Q: Tuberous Breast Surgery Gone Wrong?
I was diagnosed with tuberous breasts and had implants to ‘correct’ this, from a size 34aa to a 34c, under the muscle. They were done four years ago, and one implant hasnt ‘settled’ and is much higher up than the other, the other has settled rounding out the tuberous shape. They look awful. I have been told by another surgeon that it is likely the muscle is holding the right implant up in a high position. Am I entitled to have this corrected free from the original surgeon?
A: Tuberous Breasts pose a difficult surgery-
Tuberous breast create a challenge, in general, because it is sometimes difficult to get the breast tissue to relax to the extent that one would like to achieve a symmetric and rounded breast. It looks like the overall shape of your breast is rounding out nicely. There is some visible asymmetry in height, as you express, which perists. The height of the breast with a tuberous deformity is frequently very different from side to side. Because the tuberous breast deformity is, in itself, a challenge to get round I think that having to go back for revision is not necessarily the fault of the surgeon, but a reflection of the difficulty of the abnormally formed breast. The overly tight lower pole of the breast and elevated inframammary fold are the known, primary issues of tuberous breast deformity which partially produces the abnormal shape of the breast.
Unfortunately, revision surgery usually requires hospital and anesthesia fees which are usually covered by the patient. You may find that your surgeon is willing to cut their price significantly to try and further correct the ongoing deformity. However, implants placed to help correct a tuberous breast is more of a reconstruction that may need more than one surgery to fully correct. Reconstructive surgery should be covered by insurance, but unfortunately, is not usually covered by most insurance companies. Tuberous breast reconstructions may require a few revisions to get the result perfect. I would discuss the options with your surgeon, as it appears as though you have achieve a very nice rounded breast in both which is the 1st step of the reconstruction. Your surgeon may be able to revise the pocket further to try and achieve better symmetry in position of the implant.
Good luck.