Our own experience in the treatment of hypotrophy and ptosis of the breast]

The outcome of surgical of small, ptotic breasts is reported in a retrospective series of fifteen patients operated between 1983 and 1989. Seven patients underwent breast augmentation by insertion of breast implant supplemented in one case by a dermopexy while eight patients underwent cutaneous and glandular remodeling alone. Simple breast augmentation with breast implant gave good results with mild to moderate ptosis (i.e. when the distance between the inferior margin of the clavicle and the upper margin of the areola was equal to or less than 17 cm) provided that: the subareolar segment III did not exceed 5 cm, the skin had good static qualities for breast suspension, the amount of glandular, adipose and cutaneous tissue present allowed the prothesis to be covered by a sufficiently thick layer. With breast ptosis greater than 17 cm or when segment III exceeded 5 cm, cutaneous remodeling by dermopexy was associated with insertion of breast implant. In this group of patients treated, either by breast implant alone, or associated with dermopexy, results were good in 33%, and satisfactory in 50% of cases. Better results were obtained in patients with marked ptosis and breasts which, although hypotrophic, conserved a amount of adipose and glandular tissue sufficient to allow breast reconstruction by soft tissue remodeling alone (without the insertion of an implant). Patients in this group were treated by glandular and cutaneous remodeling with good to excellent results in 80% of cases.