Malformations of the mammary glands
Malformations of the mammary glands — birth defects, anomalies of the shape, number of nipples, the mammary glands themselves, various anomalies of position.
The content of the article:
Classification of malformations of the mammary glands
Anomalies of the number of nipples and mammary glands
Anomalies of the position, shape, size of the mammary glands and nipples
Diagnosis of malformations of the mammary glands
Treatment of the disease
Malformations of the mammary glands
The mammary gland of a woman is a secondary sexual characteristic, a paired organ, which is a seal in the form of a convex disk, around which the fat layer is concentrated. These two symmetrical elevations are located on the chest wall between the 3-7 rib. Below the middle of each breast is a breast nipple surrounded by an areola. Both the nipple and the areola are noticeably different from the rest of the skin, the pigmentation is darker, which increases during pregnancy. The female breast is designed to perform its most important physiological functions — milk synthesis and baby feeding.
Female mammary glands undergo physiological changes throughout life. Endocrine glands affect various periods of the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, significantly change the structure and function of a woman’s mammary glands. In girls 10-12 years old, under the influence of estrogens, the development and growth of the genitals and mammary glands is observed, the terminal secretory departments develop. During pregnancy, the mammary glands are affected by hormones produced by the placenta — gonadotropin, prolactin, etc. After childbirth, lactation begins, the breast undergoes natural changes. During menopause, when the function of the ovaries decreases, the level of estrogens, glandular tissue is replaced by fibrous and fatty, the mammary gland itself decreases. Dysplasia in glandular tissue cells can be caused by sudden breast involution after abortion and termination of lactation.
Malformations of the mammary glands are also observed in men, but they are more common in women, since the gestation period does not have a very favorable effect on the female body. Most often, the reason for women’s visits to a plastic surgeon are anomalies of the development of the mammary glands. As a rule, malformations are diagnosed in childhood, they include anomalies of the position, shape, number of breasts and nipples. 3% of all anomalies relate to congenital anomalies that occur during the formation of an organ. They are called embryonic pathologies. The causes of the appearance may be such adverse factors that have affected the body of a pregnant woman, such as ionizing radiation, toxic substances.
Male mammary glands remain in a rudimentary state all their lives. However, male mammary glands are also subject to pathological changes. In men, gynecomastia occurs on one or both sides, which is manifested by an increase in the mammary gland, hyperplasia of the excretory ducts of the gland occurs. This pathology is rare and the cause of it is most often called a violation of the hormonal system during puberty or extinction. Therefore, a diffuse hypertrophic form is called an anomaly that occurred during puberty, and a fibroadenomatous form occurs in adulthood or old age. Most often, patients do not experience any subjective sensations, only complain of breast enlargement. In the diffuse-hypertrophic form, a soft elastic formation is palpated, and in the fibroadenomatous form, a fibrous tissue seal is defined as delimited. Sometimes gynecomastia is the first symptom of a suspected testicular tumor.
Classification of malformations of the mammary glands
Malformations of the mammary glands are classified based on the time when this pathology occurred and according to the anatomy. Depending on the time, anomalies can be true, as a result of mutations of genes and chromosomes in the embryonic period under the influence of adverse factors; anomalies that occurred after birth are the result of hormonal disorders, trauma and radiation of the breast, infectious diseases.
Based on the anatomical classification, there are defects in the number of nipples and mammary glands, pathology of size, location and shape.
Anomalies of the number of nipples and mammary glands
Mammary glands begin to form at the 6th week of pregnancy. At 3-4 months, the milky ducts form in the embryo, and at 7-8 months of intrauterine life, nipples and areoles develop. By the age of three, the baby’s nipples are fully formed, there is an increase in their size. If their development is delayed, they look like flattened mounds — these are symptoms of flat nipples; retracted nipples are characterized by a location below the skin level. Normally, the mammary glands are a paired organ, but during intrauterine development, due to the influence of various factors, a child may develop monomastia, polymastia, polythelia, atelia or amastia. Monomastia is characterized by the fact that the mammary gland and the nipple are absent on one side.
With polymastia, there is the presence of excess mammary glands localized under the main glands or in such atypical places as on the neck, under the arms, on the back, limbs, etc. Additional glands may be fully developed or unformed. Nipples can be just as different — from pigmented rudimentary spots to sufficiently developed ones.
