What is symmastia?
This is when the two breasts communicate in the midline (cleavage area). This may be done to “increase cleavage” by dividing the soft tissue or muscle fibers at the medial edges of the breast. This can be seen with implants placed over or under the muscle. It is a correctable problem — it is callenging and requires surgical intervention.
This is when the two breasts communicate in the midline (cleavage area). This may be done to increase cleavage by dividing the soft tissue or muscle fibers at the medial edges of the breast. This can be seen with implants placed over or under the muscle. It is a correctable problem — it is callenging and requires surgical intervention.
Sometimes referred to as breadloafing due to its appearance, this condition is caused when implants move to the center of the chest and look as if there is one implant across the chest. This condition can occur in women who undergo submuscular breast augmentation when the muscle that is attached to the sternum and goes horizontally across the implants has been cut by the surgeon. It can also occur when an implant is used that is too large or because of a tissue failure in the patient. When this occurs, everything can appear fine immediately after surgery. Within a few days, however, the pressure of post-operative swelling forces the implant to move and since the muscle that would hold the implant or implants away from the cleavage area has been cut, the implants move toward the center. As a result of the pressure the tissue can lift from the sternum and allow the implants to move into the center, causing the appearance of one large implant across the chest (hence the term breadloafing
Symmastia is the merging of the breasts into an indistinct mass. It occurs if the skin between the breasts loses its attachment to the breast bone during or after surgery. This can be the consequence of trying to achieve tight cleavage for women who have widely spaced breasts, but it may also occur due to medial displacement of the implants after surgery. Fortunately, true symmastia is rare. More common is a condition known as “bread-loafing” in which the breasts appear separate and distinct unless they are being manually pushed toward one another, at which time the breast skin is partially lifted off of the breastbone. Some plastic surgeons refer to this as “pseudo-symmastia.” Attempting to repair symmastia or pseudo-symmastia can sometimes result in worsening of the problem, which is why Dr. Loftus advocates repairing symmastia (or pseudo-symmastia) using tunnels and bolsters. By creating tunnels between the left and right implant pockets, the skin is not fully detached, so if the at
