Tuberous breasts and breast feeding. Could corrective surgery help?

Question

Could corrective surgery help with breast and nipple shape, making it easier for baby to latch and breast pump cups to fit properly? With my first child I had a great milk supply, but had difficulty with his latch and couldn't get ANY milk out with the pump. The lactation MD said it was r/t nipple shape d/t tuberous breast deformity. (Puffy nipples are a characteristic she said). Also if silicone implants are safe why MRI every 5 years? Cohesive safer?

Christian Subbio, MD · Answer

Putting an implant and surgically correcting tuberous breast most likely will not affect lactating ability.  If anything, it may decrease it from the scarring around the nipple.  The recommendation for MRIs is arbitrary.  Both classic and cohesive gels are safe, though cohesive may have a lower rerupture rate years later.  The long-term data is not available yet.Best of luck!
Dr. SubbioBoard-Certified Plastic SurgeonNewtown Square/Philadelphia, PA

Steven Goldman, MD · Answer

First, I think breast augmentation would not be beneficial for issues related to breast feeding and tuberous breasts. An experienced lactation consultant should be able to assist you. Your OB and pediatrician should have consultants for referral. Regarding cosmetic enhancement, various specific maneuvers are often useful depending on your specific goals and physical characteristics. These include (in some cases) use of textured silicone implants, use of anatomic/tear drop implants, a periareolar (circular breast lift), dual plane breast augmentation (a specific technique for release of the lower  breast tissue from the pectoralis major muscle), and other maneuvers. The FDA does recommend periodic MRIs as surveillance for leak of silicone implants, but a small percentage of patients actually choose to get MRIs, so discuss this with your plastic surgeon. Thanks for your questions. Good luck.

Reza Momeni, MD, FACS · Answer

It's absolutely possible to help patients with tuberous breasts improve their breast shape, and implants have not been shown to interfere with breast feeding (although I can never guarantee this to my patients).  Be sure to discuss your goals and concerns with your board certified plastic surgeon and consider the pros and the cons. Be certain your surgeon is properly certified.  I've attached a link where you can start your search.

Sean Doherty, MD, FACS · Answer

There are definitely procedures that can help improve the appearance of your tuberous breasts. However, I doubt that they will help with lactation. Or at the least, there is no guarantee. Why don't you schedule a consultation with a board certified plastic surgeon to discuss? Best of luck.

Daniel Sherick, MD · Answer

There are many ways to correct tuberous beast deformity and nipple deformities. Most of the time, these techniques are not used to correct deformity to aid in difficulty with nursing.  Having said that, if you are interested in correcting the shape of your breast and nipples because of cosmetic concerns and other reasons, improved ability to nurse your baby might be an added benefit.  Overall, you would need a consultation with a Plastic Surgeon to examine you to understand exactly what the issues are, and then the two of you can come up with possible solutions together.  The FDA has suggested MRI for surveillance of all silicone gel implants, including Cohesive gel implants. This is because it is difficult to determine if there is a rupture in the new silicone gel implants because the gel sticks to itself and leaks out of the implants less than before.  I hope this encourages you to investigate the possibilities further.

Ege Ozgentas, MD · Answer

Hello meglyons,
Tuberous breasts can be treated successfully with silicone implants and some breast maneuvers. You should consider the operation at least a few months later after the end of the breast feeding. All FDA approved silicone implants are considered safe and I do not advise my own patients to take MRI if there is no complaint. Good luck.

M. Azhar Ali, MD, FACS · Answer

Thanks for the question. There are varying degrees of tuberous breasts. It can range from mild to severe. It is difficult to comment on your breast as no photos are available for review.  It is hard to comment on the milk production as it depends on the amount of breast tissue you have. The breast shape could be improved significantly with breast implants. Different type of implants are available which a plastic surgeon will be more than happy to discuss with you. Most of the silicone implants that are available are filled with cohesive gel. I don't think anyone orders MRI every 5 years if not indicated.

Priti Shukla, Mch - Account Suspended · Answer

Dear Meg, 
Its a tough question to answer . I would not imagine that implant will help you with lactation but cant rule it out without examinining you in person and figuring out what eaxctly casued difficulty in feeding in the first place. Tuberrous breasts have large nipples and they are saggy. But so do other large breasts -but then such women breastfeed  and I have known women with tuberous breasts to feed . If it is only because of large nipples, implants don't correct that , unless nipple reduction is added to the surgery . Complete tuberous breast surgery requires gland manipulation and may compromise lactation. Cohesive implants are safer.

Tuberous breasts and breast feeding. Could corrective surgery help?

Answers (8)

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