Lisa is on Skype to ask The Doctors if her 13-year-old is too young for a breast reduction surgery. She explains she is the mother of two fraternal twins, and one of them is experiencing rapid breast growth. She says a year ago her daughter was a 36B and this year, she is a 36DD.
Plastic surgeon Dr. Andrew Ordon diagnoses Lisa’s daughter with something called gigantomastia or virginal hypertrophy of the breast. This is a rapid growth of the breasts, typically when the menstrual period starts, anywhere from 11-14 years old. He later shares that he examined her daughter and her breast were actually more like 38Gs!
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Dr. Ordon says he does perform breast reductions all the time but the question is, have her daughter’s breasts stayed the same size for at least a year? If so, this means the breasts have probably stopped growing which would make her a good candidate for breast reduction surgery. He says they would need to talk to both the pediatrician and a plastic surgeon to discuss their options.
Prior to doing this, Dr. Ordon says they typically test hormones, but in most cases of gigantomastia, they are perfectly normal. He reiterates that you want to make sure the breast growth has stabilized before performing the surgery, and while most women don’t have further growth after the procedure, there is a possibility that it can occur. The Doctors have found a plastic surgeon in Lisa's hometown, Dr. Caroline Chester, who has agreed to meet with her daughter for a consultation and preliminary diagnostic testing at no cost!
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The Doctors further discuss the difficulties of having overly large breasts and the toll it can take on the body, like causing pain in the back. Dr. Ordon adds there are also cases more common in teenagers where one breast develops more than the other. This is one other category where plastic surgeons may consider operating on teenagers.
