Breast Augmentation for Tuberous Breasts

In almost all cases, breast augmentation surgery is elective, meaning that it is performed strictly for aesthetic reasons, rather than out of medical necessity. Nevertheless, there are some instances in which the procedure may be deemed medically necessary, particularly in order to correct for a deformity to the shape or size of the breasts. In such cases, health insurance may cover the cost of the breast augmentation procedure.

Tuberous breasts are an excellent example of one such deformity for which an augmentation procedure could be considered medically necessary. What are tuberous breasts, how common are they, and how can a breast augmentation procedure fix them?

Tuberous Breast Deformity

Tuberous breasts constitute a congenital deformity that shows up during puberty, in which the breasts do not properly develop. The developing breasts lack enough collagen (a protein the body forms to fill itself out over the skeletal framework) for the breasts to properly form. Cases of tuberous breasts can range from mild to severe, but generally have several features in common:

• Large, puffy areolas (the area of darkened skin around the nipple)
• Widely spaced breasts
• High, underdeveloped inframammary crease (where the bottom of the breast meets the chest wall)

The condition can happen to one or both breasts, and may also cause asymmetry. While some studies say that approximately 5 percent of women have tuberous breasts, others claim it to be much higher due to the fact that mild cases may go undiagnosed.

Correction Procedure

Placement of the breast implant when correcting for tuberous breasts is done behind the chest muscles (subpectoral placement) in order to allow the muscle to properly fill out the top portion of the breasts. One of the other main goals from this type of breast augmentation procedure is to lower the inframammary crease, which helps fill out the bottom part of the breast. This is often done by expanding the existing breast tissue to create more of a crease, and also cover the lower portion of the breast implant. In mild to moderate cases, this can be done by making incisions into some of the existing breast tissue in order to create the pocket for the implants. If the areola is oversized, this can also be reduced with a series of small incisions around its edge to pull it closer together.

However, severe cases of tuberous breasts may require that the correction be done in two stages. If so, the first stage will consist of inserting a tissue expander or spacer into the area where the pocket for the implant will go. This expander consists of a temporary saline implant that can be gradually expanded in size over time, to expand the size of the pocket. Once the pocket is big enough, the expander is removed, and the breast implant is then placed.

Our surgeons at Jefferson Plastic Surgery have performed many breast augmentation procedures with excellent outcomes. You may find that this procedure will correct for your tuberous breasts and give them a more natural look and feel.