About the disease
Breast hypoplasia is a disease, when breast tissue develops abnormally. Overall, breast hypoplasia is a condition when breast tissue does not grow and does not develop appropriately to an age and size of a girl. This condition is also used to describe the process, when there is not enough breast tissue for a woman to breastfeed properly. In some cases, breast hypoplasia is used as a psychological term for women with small breasts who are not satisfied with their breast size emotionally. Tuberous breast hypoplasia is a condition when breast develop only in one part of the breasts, while the other remains undeveloped. Usually, the lower part remains undeveloped in such case.
Breast hypoplasia is most commonly caused by a genetic predisposition. Previous childhood traumas of breasts or a surgery can cause the decreased development of breast tissue in future. In some individual cases breast tissues generally start to develop later than usual and in such case this is considered normal. The average age, when the breast tissue starts to develop is 11. It stops to develop on average at the age of 18-20. In some cases breasts can develop further in subsequent years or its size can be influenced by a weight of a woman, which can deviate throughout her lifetime. Usually breast tissue develops as a result of hormonal activity of estrogen hormone. If there is insufficient amount of this hormone, it can be another underlying cause of this disease.
Symptoms
- Decreased development of a breast tissue
- Abnormal shape of a breast, when the upper part develops and another one - not
- Inability to breastfeed because of a small size of breasts
Diagnosis
A general examination is usually enough to diagnose breast hypoplasia. Most commonly, diagnosis is carried out after a woman is 18 years old and her breast still has not developed properly. At the age of 16 or 17, the diagnosis can not be done, because breasts still can develop in future. A doctor will also ask a patient about family history to determine if other members of the family also have this condition.
A hormonal balance test is ordered to check the levels of estrogen and determine if there is sufficient amount of it in the female`s body.
Treatment
Lipofilling (filling with own fat) is a surgery used to increase the breast tissue in size by lifting it with patient`s own fat. A fat tissue is taken from the abdomen or buttocks where there is biggest accumulation of it. There can be several lipofilings over a period of time before patient acquires the desirable breast size.
Augmentation of breasts is another common surgery used to correct the size of breast with implants, which are positioned in the muscle right behind the breast. Over years the breast implants may need to be changed in order to prevent possible infections. Overall, this is a very widely used surgery, which overall has good results.
Authors: Dr. Nadezhda Ivanisova, Dr. Farrukh Ahmed
