What is breast asymmetry?

While a slight difference in breast size and/or shape is common among women, sometimes the discrepancy can be significant. Breast size and shape is genetic, though asymmetry can also occur randomly during growth. Breasts begin to grow at puberty and continue to grow for another 2-4 years after. If breasts are uneven at age 21, it is unlikely that their size and shape will change.

Dr. Horton prefers not to perform breast asymmetry surgery on patients younger than 18 since their breasts are still developing; extreme cases where a large difference is the cause of severe emotional distress will require individual and careful review with Dr. Horton before deciding to proceed.

Another breast anomaly akin to breast asymmetry is a condition known as Tuberous breasts. Tuberous breasts are so named because the breasts are shaped like tubes, which occurs when the base of the breast is constricted. This can be corrected through breast asymmetry procedures.

When should breast asymmetry correction operations be considered?

Breast size is easily corrected and can provide great results. If the difference in size is less than a bra cup size, then surgical intervention is not usually recommended. If both size and shape are different, it will be more difficult to correct the asymmetry as a different procedure must be used for each breast. In terms of patient satisfaction, surgery to correct asymmetry is about 90% successful.

What is involved in the surgery?

Surgery for breast asymmetry may require:

• the augmentation of one or both breasts
• reduction mammoplasty of one or both breasts
• augmentation of one breast and reduction in the other
• mastopexy (breast lift) of one or both breasts