Breast deformity and reconstruction in Turner syndrome: A collection of case studies

Abstract

Introduction: Patients with Turner syndrome demonstrate a variety of breast deformities that can contribute to their reported lack of self-esteem, sexual health and social adjustment. Breast reconstruction is an option for women with TS to correct breast deformities. Methods: We present three cases of women with Turner syndrome referred to the Breast Cancer Clinic at Women's College Hospital in Toronto between 1996 and 2009. Each woman had a breast deformity despite being on hormone replacement therapy and was requesting reconstruction to increase their self-esteem, feelings of femininity and sexual confidence. Results: Women with Turner syndrome may present with various breast deformities, including tubular deformities, bilateral developmental mammary hyperplasia, hypoplasia and asymmetry. Pre-operative self-ratings of breast appearance ranged from 3 to 6 (1 = hate, 10 = love). All patients reported breast deformities as having negative effect on self-esteem. All patients received bilateral implant reconstruction resulting in an improved self-rating of breast appearance. Conclusions: Women with Turner syndrome and breast deformities may benefit from bilateral breast reconstruction.

Keywords

• Turner syndrome
• Breast deformity
• Breast reconstruction
• Self-esteem
• Femininity
• Sexual confidence