Tuberous breast correction by fat grafting.

Area of Science:

• Plastic Surgery
• Aesthetic Medicine
• Reconstructive Surgery

Background:

• Tuberous breast is a rare congenital malformation impacting physical and psychological well-being during puberty.
• Traditional surgical corrections involve skin plasty, mammary gland remodeling, prostheses, or locoregional flaps.
• Fat grafting has been utilized as an adjunct technique since 1998.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the application and outcomes of a lipomodeling (fat grafting) technique for correcting tuberous breast deformity.
• To assess patient and surgeon satisfaction with fat grafting as a sole treatment modality.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of 31 consecutive tuberous breast patients treated exclusively with fat grafting over 11 years.
• Classification of breast deformities using the Grolleau system.
• Recording of fat grafting session numbers, mean fat transfer volume, and patient/surgeon satisfaction.

Main Results:

• 31 patients (18 bilateral, 13 unilateral) with a mean age of 23 years underwent fat grafting.
• 45% required one session (mean 158 mL), while 55% needed two sessions (mean 226 mL).
• High patient (94% very satisfied, 6% satisfied) and surgeon (94% successful/very successful) satisfaction reported with a mean 6.5-year follow-up. No major complications, only minor oil cysts on imaging.

Conclusions:

• Fat grafting is a reliable and effective technique for tuberous breast correction.
• It yields excellent, natural-looking, implant-free aesthetic results with high patient satisfaction.
• The lipomodeling approach offers a durable and safe solution for tuberous breast deformity.