Video
Voiceover:
23-year-old Jane suffers from a congenital deformity called tuberous breasts.
Jane:
For me, the thing that makes my boobs so embarrassing is I think they look like, like a 60-year-old woman’s. I quite often think of them to myself that they look like udders, cause they’re just like there.
Voiceover:
Today she has an appointment at the Princess Grace Hospital in London with breast surgeon Mr Patrick Mallucci.
Mr Mallucci:
That’s the sort of shape we have at the moment, where you have a large aureole, a nipple pointing downwards effectively and a slightly droopier breast. And essentially, what we’re trying to create is a breast that looks like that, with a smaller aureole and a nipple sitting in, in a slightly more appropriate place.
Mr Mallucci:
It’s, it’s a complex procedure using basic plastic surgery principles. It’s about changing shape, form, dimension, height…it’s a tricky bit of tailoring, if you like.
Voiceover:
Despite the complexities, Jane is prepared to go through with the procedure, to have the breasts she’s always wanted. Mr Mallucci carries out surgery to correct tuberous breasts on about ten to fifteen women a year. The first task is to reduce the size of the aureole, the darker area around the nipple.
Mr Mallucci:
What I’m using here is a template, known as a nipple marker, which, uh, helps me determine the size. So I’m just cutting around what is to be the new aureole, and now I’m just cutting around the border of her, um, her original aureole, because this is the excess that we want to remove. What I’m going to do now is I’m going to remove that excess that we don’t want. So now, you see the breast has got this peculiar shape, hasn’t it. It’s what the, effectively this is the breast tissue, and that’s the, that’s the aureole that we’ve isolated.
Voiceover:
Next, Mr Mallucci sets about tackling the droop of the breast.
Mr Mallucci:
I…I’m just dissecting the skin of the lower part of the breast away from the breast gland. This is the key, really, in, in reshaping the breast, is…is restructuring the whole of that lower pole, in order to be able to try and uh, improve upon the shape.
Voiceover:
By separating the breast tissue from the muscle, Mr Mallucci is able to sculpt a new base for the breast, which will give it the lift that Jane lacks.
Mr Mallucci:
And what she now has is a…we’re starting to get the beginnings of a much more anatomical breast, where you haven’t got the herniation through that large nipple aureole complex. You can see the way it’s come in. And you can see how we’ve now for the first time got a little bit of filling of that lower pole. Now, this is now a good breast base in which to start with. And you can see how the dynamics of the breast have completely changed. We suddenly have a much more normal-looking breast, structurally.
Voiceover:
Next, a silicone implant is inserted. It’s slightly larger than the one that will be used on the other side, the aim being to make Jane’s boobs nice and even in size and volume. Then the skin is stitched to the newly-created smaller aureole.
Mr Mallucci:
Yeah, when we close the aureole, you get a bit of wrinkling of the skin along the suture line, and that’s deliberate, because if you think about it, we’re sewing a big circle into a little circle, and the two don’t quite match. Um, but it doesn’t matter, because the body is really good at adapting and sorting it out over time, and so we just warn patients that they may get a little bit of concertinaing, but it settles down very quickly. And you can see now a very stark difference between her new breast and her previous breast. So what we’re going to do now is repeat the same procedure on this side here.
Voiceover:
Finally, after four hours of surgery, Jane’s new boobs are finished.
Mr Mallucci:
Yeah, I’m pretty pleased the way it’s turned out, in terms of transformation of shape. So, I think, fingers crossed and she should be pleased. So Jane will stay in with us until tomorrow morning. She’ll go home, she’ll keep her dressings on. Those dressings will come off in about five days, and for the next five days we ask her to take things relatively easy. In five days’ time we’ll take the dressings down, check that all the wounds are healing nicely, usually those dressings are reduced and we’ll keep those on for about another week or so until the wounds are fully healed. Then all the dressings will come off, she’ll be in a sports bra in this time, and gradually over the next few weeks, um, she’s just going to get back to normality. And hopefully, quite quickly.
Dr Dawn:
How have you got on?
Jane:
Fantastic, yeah. Really good, feeling very happy.
Dr Dawn:
Are you still quite sore?
Jane:
It’s healing really really well, I’m quite surprised by how much the bruising’s gone down.
Dr Dawn:
Pleased with the result?
Jane:
Yeah, I’m really pleased, this has made such a difference already.
Dr Dawn:
Do you feel that it’s made you more confident?
Jane:
Yes, definitely, and I just want to show it off all the time.
