Helpful Resources and Articles for Teen Girls and Parents
It is surprisingly difficult to find neutral, teen-friendly information about breast developmental conditions! It is a main reason I decided to do my Girl Scout Gold Award Project on increasing awareness of these.
I have researched and linked several sources here and I hope they are helpful to you.
Texas Children’s Hospital - Understanding Normal Breast Development in Preteen and Teenage Girls
A very good general resource about breast development in girls. This explains normal puberty and breast development in understandable language, notes that one breast commonly develops faster than the other and that some asymmetry remains normal even in adult women. It also helps parents/teens with information to better know when a difference is worth discussing with a healthcare provider.
Understanding Normal Breast Development
Understanding Breast Developmental Differences
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) - Pediatric and Adolescent Breast and Chest Program Page
This is a very good and useful overall resource. CHOP’s Pediatric and Adolescent Breast and Chest Program that treats breast conditions like asymmetry, polythelia, Poland syndrome, tuberous/constricted breast deformities, hypoplasia and other developmental conditions. This notes these conditions aren’t just cosmetic and that major children’s hospitals recognize and treat these pediatric/adolescent breast and chest conditions.
Texas Children’s Hospital - Breast Abnormalities
This article is specifically about puberty in girls, from an adolescent gynecology program at Texas Children’s. It discusses significant asymmetry, extra nipples, under-development and absent breast/nipple development and explains how these are evaluated. It says that while many normal variations exist, recognized developmental differences exist, too.
Breast Disorders in Adolescence - A Review of the Literature
This is a peer-reviewed overview, specifically about breast conditions that may occur in adolescents and teens. It includes information about tuberous breast developmental condition and discusses the psychological/social consequences that it may cause in a preteen or teen. *Key Messages: Clinicians should be aware of all breast disorders that may occur in adolescence. Early diagnosis and treatment will result in the reassurance of adolescents and their families without any detrimental effect on their psychology, sexual behavior, and socialization. Adolescents with breast disorders may require a multidisciplinary approach by a pediatrician, a gynecologist specializing in pediatric-adolescent gynecology, a plastic surgeon, and a psychologist for the best management of breast disorders.
Tuberous/Tubular Breast Condition
Pediatric Breast Hypoplasia and Tuberous/Tubular Breast. This page has a specific FAQ, “What is a tuberous or tubular breast?” It explains in ordinary language that tubular/tuberous breast is a particular type of breast hypoplasia, describes the developmental characteristics, and explains that it can affect one breast while the other develops normally.
Children’s Health - Tuberous/Tubular Breast
Impact of Tuberous Breast on Adolescents - NIH/PMC
This Boston Children’s Hospital’s Adolescent Breast Center and Harvard Medical School research study looked at how tuberous breast can affect adolescent health, self-esteem and quality of life. It describes tuberous breast as a congenital difference that becomes apparent at puberty and is not simply an aesthetic issue. The study looked at adolescents’ health-related quality of life, self-esteem and eating behaviors. Adolescents with the condition had significantly lower self-esteem and poorer physical and psychosocial health measures than controls. The authors argue that the condition should not simply be dismissed as cosmetic.
Hypoplastic Breast Anomalies in the Female Adolescent Breast in NIH/PMC
This has a large amount of information explaining tuberous breast. It discusses the terminology like tuberous breast, tubular breast, narrow-based breast, etc. This is helpful because by Googling you can turn up several different names. It’s older (2013) and becomes fairly surgical, so it might not be the first one to read. But as a medical reference to learn in more detail, it’s good.
Breast Asymmetry
Breast asymmetry is mentioned in several articles above, but this one from a children’s hospital explains more about different causes of the asymmetry itself including ordinary developmental differences, tuberous breast deformity, Poland syndrome, breast hypoplasia and other conditions. It also explains that doctors generally observe development over time before considering intervention.
Nationwide Children’s Hospital - Breast Asymmetry
Polythelia (Supernumerary) Nipples
This is a good source about polythelia condition. MedlinePlus is from the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Extra nipples are a variation of normal development, are fairly common and usually unrelated to other conditions. They often aren’t recognized because they can be small and not fully formed. It also explains the terms polythelia, polymastia and accessory nipples.
MedlinePlus - Supernumerary Nipples / Polythelia
How Common Are Tuberous Breasts?
Several sites reference a large study that suggests up to 27.6% of women have tuberous breast condition to some degree:
Published in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, a publication of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and the official journal of Società Italiana di Chirurgia Plastica Ricostruttiva ed Estetica (SICPRE), the study aimed to demonstrate the high prevalence despite previous lack of proper investigation. Almost 2,000 pre-operative photos of patients wishing to undergo a breast augmentation, breast reduction or other cosmetic breast surgery procedures were analysed, alongside a general population group. It was discovered that 27.6% of women in the latter group had at least one tuberous breast deformity. For women seeking an augmentation or reduction, it was even higher, with approximately 50% affected.
Genuinely more common than most people realise and considerably more common than the near-silence around the condition would suggest. A retrospective study of pre-operative photographs published in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery analysed 1,600 patients and found at least one tuberous breast feature in 48.5% of breast augmentation patients, 47.3% of breast reduction patients, and 27.6% of the general population studied. In other words, tubular breast features are present in roughly a quarter of women generally, and in close to half of women who go on to seek breast surgery of any kind. Much of the gap between this real prevalence and how rarely the condition is discussed comes down to the fact that many women with milder presentations simply never learn their breast shape has a recognised clinical name, and the personal, private nature of the topic means it is rarely discussed openly even among close friends or family.
What should teen girls know about tuberous (or tubular) breast condition?
It is important to understand that tuberous breasts are a cosmetic variation, not a disease. They are not associated with any increased risk of breast cancer or other medical conditions, and treatment is entirely elective. However, the psychological impact should not be understated — many patients report longstanding distress about their breast shape, and correction can have a substantial positive effect on confidence and quality of life. [1]
Teen Vogue - What it's like to have tuberous breast condition with input from a prominent double board certified surgeon
The article shares the firsthand experiences of a woman named Lisa, who spent her high school years and early 20s confused by the asymmetrical growth of her breasts before finally receiving a diagnosis.