Breast asymmetries: a brief review and our experience

The authors describe their personal experience with the management of mammary asymmetries. A review of their database from January 1998 to January 2005 identified 177 patients with idiopathic breast asymmetries. All these cases had been classified previously into six groups. Bilateral asymmetric hypertrophy and unilateral hypertrophy were treated with reduction mammaplasty. Unilateral hypertrophy with amastia or hypoplasia of the contralateral side was managed with reduction and augmentation mammaplasty. Unilateral amastia or hypoplasia (Poland's syndrome) was treated with a single monopedicle transverse rectus abdominis muscle (TRAM) flap, and asymmetric bilateral hypoplasia was managed with augmentation mammaplasty. Unilateral mammary ptosis was treated with mastopexy and augmentation mammaplasty. The proposed classification, derived from the authors' experience in this field, gives an idea of how they usually treat these patients. It is useful for a first evaluation, but after that, every treatment must always be individualized on a patient-by-patient basis.