Dr Dawn:
Shall we have a little look then?
Jane:
Yeah.
Dr Dawn:
Come on.
Dr Dawn:
Goodness, that really is a difference, isn’t it.
Jane:
Yeah.
Dr Dawn:
You must be really pleased.
Jane:
Yeah, really really pleased.
Dr Dawn:
Can I get you to just pop your arms up, you know, like we did before?
Jane:
Yeah.
Dr Dawn:
They’re much more symmetrical, aren’t they?
Jane:
Yeah.
Dr Dawn:
And then down onto your hips and just really squeeze in. No, that’s great, isn’t it?
Jane:
Yeah, they’re amazing.
Dr Dawn:
And all of this here, the um, you know the scar line around here, it’s obviously, I mean that’s really fresh, isn’t it.
Jane:
Yeah.
Dr Dawn:
And it’ll heal beautifully. And that already, to be honest, I think looks really neat. And over the next few months, any of the redness in the scar there is going to fade. But yeah, really different, you pleased?
Jane:
Yeah, really pleased, just so myself.
Dr Dawn:
Great, thank you very much.
Jane:
Thanks.
Jane was upset with her asymmetric and droopy breasts and Dr Dawn diagnoses a condition called tubular breasts, where the breasts appear to be far apart and unusually shaped. Dr Dawn sends Jane to specialist Mr. Patrick Mallucci who decides that surgery would be a viable, effective solution to Jane’s condition. The operation is complex and involves several stages, including the reshaping of the breasts and the insertion of silicon implants. After 4 and half hours Jane’s operation is declared a success and she returns to Dr Dawn to discuss the results. Visibly thrilled with the outcome Jane’s breasts are healing fast and display a marked improvement in symmetry and shape.
Patient Name: Jane Hughes-Wynn
Condition: Tuberous Breasts
Specialist: Consultant Plastic Surgeon Mr. Patrick Mallucci
Hospital: The Princess Grace Private Hospital, London
Length of operation: Approx 4 hours
Yes
NoComments and Questions
You can share your experiences and thoughts with other Embarrassing Bodies site-users below. Comments & Questions are reviewed by moderators, but if you see anything on the site that worries you, please report it and one of our moderators will look at it as soon as possible.
Please note: Unfortunately Channel 4 cannot respond to individual inquiries. If you have any concerns, you can check out NHS Choices, but ultimately it is always best to check with a health professional.
I'm 17 and have been to my obgyn, pediatrician and a doctor who specializes in breasts. Today I got an ultrasound done of them to make sure I was all set and I am! My mom and I are going to consult with two different surgeons and if all goes well they will be fixed in time for college:) my tubular breasts have had a horrible impact in my life. It's difficult to find a shirt I can wear without feeling self concious. Best of luck to all!
I am 23 years old and suffer from tubular breast syndrome. Over the years I thought they were just small but I recently started looking things up on the internet and come to find out they are "deformed." I just gave birth 3 months ago and tried to pump but barely got anything. I read that having these breasts affects a womans ability to breastfeed. My breasts didn't grow at all during pregnancy. I have been an A cup since I first "developed." Having tubular breast syndrome has made me nothing more than embarrassed and ashamed of how I look. I want to feel like a woman and feel attractive. My boyfriend knows about my issue and goes on and on about how he loves me no matter what but I don't think he truly understands how much it affects me and women like me. You hear guys saying how some girls have nice ones but what they don't realize or think about is that we don't choose how our breast look, we get what we get. I have been considering a breast augmentation but I can't afford it right now so until I get into my career I will have to live with myself :-/
Hi Kelly. I know exactly how you're feeling. I too had tubular breasts, tried breast feeding my 2 babies & hardly produced any milk & they never changed from an A cup either! I hated the summer, going swimming etc. I hated my breasts so much. In 2007 at the age of 33 I went to Dr & i wrote everything down as I think I would just have cried if I tried speaking to him,it said how it affected my life. I gave him this letter, He read it & referred me to a plastic surgeon on the NHS. I got it on the NHS because it's corrective surgery not cosmetic. I had 2 surgeries which involved making the underneath shape like on this video & tissue expanders & then finally implants. All i'm saying is don't give up, keep going back to the Drs til they listen. Good luck xx
Caz- Thanks for your response! It makes me feel a little better to know I'm not alone on this. I'm just trying to figure out a way to get them fixed. I am unemployed and a stay at home mom, with no insurance. Well I did have Medicaid but they took it from me because they had the information wrong online...so I have to get that fixed before I can go to the doctor(for another issue I have!) But I hear Medicaid won't pay for it anyways because they consider it "cosmetic." Ridiculous if you ask me! I'm most certainly not doing this because I want to run around showing myself off! Is NHS like Medicaid? I hear Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance will pay for it because it's basically something you are born with. So, I may look into purchasing that insurance if at all possible. Do you have any suggestions for me because I definitely don't wanna give up on this! It really affects every part of me and my life/relationship. It's such a horrible feeling to know that I have a "deformity." It's become so bad I don't want to leave the house half of the time, and I don't want to watch movies/Tv shows because when I see a girl with "nice" boobs it really gets to me and reminds me of what I don't have. When I look at myself in the mirror I feel like a 12 year old girl just developing. I don't feel like a woman at all. Anyway, I haven't seen a doctor about this yet but hope to very soon! Also...how was being put to sleep during surgery? It frightens me that I won't wake up! Is it that bad? Thanks again for your words, it means a lot!
