Tuberous Breasts – What are they?
Tuberous breasts (sometimes improperly referred to as “tubular” breasts) are named for the resemblance to a tuberous plant root. The breast looks like a tube. They are characterized by a constriction at the base of the breast, as if someone had pulled a drawstring around the bottom of the breast. This is a developmental “deformity” of varying severity. In the most severe cases the breast tissue is “squeezed” so tightly by the constriction at the base that it “herniates” behind the areola. Milder cases are characterized by a tight inframammary fold, often with a downward pointing nipple/areola. Augmentation alone usually will not give a good looking breast except in mild forms; usually some type of mastopexy is necessary to reduce the herniation of the tissue behind the areola and expand the base of the breast.
