What is Poland Syndrome?
Poland syndrome is a congenital malformation of the chest wall. The main features of the syndrome are partial or total aplasia of the major chest muscle and aplasia or hypoplasia of the breast, as well as the nipple-aerola complex. The syndrome may be accompanied by other congenital malformations, such as aplasia of the lateral cartilage, subcutaneous fat and hair loss in the armpit, coagulation of the ipsilateral hand, and more. In most cases, the aesthetic problem facing a woman with Poland Syndrome is that one of her breasts is hypoplastic or aplastic and that the demarcation of the armpit is unclear, due to a lack of major pectoralis muscle.
What causes Poland Syndrome?
This is a congenital malformation that is not hereditary, but is due to a random event (mutation) during embryo development at week 6.
What is the surgical treatment for Poland Syndrome?
The most classic method of reconstruction is to transfer part of a latissimus dorsi muscle with or without skin and subcutaneous fat. This tissue reshapes the existing breast (with or without the use of a silicone insert) so that it is symmetrical with the other. The procedure leaves only one scar on the back hidden by the bra and completed under general anesthesia and lasts about 3 hours. You will need to stay in the clinic for 2-3 days and need about 2-3 weeks to recover before fully returning to your daily activities. But there are also simpler procedures that give equally good results, eliminate fewer scars that are confined to the chest, and require only one day's stay in the clinic. It is usually preferred the tissue expander, which is positioned under the major pectoralis muscle, and 15 days after surgery by a valve every 10 days begins to expand with saline. When the expansion reaches the desired volume, the expander is replaced with a silicone implant. Some expanders (Becker's) are permanent, so no second operation is needed in this case. A new and very promising technique is fat / stem cell grafting. This is a second stage technique that requires simultaneous liposuction. In this way fat is obtained, which, after undergoing a special process with the Coleman method, is injected into the breast area.