Hi I'm 24 and have always been extremely aware that my breasts were different. I hate them and they are something I constantly think about. I'm still tryin to pluck up the courage to see my gp about them. The nipple area is around 4inches wide and each breast looks droopy and well tubular
hi i am 17 of age , and i'm so happy to c dere is a condition for my breast . i am currently 17 of age n currently booked an appointment for my gp . but i want to know if dey will keep me on the waitin list for a long time
I discovered i had tubular breasts at age 38! I had always thought i was just flat chested and had funny shaped breasts. As i got older i became more self concious and felt like i had 'little girl' boobs. I decided to have surgery privately and it was the consultant who told me i had this condition, he said if i had gone to the GP when i was younger i wold have had the operation on the NHS. My consultant worked part time doing this for young girls on the NHS and he was fantastic. I had approached a surgeon a few years prior to this i asked could the implants be different sizes to make my breasts the same size after surgery ( i didn't have a massive difference but as i was having implants it made sense to get them as good s possible!) i was told no as they are bought in pairs! My 2nd consultant said this would be no problem. I'm now 3 years post surgery and i am really pleased with how they are. Because i am naturally very flat chested it is less likely the implants will sag because its normlly your own breast tissue that sags not the implants, which is good for me. I know surgery is expensive privately but if you consider its every day of your life you are feeling down then it might be worth investing in yourself. Just make sure you go to a surgeon who knows how to treat this condition.
I can't believe it! I have always thought my breasts are very 'droopy' and i am very conscientious of it, i always wear a push up bra as it is the only thing which makes the shape look normal! I am only 17 and i have felt so unhappy for so long now, reading these comments have helped! i never really thought it was something you can go to a GP about...
hi i am so happy for her i hate my body because i have this in one boob and bubble boob in the other and seeing that it can be changed made me so happy i have sat and cryed :') silly i know but its a big thing for me ... i am scared tho because what is they will not do it for me i have read what people have said and some one els on the internet said that they got told they can have it done at 16 and then they said 18 and then she waited and then she went back at 19 to see were she was on the waiting list the said no sorry we can not fund you anymore i
Hey guys, I have the same problem, went to see myGP when I was 18, I'm now 21. They wouldn't fund it for me, as I was too young at 18, and now with the cuts, I'm afraid this operation isn't being funded. By all means, go to your GP, they may be able to give you time with a psychiatrist (I did, and it has helped slightly). I'm going to be having this done privately. Has anyone had the op done privately? If so, where, and how was the experience? Love to all of you x
Is surgery really the only option to change the shape of the breasts? What if your aerola is normal but the shape isnt, as in pointy rather than round?
I too have this problem. I knew from puberty that something was very wrong with my breast development but thought I had simply been unlucky. It has seriously affected my confidence and relationships all my teenage and adult life and I had never told anyone about it. It was not until seeing this TV programme that I discovered my deformed breasts actually constitutes a specific disorder. I am now awaiting to see a consultant in the hope of having treatment on the NHS, as this would make such a huge difference to my life. On the positive side, this TV programme has given me the courage to seek help for this condition. However, if NHS treatment is difficult to obtain I don't think it is very fair to women to air such programmes because then we are left knowing our breasts are abnormal but that we can't do anything about it unless we can go privately. If TV programmes highlighting unusual medical conditions like this are broadcast, I feel it should only be when it can be treated on the NHS, otherwise it merely causes extra distress. I am now keeping my fingers crossed that I get the go ahead.