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
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I too didn't realise that this was a condition and thought my breasts were just a horrible shape. They are however only what would be described as mild and when my nipples are erect it changes the shape of my breast and look lifted and much more normal. Does anyone know if there is a procedure to make the nipple permanently erect which would solve the shape problem?
I was diagnosed with a fairly severe case of tuberous breasts two days ago. This has finally confirmed to me at the age of 34 what i always knew - that i really wasn't normal. In the end I paid for a private consultation - thinking I wanted a boob job - and was diagnosed with this abnormality. I feel a sense of relief and also sadness that it took me to this long to finally have the courage to see someone about it. It is an awful condition ... it has caused me such heartache since being a teenager. I literally have large bulbous nipples - and nothing else. No breats at all. The constriction means I curve inwards instead of outwards under my nippes.Totally affects how you feel as a woman. Now I need to raise the cash for the op. Does anyone know what my chances are of having this corrected on the NHS?
i have this and im terribly scared about what men will think. I know i may come across 1 or maybe even 2!! who dont mind,,but then the others may be totally disgusted and embarress me. Im 16 and have considered surgery when im older but i know i wouldnt be able to go through it. Any people who have had boyfriends..what were there reactions? Bad and good please. Really worried.
My girlfriend told me she had tubular breasts and that because of that she didn't feel confident enough to take her bra off any time we got intimate. After spending months reassuring her that it wasn't a big deal and I really didn't care, she finally did. And you know what, she looked absolutely stunning!!! Didn't see what all the fuss was about! :) It's really sad looking through these comments seeing that so many of you are worried about what men will think about you, we're not all that shallow! Most of us are happy enough that we're seeing a topless woman, we aren't expecting a Megan Fox lookalke, and most of us are aware of our own body shortcomings to be critical about what you think are yours. So don't worry!
I'm so glad to see that it's not just me with this condition! I have never managed to stand naked in front of my boyfriend of 4 years because of it. I'd love to get mine corrected as I really feel like they're disgusting. I'm concerned about being able to breast feed afterwards though - I don't have kids but would like them some day and would be devastated if it turned out I couldn't breast feed. Does anyone know if it is essential to get implants to correct tubular breasts? I have 36D breasts so I wonder if I would be able to get away without implants and just have my own tissue remodelled?
hey from what ive read, because of the constricted tissue in tuberous breasts there can be some difficulty breastfeeding anyway. the implants would be under the milk gland tissue so shouldnt cause problems, a lot of women who have implants actually find it easier with them! have a look on the internet there are some great sites full of info! i am awaiting an appt with the nhs surgeonn to get my tuberous breasts corrected! =) excited but scared!
I have this too, but in my 40s I and now I know it's not just me - it is a condition but feel there is no chance of surgery - maybe we need to accept ourselves the way we are
I have this and went to my GP last october. He referred me to a plastic surgeon on the NHS and they have accepted me. Every case is different but with tuberous breasts it is seen as a deformity so they will most likely let you have it on the NHS. I am now looking forward to surgery which should be done by September :)
Hi there, I am 15 years old and I have size E breasts but I have a large areola and my breasts are far apart and have that distinct shape of tuberous breast. I would think that I had tuberous breasts but they are large and I have been doing some research and tuberous breasts are small. I was also wondering at what age can the procedure be done and if it can be done on the NHS.
I have a problem with one of my testiculs it keeps going in or like rises into my body what should i do..
I just thought I had horrible breasts, I didn't know it was a condition!!! For some reason I feel sad for knowing this, that I'm different :'( I thought i'd be stupid going to the doctors about my breasts but now I might, I wont seem stupid.
Please i need help,i hav problem with my legs for several years now and i diagnose wit HTLV1,and they said there is no treatment for it since then i hav been like dat,and is getting worse everyday,and now i always hav serious pain like burning fire in my right legs now,even i cant go to the toilet and i hav used aloats of medication bt nothing change please help me im in serious pain thanks.