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Many women suffer from uneven breasts, also known as breast asymmetry – a relatively common condition that is often not discussed. When the asymmetry is pronounced, the embarrassment can affect women’s daily lives, sexuality and confidence. Breast surgery can considerably elevate quality of life and self-esteem for significantly affected women.

With breast asymmetry, a woman’s breasts may differ in size or shape. The left breast may be a B-cup and the right a D-cup, for example, or a woman may have one breast that significantly droops while the other does not, making the woman’s breasts appear unbalanced. Sometimes asymmetry is congenital – most frequently from Poland’s syndrome – and may be accompanied by anomalies of other tissues and organs. In other cases, breast asymmetry may be the result of infection, trauma or surgery near the developing breast in a child. Still other times, paired organs simply develop differently.

Breast augmentation, breast lift, breast reduction and breast reconstruction are commonly used to correct breast asymmetry and create balance between the breasts. Depending upon the type and degree of asymmetry, Dr. Chariker may utilize one or all of these procedures.

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Treatment Options

How and when your breast asymmetry should be treated will be determined by Dr. Chariker during your consultation, and will depend on factors such as your body type, skin condition, the size and shape of your breasts, and your age. Even though this can be an emotionally painful condition for teenagers, Dr. Chariker generally will not perform cosmetic breast surgery prior to age 18, when the breasts have had time to fully develop.

Dr. Chariker’s choice of surgical procedures depends on the degree of differences between the size and shape of the breasts. He may select to perform a breast reduction on the larger breast, which involves removal of excess fat and skin, or a breast lift, which repositions and lifts the breast to match the other breast more closely. For the smaller breast, he may recommend a breast augmentation, which involves the use of an implant. In some patients, surgery for only one breast may correct the asymmetry, while for other patients, Dr. Chariker will recommend a combination of procedures.

For congenital breast asymmetry caused by Poland's Syndrome, the corrective procedure is more involved. In Poland’s Syndrome, one breast and its underlying musculature are underdeveloped, and the hand on the same side of the body is also usually affected. For patients with this asymmetry, Dr. Chariker will do breast reconstruction by expanding the underlying tissues and inserting a breast implant, augmenting the undeveloped breast with tissue from the opposite breast, or creating a musculocutaneous flap to fill the hollow space in the chest wall. Reconstruction may also require the surgical repair of the chest wall.

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Duration of Results

Women who undergo surgery to correct breast asymmetry not only look better, but feel better and more self-confident. These procedures are permanent, although breasts will change with weight gain or loss and from the natural affects of aging. Occasionally, a breast implant may leak, necessitating a second surgery to replace the implant.

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