just becomes very uncomfortable sometimes. 

'I constantly have back problems, including from dance, but also just from having big boobs that I would love to get rid of.'

She proclaimed: 'Most importantly I am doing this [operation] for myself. I am not doing it for anybody else. This is something I've wanted to do for so long and I'm so excited about [it].

'I'm just so excited to feel even more confident in my skin. Cannot wait to put my new boobies in a swim suit this summer and just feel so hot.'

In another video, the overlaid text read: 'Recovery list for after my [breast] reduction.'

Her Amazon shopping list included an anti-bacterial body wash, gauze pads, medical bras with openings in the front, compression socks, an orthopedic bed wedge and a pregnancy pillow.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons: 'Recovery from any surgery is going to have two phases - an early phase and a late phase. 

'Short-term recovery from breast reduction typically lasts about three weeks. 

'Long-term recovery lasts three to six months, sometimes longer.'