Medical Questions » Breasts, Female Questions » Question No. 174
| Question: | One of my breasts is markedly smaller than the other, in fact one has not developed at all. This becomes a problem when buying bras, as one side fits and the other doesn' t. I am in my late teens and my breasts have always been different sizes. Am I eating the wrong foods? Is it hormonal? What is the cause, and how can I fix it without plastic surgery, or do I have to live like this for the rest of my life? |
| Answer: | This problem is not as uncommon as you may think. In fact, most women have slight differences in the sizes of their breasts, in the same way that most of us have one foot or hand a fraction larger than the other. In your case, the problem is extreme, and requires treatment.
All humans (male and female) have a tiny nodule of breast tissue present behind the nipple from birth. At puberty, the oestrogens in women stimulate this tissue to grow into a breast. The degree of stimulation, the size of the original nodule, and (most importantly) hereditary tendencies will determine your breast size.
In your case, you were almost certainly born with no nodule of breast tissue behind one nipple, and therefore there was nothing there for the hormones to stimulate at puberty. It has absolutely nothing to do with your diet or lifestyle.
The problem will be a permanent one, and you will not be able to breast feed a baby from the undeveloped breast, but the good breast will be able to produce adequate milk by itself (most mothers of twins successfully breast feed both babies).
There is no magical medication, cream or diet that will help, but plastic surgery will improve your self-image and appearance dramatically.
You should not instantly exclude surgery, because the operation is a very simple and safe one, that will leave a small scar under the fold of the breast that only your most intimate friends will ever discover. The surgeon will insert a bag full of soft gel behind the muscle under the nipple, so that both breasts will be exactly the same size and feel.
Ask your GP for a referral to a plastic surgeon (virtually all perform this simple procedure), and discuss the matter further with him/her. A talk commits you to nothing, and will give you a great deal more information.
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