Tuberous Breast Correction at Our Plastic Surgery Practice

What are tuberous breasts?

Tuberous breasts can also be referred to as tubular breasts, herniated areolas, and tuberous breast deformity. Physically they can vary from mild to severe and can affect self-esteem, aesthetics, and breast asymmetry. Issues from tuberous breasts can be breast constriction, inframammary fold malposition, and areola prominence (large areolas).

What causes tuberous breasts?‍

It is not clear what causes tuberous breasts. Most tuberous breasts occur during puberty and can be the result of abnormal gland development because of collagen excess in the fascia that can alter the shape of the breasts.

Moderate to severe tuberous breasts can cause a deformity to breast shape, symmetry, and size. In these cases, women often seek out plastic surgery with augmentation and a reduction in the size of the areola. For mild tuberous deformities, the size of the areola may not need correction; however, there may be a need to correct breast hypoplasia (small breast size). For less severe cases, there may only be a need to increase the breast size with implants.

How do you correct tuberous breasts?

There are many considerations in correcting tuberous breasts, including fold position, breast base constriction, breast volume, breast skin envelope, ptosis, and areolar herniation. These all must be carefully assessed against patient goals to determine the best treatment.

Tuberous Breast Augmentation

Breast augmentation, or breast implants, can be an option for tuberous breasts. This option requires an in-depth assessment from a board-certified plastic surgeon. ‍

Surgery for tuberous breasts may have to occur in stages or several surgeries to get the desired results. For mild cases, there may only need to be one stage of surgery. The goal of the first stage is to release constricted breast tissue, and this is done with a breast implant.
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Mild to severe cases of tuberous breasts may require a donut mastopexy and/or a breast lift to enhance the shape of the breast. Surgeons will remove donut-shaped skin from the areola to create a more desired areola and to free the tissue underneath for a better-contoured shape. In some cases, a tissue expander is used before a mastopexy, and breast augmentation can be performed. ‍

Tuberous Breast Augmentation Recovery

After tuberous breast correction surgery, patients typically can return home the same day. Post-surgery, patients should avoid strenuous activity or heavy lifting for 6 weeks. Most patients recover quickly, and scars begin to fade at about two months post-surgery. ‍

If you want to learn more about tuberous breast correction, please request a consultation or call us at  305-230-4326 to schedule an appointment.