Gigantomastia - Causes, Symptoms & Treatments

Gigantomastia, also known as macromastia or breast hypertrophy is a rare medical condition which leads to the excessive, uncontrollable growth of a woman’s breasts. The condition does not occur in men. It, however, affects more than 100,000 women in America.

Causes

The exact cause of gigantomastia is unknown but the disease has been linked to several medications such as D-penicillamine, cyclosporine, and bucillamine. Hormonal imbalance has also been tied to the onset of the malady. This is particularly seen in pregnancy-induced gigantomastia.

Gigantomastia has also been observed in young girls entering puberty. Women suffering from autoimmune conditions such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, psoriasis, and systemic lupus erythematosus are at a higher risk of developing gigantomastia as well. For many women, however, there is no defining cause as to why they suddenly develop the disease.

Symptoms

Excessive breast growth whether over a few days, weeks or months is the major symptom of gigantomastia. This growth may happen in one breast (unilateral growth) or may occur simultaneously in both breaths (bilateral growth). There is no predefined timeframe in which the growth occurs. It can happen in a matter of days or over several years.

Other symptoms that typically appear include:

• Red, itchy, painful breasts
• Poor posture
• Shoulder, neck and back pain
• Inability to feel nipple sensation
• Chest pain (breast pain/mastalgia)

If you or someone you know is experiencing any of these symptoms and might be worried about it possibly being gigantomastia and would like to talk to an expert about it, XpertDox is a great platform to find a specialist doctor. Because of its rarity, finding a doctor who has dealt with a similar case can be an uphill task, however, thanks to this platform, the search has become easier.

Treatments

If left untreated gigantomastia can render its patients invalid. Because of this, many women opt to have a breast reduction. The reduction is often of 1,000 to 2,000 grams per breast. However, surgery is often the last option. Breast reductions are major surgery and as such your doctor will explain to you all the associated risk factors. Another major breast surgery that other women opt for is a mastectomy, which involves the complete removal of all the breast tissue. Some women will then often opt to get breast implants to replace the breast tissue.

In cases which do not involve surgery, treatment often involves trying to address the discomfort and pain caused by the large breasts. This entails the use of warm dressings, over-the-counter medication as well as prescribed antibiotics for those with infections.

In the event of pregnancy-induced gigantomastia, the breasts often reduce in size on their own once the baby is born. If not, pain medication may be prescribed to help deal with any discomfort if surgery is not an option for the patient.

Gigantomastia Complications

Gigantomastia does have associated complications which include headaches, neck, back and shoulder pain. Breasts may be asymmetrical and unequal. The skin around the breasts may appear over-stretched and rashes may also appear under the breasts. This is not to mention the psychological and social problems that large breasts come with. This can be especially difficult for young girls just entering puberty.

Talk to a doctor today if you are worried about any irregular breast growth.

This is a guest blog entry.