If the additional full—fledged mammary glands are not removed, hormonal secretory changes occur in them, as well as in the main glands – in the period before menstruation they swell, soreness appears, milk is formed after childbirth. With polymastia, it is necessary to be constantly fully examined by a mammologist, since the development of pathological processes in the form of mastitis, mastopathy, fibroadenoma, breast cancer is characteristic of the additional mammary glands.
With polythelia, unlike polymastia, only additional nipples are formed, which are often mistaken for nevus or fibroma, and are not removed radically enough. The opposite variant of development is atellia, which is characterized by the absence of nipples on usually formed glands. Complete one- or two-sided absence of the mammary glands and nipples is called amastia. Its occurrence is associated with the arrest of the development of mammary glands during the embryonic period.
Anomalies of the position, shape, size of the mammary glands and nipples
The displacement of the mammary glands from the normal position is called ectopia of the breast. Such glands can be formed either fully or insufficiently. Asymmetrically located mammary glands are considered breast asymmetry, which is very common. If it is insignificant, then it is invisible, but a strong disproportion becomes the cause of women’s complexes and appeals to plastic surgery. Asymmetry is often combined with macro- and micromastia.
The next defect in the position of the mammary glands is the omission of the mammary glands — mastoptosis. Loss of elasticity of tissues, sharp weight loss contribute to the progression of the disease. There is a violation of blood circulation, lymphostasis, there is pain, swelling, maceration in the folds of the skin.
Micromastia (hypomastia) is pathologically small mammary glands in patients with usually formed genitals and glands. At the same time, the breast does not correspond to the proportions of the body and if it is not fully developed, malformations of the areola and nipple may be observed. Unlike micromastia, macromastia or gigantomastia is characterized by an abnormal enlargement of the breast as a result of tissue overgrowth. Macromastia can be true when the amount of glandular tissue increases, and it can be false with excessive development of adipose tissue. Aplasia is called a defect of underdeveloped mammary glands, manifested by underdevelopment of the nipple. At the same time, there is such a developmental anomaly as anisomastia, that is, with aplasia of one breast, the other mammary gland increases.
After surgery, breast irradiation or neonatal mastitis, secondary monomastia may develop. Surgical intervention and radiation can lead to the cessation of organ development, scarring changes. Very rarely, genetic syndromes are the cause of this condition. For example, in Poland syndrome, there is a deformity of the chest, a partial defect of the pectoralis major muscle, congenital syndactyly and unilateral breast aplasia. Also, with this pathology, there may be defects in the structure of the spine, lungs and heart. Tinley syndrome is characterized by external manifestations in the form of hypoplasia of the mammary glands, baldness, protruding ears.
The most common anomalies of the nipples and areola zones are invagination, i.e. nipple retraction, excessively protruding nipple, greatly expanded areola limits, occurring in isolation or as a result of micromastia.
Diagnosis of malformations of the mammary glands
After the birth of a child, the process of diagnosing congenital malformations is not difficult, defects are very noticeable, but some malformations of the mammary glands are detected after sexual development. If a defect is suspected or detected, the patient must undergo an examination by a gynecologist, mammologist, endocrinologist. In the course of additional studies, ultrasound and CT of the mammary glands, mammography are performed, the usefulness of organs and the presence of other diseases in them are determined.
Treatment of the disease
Most often, breast malformations, both congenital and acquired, are treated using plastic surgery. This operation is called mammoplasty. Pronounced aesthetic defects, pathological processes, severe pain or discomfort, violation of the function of the gland are significant indicators to carry out surgical intervention.
Such treatment of abnormal development of the mammary glands, as micromastia or macromastia, takes place in childhood in the form of correction of endocrine disorders, plastic surgery is shown for adult women to correct and correct these pathologies.
Young women with mastoptosis are also recommended plastic surgery — endoprosthetics and mastopexy, but if the omission is moderately pronounced, it is recommended to wear free, custom-made bras.
Monomastia is eliminated by recreating the missing organ, and polymastia is corrected by mastectomy, removal of excess glands. Also, with the help of various methods of plastic surgery, specialists eliminate anomalies in the development of nipples and areoles.
Mammoplasty relieves women of anatomical breast defects, eliminates complexes and worries about their appearance, allows them to feel like a full-fledged woman.
