“My back hurts a lot”, “I feel a great weight on my neck”, “I can no longer find the right size”, are some of the phrases most used by women who suffer from a disproportionate increase in their breasts (Gigantomastia).
This alteration is known as Gigantomastia and is a very common condition in all ages and affects both men and women.
Such is the case of Esther Manzanillo, a young woman who suffered from this condition for a long time but thanks to a foundation that is in charge of breast reduction, she underwent surgery and today her life has changed significantly.
“The situation I was living with my breasts was frustrating. Every day they grew bigger and it was impossible to find the right sizes for me »says the young woman, remembering what she lived through.
But for Manzanillo, the problem was not only “finding the perfect bra sizes,” but also her emotional and physical health.
The straps of the bras were embedded in her skin and her back supported an approximate weight of 20 pounds, 10 in both breasts.
“For me it was very difficult, being a young person, and not being able to enjoy certain things because the weight I was carrying on my back was unbearable and it inhibited me from doing physical activities, wearing clothes of my size. For me, having to buy presses two sizes above my size because my breasts did not allow me, was something that sometimes made me cry with impotence” she says.
Full of nostalgia, she says that October 30 was one of the most important moments of her life, thanks to the foundation of Dr. Orlando Vargas Almonte, who responded to her call for help and after exhausting the necessary requirements in a day of breast reduction , was selected and operated.
“That operation changed my life,” he recalls.
Gigantomastia, explained by experts
This pathology, according to Orlando Vargas Almonte, begins at puberty between the ages of 11 and 12, due to the fact that the stage of adolescence presents hormonal changes. In addition, it is one of the hardest stages for young people who generally feel self-conscious about the changes that their body is experiencing.
The breasts are a part of our anatomy that generates more insecurity at certain ages.
According to studies, this pathology can be witnessed in different cycles.
Bilateral, which is when growth develops in both breasts. Although there have been cases of unilateral gestational gigantomastia, which occurs as a result of the increase of one of the breasts over the other, due to circulating hormones.
While the gestational, is when it appears in pregnancy, but the problem usually disappears on its own, after childbirth. On the other hand, if the malformation persists, it is advisable to consult a specialist to analyze the feasibility of a possible treatment.
Impact
According to the health specialist, one of the most common complications is the deviation of the dorsal column and skin irritations in the part of the breast fold, as well as pain in the head, neck, shoulders and back.
“In the Dominican Republic it is very common, especially because of the characteristic of the race that predominates in our country, which is the mulatto race,” he said.
Foundation
Last Wednesday of September, the Vargas Almonte Foundation (FUNVA) together with the Hospital San Lorenzo de Los Minasannounced the opening of the call for the X Conference on Breast Reduction and Reconstruction Surgery, on the occasion that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The entities opened just this September 21 the call for all those interested in participating and will close on September 30.
Those interested should write a message through the DM of the @maternidaddelosmina or @fundacionvargaslamonte accounts, then fill out the corresponding form that will be provided to them, we will be calling the patients who qualify.
In this form, the socioeconomic situation of the patient must be specified and two photos must be attached, one from the front and the other from the side of the breasts, without showing the face.
In addition, deliver a sealed envelope to the maternity address and place the full name, identity card, address, telephone number and email address of the interested party on the outside.
The X Conference on Breast Reduction and Reconstruction Surgery is scheduled for next Saturday, October 22, at the San Lorenzo de Los Mina Maternal and Child Hospital.
