Having uneven breasts is incredibly common. Some sources say that up to 90% of women have some type of asymmetry in their breasts. For most, this is very minor and not noticeable. However, there are some cases where the difference between breasts is noticeable, generally when there is more than a cup size difference. The asymmetry may also not be in the size of the breast, but relating more to the shape, or the nipple size or colour.
Many of these factors cause insecurity or make things like buying clothes that fit incredibly difficult. So, some feel that they would like to undergo surgery to deal with this. There are many options, depending on what issue you would like to look at. Different issues have different causes, and this needs to be identified to create a plan of action.
What causes uneven Breasts
There are many causes of asymmetrical breasts. These include:
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- Hormonal Changes - hormones can cause one breast to grow faster or before the other. Hormonal changes are most likely to happen during pregnancy or puberty - there are also cases of this happening during menopause
- Genetics - if this is something that has historically occurred in your family, then this is more likely to appear in your own body
- Fluctuating Body Weight - the breasts can lose weight at different rates to each other, especially if the loss is rapid
- Syndromic- there is a condition known as Poland syndrome which affects the development of one side of the chest. The effects ranged from breast asymmetry to rib cage deformity, missing muscle, dextrocardia, and hand deformity.
Certain specific medical conditions can cause breasts to appear asymmetrical. Some of them are:
- Scoliosis - this condition creates a curvature of the spine, which in turn can create an uneven widening on one side of the ribcage, showing in the breasts.
- Deformities in the chest wall - some conditions inhibit tissue in the chest from developing unevenly, such as Poland syndrome, which can create a noticeable difference
- Breast Hypoplasia - This can occur in one breast causing not only the size of the breast to differ, but the appearance of the nipple too
- Atypical Ductal Hyperplasia - This causes the milk ducts in one of the breasts to grow excessively - if this is the condition that you have, or suspect that you have, please speak to your doctor as this can put you at higher risk of breast cancer
What can I do?
For many of these conditions, there is no medical need to make any change to the breast. However, the insecurity that some feel may be something they want to deal with. For example, if they have a holiday coming up and want to wear a swimming costume or bikini without worrying about the asymmetry in their breasts.
When considering taking action towards uneven breasts, it is good to speak to your surgeon about the cause of the unevenness and what you are looking for from your results. This can inform your surgeon on how to tackle the issues at hand.
For example, if the issue is just with the size of the breast, a reduction can be performed on the larger breast to match the size of the other. Or, if the issue is with the underlying ribcage, your surgeon will have to create a separate incision to access this area to deal with this issue.
If the issue is with the shape of the breast or the size of the nipple, an uplift can be performed. Skin, alongside tissue, is removed and the breast is lifted to replicate the look of a naturally smaller breast and the breast has a fuller look. During any breast procedure, the nipple will stay attached but allow the surgeon to excise some of the outer nipple to reduce the size. So, not only will the size and shape match, but the nipple appearance will as well.
Conclusion
Breast asymmetry, even though it generally doesn’t have any effect on your health, can have a great effect on your confidence. So, with the huge range of factors that can affect breast symmetry, it is important to find a surgeon who can assess your breasts as a whole, consider your goals, and create a plan. Mr. Mark Ho Asjoe has dealt with many varying cases of breast asymmetry and knows how important it is to keep the patient and their needs at the centre of every decision he makes.
Get in contact today to start your journey to tackle your asymmetric breasts with Mr Mark Ho Asjoe.