Amastia is a rare condition in which the breast tissue, nipple and areola are absent. This occurs on one side of the body, but in some conditions (especially syndromes) both breasts are missing. Missing breasts are congenital or acquired later in life. Absent breasts are more common in women than in men. If amastia is cosmetically disturbing for patients, the doctor will perform a surgical procedure.
- Terminology of amastia
- Causes of Missing Breast
- Congenital: Genetic condition
- Innate: Medication
- Acquired
- Symptoms
- Treatment of absent breasts
Terminology of amastia
Amastia is not the same as athelia where the nipple is absent. Amazia is also another condition. Only the breast tissue is missing, but the nipple and areola are present.
Causes of Missing Breast
Congenital: Genetic condition
The complete absence of the breast is rare. Amastia occurs when the breast graft in the embryo is destroyed. Sometimes this occurs in isolation; other abnormalities or an underlying syndrome are then not present. However, amastia is mainly associated with congenital abnormalities and syndromes in which both breasts are usually missing. This occurs, for example:
- acral-renal ectodermal dysplasia and lipoatrophic diabetes (AREDYLD syndrome)
- Poland syndrome: underdevelopment of the pectoral muscle or absent pectoral muscle; usually only one breast is absent; also rib abnormalities, brachydactaly (shortened fingers and/or toes) or syndactyly (fused fingers and/or toes)
- the ulnar-mammary syndrome
- Yunis-Varon syndrome: This is a genetic condition that also affects the nervous system, skeletal system, and ectodermal tissues (hair and teeth).
- hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia: This is a genetic condition that also affects the development or function of the hair, nails, sweat glands and teeth.
Innate: Medication
When a pregnant mother takes the drug carbimazole or dehydroepiandrosterone during the first trimester of pregnancy, it may cause amastia in the born child.
Acquired
Amastia (or hypomastia) also sometimes results from injuries sustained during a thoracotomy (surgical opening of the chest), chest tube placement, improper biopsy of the thoracic bud (end of the breast), radiation therapy, or severe burns. Surgical removal of the prepubertal breast bud also causes hypoplasia (underdevelopment) of the breast or amastia (missing breast). The surgeon must therefore be careful when making an incision (surgical cut) for the drainage of lesions of the nipple-areolar complex or growths in the breast bud, otherwise poor development or no further development of the breast may occur. .
Symptoms
The main sign of amastia is a flat chest with no breast tissue or nipples. When amastia affects only one side, it is often due to the absence of a pectoral muscle. Congenital abnormalities and syndromes are often accompanied by the absence of both breasts. Additional symptoms may appear if the patient has a genetic condition.
Treatment of absent breasts
Amastie itself basically requires no treatment. For cosmetic reasons, the doctor performs a surgical procedure known as an augmentation mammoplasty, which is the medical term for breast enlargement surgery. The doctor also treats the other symptoms supportively.