I have tuberous breast deformity and it's damn annoying. I know it has to be difficult to operate on. I want the best results possible and would like to know which doctors feel most comfortable with operating on someone with this type of gyne. Thanks
I have operated on many forms of Tuberous breast deformities and have documented what my techniques achieve. The loose skin factor is the sculpture element of where is just all of that extra skin component going, how is it managed, and what does it look like in more than just still pictures. You need to understand the nature of the scars of both the surface and deeper structures to see what compromises were made or what skills that doctor demonstrates.
In another post about how much nipples shrink on this forum, I have added 2 examples of minor tuberous like breasts.
Large Gland Removed Through Tiny Edge Areola Incision.
Puffy Nipples Before Surgery
Calipers Set to Before Surgery Dimensions
Calipers Set to Before Surgery Dimensions
The after surgery images are only 7 days after surgery. The steristrips are there for both wound support and areola splinting.
I am sorry that the patient holding the calipers for the pictures could not maintain the edge of the calipers at the edge of the areola. When I am demonstrating the effect, I am holding the instrument myself. But it is hard to do the pictures and hold the calipers at the same time.
These are not exaggerations nor manipulation of pictures, just an amazing deflation of nipple areola gland deformity achieved by targeting the gland first.
The vertical deflation measurement or pictures is even more dramatic. For that measurement, I have the patients look down at their chest with the caliper set in place. Here is an example from the prior post patient's projection change:
Calipers Set to Before Surgery Dimensions
Hope this helps,
Michael Bermant, M.D.
Board Certified
American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member: American Society of Plastic Surgeons and American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons
Specializing in Gynecomastia and Surgical Sculpture of the Male Chest
(804) 748-7737
I agree with Dr Bermant.
In virtually every gyne operation, the skin will tighten and the areolar diameter will diminish -- in a range of 10-20% decrease in size. Of course, this depends on the natural elasticity of the skin, which diminishes with exposure to the sun, smoking, age and presence of obesity (at present or in the past).
I have witnessed very significant decrease in areolar diameters with gyne surgery alone -- and I frequently caution my patients to wait and allow everything to settle down (usually around 6 months) before considering further attempts at areolar reduction. Bear in mind, reducing the areola further will require an incision completely around the areola. I very rarely do this because my patients are satisfied with the reduction that the original surgery provided.
Dr Jacobs
For years have been documenting this issue by measuring the nipple areola complex before and after surgery. I take measurements of the
- long axis
- short axis
- angle the axis varies from the horizonatal
- height projection
I perform this measurement with calipers.
Just like Dr. Jacobs mentions I see an areola shrinkage with surgery. Just how much the areola shrinks, I think is technique dependent. By targeting gland first in every case where there is a gland contour component, the differences can be really radical. The tissues of the nipple areola complex can attach to the gland just at the anatomic nipple or more commonly through a diffuse attachment to the edge of the areola and beyond. When this gland attachment remains behind, the nipple areola can be forced to the larger remaining gland size. The remaining gland can also be one of the causes of the term I coined Residual Puffy Nipple Deformity, where the shape of the areola maintains the gland shape and size.
The changes I was seeing were so dramatic, that I started using the calipers on the patients' chest in front of a mirror to show the differences. This became a component of my program for the emotional healing component for each patient who permits me to take off the dressing in my office or who returns for a long term followup.
Large Gland Removed through tiny 1.6cm incision.
Puffy Nipples Before Surgery
Calipers Set to Before Surgery Dimensions
Calipers Set to Before Surgery Dimensions
Notice the radical change in size and shape of areola. In some dimensions we have been recording a 70 percent decrease in size of some of the dimensions. There is also a concentration of pigment color. The same number of color cells in a smaller results in a darker areola.
I prefer to start the emotional healing component as quickly as possible. What becomes fun is seeing the expressions on the faces of my patients as they look at the mirror seeing what changes have happened. This has gone way beyond the documentation of a technique, it has become part of the healing.
Hope this helps,
Michael Bermant, M.D.
Board Certified
American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member: American Society of Plastic Surgeons and American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons
Specializing in Gynecomastia and Surgical Sculpture of the Male Chest
(804) 748-7737
There are 2 patient sets of images demonstrating the caliper measurements I perform on each of my patients to document the amazing amount of skin reduction, projection decrease, and help with emotional healing of my patients. The issue is that tuberous breasts come in different degrees and you need to see just what a doctor offers. Unfortunately, the images I am referring to on gyn.org are not my normal complete patient presentation of what results look like such as for the tuberous breast deformity you are asking about. The post was about the areola reduction seen with this technique. They were not posted for a presentation of tuberous breast surgery evaluation. They were a demonstration of the degree of skin shrinkage I see by targeting gland first.
To understand just what a doctor's results are like you need to see at least a standard set of images with flexing, arms up overhead, and all angles. You are looking to see if that doctor needs to remove a band of skin to achieve the results. That skin reduction scar is a significant compromise, so close up pictures of what the scar looks like are important. This is a loose skin issue and videos are even more critical in evaluating the results.
Hope this helps,
Michael Bermant, M.D.