Massive bilateral breast reduction in an 11-year-old girl: 24% ablation of body weight.

Abstract

An 11-year-old girl with massive virginal breast hypertrophy is presented. The breasts had begun to grow rapidly at puberty and had reached an enormous size within a year, to the point of causing physical impairment and respiratory compromise. Routine blood chemistry and endocrine investigation was normal, as was an MRI scan of the pituitary fossa. A bilateral reduction mammaplasty with free nipple grafts was performed, removing 12.5 kg of tissue in all (24% of the total body weight). There was no recurrence at a 2 year follow up, and no requirement for additional surgery. A review of the literature reveals that breast regrowth is less frequent when free nipple grafting is used, and this technique is recommended for these extraordinary cases.