Gurugram hospital helps woman regain confidence by restoring chest symmetry

New Delhi, Oct 14 (PTI) A 33-year old woman with one of her breasts severely underdeveloped/underformed underwent a cosmetic procedure at a Gurugram hospital in which the doctors restored the symmetry of her chest using the fat of her body.

Using a fat-grafting technique the plastic surgery team led by Dr Anmol Chugh at CK Birla Hospital, Gurugram, harvested fat from her body and grafted it into the underdeveloped breast to restore near-perfect symmetry in a two-hour procedure.

Unilateral amastia is exceptionally rare in females, accounting to 1:10,000. It results from the failure of breast tissue to develop on one side of the chest, sometimes with the absence of underlying pectoral structures, Dr Chugh, associate director and plastic surgeon, said.

While medically benign, its psychosocial impact is immense, he said.

From her teenage years, the woman had lived with a rare congenital condition, unilateral amastia, the absence or severe underdevelopment of one breast.

While one side of her chest developed normally, the other remained underformed, leaving a stark asymmetry that became impossible to hide, doctors said.

"But after marriage, concealment became impossible... Her body, instead of being accepted, became a subject of discussion... Her confidence eroded, her relationship grew tense, and each passing day felt heavier than the last," Dr Chugh stated.

Everyday activities like dressing, intimacy, or even standing before a mirror can become deeply distressing. Many women internalise shame, hide behind layers of fabric, and live with a fragmented sense of self.

On September 23, a two-hour procedure changed her life. It was, in technical terms, a cosmetic procedure, but for her, it meant the world.

"This was not merely a story of physical correction; it was a story of rebirth. The surgery restored not just balance to her body, but peace to her marriage, confidence to her demeanour, and happiness to her spirit. She began living again, wearing fitted clothes, smiling freely, and most importantly, feeling whole," said Dr Chugh.

"Cosmetic surgery, in such cases, is not vanity; it is therapy. It is the restoration of dignity and self-love that time and trauma had stolen," Dr Tavishi Kaushik, associate consultant, CK Birla Hospital, Gurugram.

Conditions like unilateral amastia may be rare, but their emotional burden is universal, Dr Kaushik said. PTI PLB MNK MNK