NEW DELHI: A 60-year-old woman from Dubai, suffering from Gigantomastia –a very rare disorder where breasts grow excessively humongous– got a reprieve from her three-decade-long agony following a successful breast reduction surgery at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi.
According to the doctors, Gigantomastia is a rare disorder and only a couple hundred cases have been reported in the medical literature. Unaware of the disorder, the woman was among the innumerable women across the world who had to deal with the problem. Not only did she attract unwanted gaze but suffered from severe neck, shoulder and back pain.
“I have lived a miserable life for the last 30 years. Severe backache, difficulty in walking, excessive pressure on the shoulder due to bra straps and rashes underneath my breasts made it worse,” she said. She added that the stigma and the unwanted attention that came with it jolted her confidence at many occasion.
“I did not discuss this problem with my family as not many people thought of it as an issue but only the women who go through this, knows the pain,” she added. “I have stayed indoors for many years as I was so self conscious of my breasts. I wouldn’t step outside if it was not important. I hated my body,” she added.
She added that doing basic tasks such as buying clothes, sleeping on back, among other activities became a huge task. Fed up with the everyday struggles, the woman decided to visit India for a treatment after which she got to know that she is suffering from Gigantomastia.
According to Dr Rajeev B. Ahuja, Senior Consultant, Department of Plastic & Cosmetic Surgery at Sir Gangaram Hospital, the case was extremely shocking. The breasts were reaching two inches below the navel. “Most of the time, the disorder occurs spontaneously or due to overly sensitive breast tissues to the hormones. At times, after pregnancy breasts don’t revert back to the normal size. Patients feel as if they are carrying a huge weight over their chest. Surgery was challenging and lasted for five and half hours,” said Dr Rajeev.
“We removed 1.3kg of breast tissue on the left side and 1.4kg of tissue on the right side on each side,” the doctor said. She was discharged three days after the surgery. It was successful and the post-surgery period was smooth. “Stitches were removed 12-14 days after. I was advised to avoid strenuous exercise or to lift heavy weights for six weeks,” she said.