Macromastia is a condition in which the breast increases to abnormally large sizes.
The content of the article:
Factors affecting breast development
Operative correction of large breasts
Complications of reduction mammoplasty
Macromastia
This is a rather rare phenomenon, as a result of which it has not yet been fully studied. Macromastia manifests itself in a significant increase in breast tissue for several months. Most often, this disease begins to fade in the puberty period, less often — in 20-30 years. Macromastia prevents women from living and working fully. Often due to this disease, patients develop complexes or physical disorders.
In girls under 10 years of age, macromastia is a sign of endocrine disorders that provoked early puberty. In boys, this pathology can occur in the presence of neoplasms of the sex glands that produce hormones. When macromastia occurs in adolescence or during pregnancy, the breast can grow to huge sizes. When gigantomastia occurs in adulthood without pregnancy, the breast does not increase as much as in adolescence or during pregnancy.
Macromastia can be true and false. In the first case, the breast increases due to glandular tissue, and in the second — due to fat. According to the degree of macromastia, it is divided into minor, ordinary, large and gigantomastia.
The mammary glands play an important role in the reproductive sphere of a woman. All their functions are controlled by the endocrine system. The mammary gland is a target for a large number of hormones. In addition to estrogen and progesterone, about 15 other substances secreted by the endocrine glands have an effect on the breast during adolescence and during pregnancy. And since the endocrine system is one whole, its dysfunction in one area can change the hormonal background as a whole. The causes of the development of macromastia have not yet been fully identified. The factors of the development of macromastia at the moment include an excess of estrogen, progesterone, TSH and a change in the susceptibility of breast fibers to a normal amount of hormones.
The following forms of macromastia are distinguished:
aggressive. As a rule, it appears in the early reproductive period, the breast usually increases on both sides to huge sizes within 6-8 months. It often brings physical and mental discomfort to patients, negatively affects their performance;
sluggish. It is much rarer. Breast growth is slow, but continues for several years. Secondary changes are not observed in this case;
abortive. This is a type of macromastia, which is characterized by a sudden independent normalization of growth.
Factors affecting breast development
Active breast growth occurs at 13-15 years old, and it acquires adult outlines only at 16-17 years old. The final size of the mammary glands in women is established only after the lactation period. Breast development depends on many factors. First of all, the size and shape of the breast depend on genetic factors. The second thing that affects the formation of the breast is hormones.
Estrogen is the main hormone that affects breast growth, although this does not mean that with an increase in its level in the body, a larger breast will form. It plays an important role in the formation of ducts and connective fibers. With an excessive amount of estrogen in the body, a protective function is activated, which consists in closing the sites of receptors responsible for the appearance of new cells. As a result, breast growth stops.
Xenoestrogens — organohalogens, which are similar in structure to estrogens, have a negative effect on the breast. They are in the external environment due to industrial activity. When ingested, they destroy the connections necessary for the normal functioning of the endocrine system.
Side hormones found in meat and entering the body through the gastrointestinal tract have a similar effect. The body of all animals contains estrogen and testosterone, which, when used excessively, inhibit the formation of the mammary glands.
Prolactin, a hormone produced by the pituitary gland, has a positive effect on breast formation. This hormone increases the number of estrogen-sensitive breast receptors, accelerates breast growth. Its level increases greatly during puberty and during pregnancy.
Testosterone greatly inhibits breast growth. When eating a large amount of foods with a high sugar content, the body begins to produce insulin to lower glucose levels, which leads to an increase in testosterone levels in the blood. With a large amount of insulin, DHT is formed — this is testosterone in a more active form, which has a much greater effect on the receptors. With an excess of DHT, growth arrest and even breast atrophy can occur.
Beautiful breasts grow only with a normal hormonal background.
Breast growth is also influenced by the monthly cycle. The formation of mammary glands ends 1-2 years after the stabilization of the menstrual cycle.
In addition, breast size is affected by the amount of fat in the body. When you set 1 kg of fat, the mammary glands increase by 20 g.
Operative correction of large breasts
To reduce the size of the breast, reduction mammoplasty is performed. During this operation, excess gland tissue and adipose tissue are removed, the location of the nipple-areolar complex is changed, and the mammary glands are tightened. After this intervention, the breast looks natural, the load on the spine decreases. With the help of reduction mammoplasty, aesthetic and functional problems can be solved.
Women with large breasts often complain of back pain, they cannot fully exercise, there is increased sweating and irritation under the breast. After the operation, an inconspicuous scar remains on the breast, the function of lactation and the sensitivity of the nipples practically do not change.
There are several methods of performing reduction mammoplasty. The simplest method is ultrasound or classical liposuction. As an independent method, it is rarely used and only in young girls with hypertrophied breasts and elastic skin, without the presence of ptosis. Most often this method is combined with conventional reduction mammoplasty. This allows you to remove excess fat on the sides of the mammary glands and in the area of the anterior axillary line.
Common methods of reduction mammoplasty include the method using a vertical scar. During the operation, the surgeon makes an incision around the areola and reduces it at the same time. Next, the incision is made from the nipple to the inframammary fold. The operation is performed in women with an average volume of mammary glands. After the procedure, the breast becomes smaller and tightens.
If the breast volume is too large, a large incision is made around the nipple, and then down to the fold under the breast. After that, another horizontal incision is made under the breast. After the operation, the scar will resemble the letter “T” in an inverted form.
The duration of reduction mammoplasty is 2-4 hours. The operation is performed under general anesthesia. Regardless of the method of surgical intervention, the purpose of reducing mammoplasty is:
breast volume reduction;
modeling of the tissues that remain to achieve the beautiful shape of the mammary glands;
maximum preservation of lactation function.
Discharge from the hospital is carried out on 3-4 days. Stitches after the procedure are removed for 5-10 days. For 6-8 weeks, patients should wear compression underwear.
Complications of reduction mammoplasty
Reduction mammoplasty, like many other plastic surgeries, may be accompanied by some complications. Among them, infection of a postoperative wound, bleeding, scars can be distinguished.
After the operation, the sensitivity of the skin of the nipples may decrease significantly. This is due to the fact that during the intervention, the surgeon crosses the nerve branches going to the skin of the mammary glands and nipples. Breast sensitivity after surgery can disappear both temporarily and forever. This complication often appears after the procedure on a very large breast. This is due to the fact that the nipple of a large breast cannot be moved with the underlying tissues and they have to be separated. During the separation, the doctor crosses blood vessels and nerve branches.
Another possible complication after reducing mammoplasty is the appearance of scars. After the reduction mammoplasty, horizontal and vertical scars may form. Postoperative rough scar can form if the patient smokes, as a result of bleeding and infection.
Another complication after breast reduction can be asymmetry, which is expressed in the difference in the shape or size of the mammary glands. In addition, after the operation, the nipples may be incorrectly positioned or their location is not on the same level. It depends on the professionalism of the doctor, on how accurately he removed the excess tissue.
