Why adolescent girls develop
unusually big breasts — Plastic
surgeon Mamie Sam is the 11-year-old
Sierra Leonean girl whose
embarrassing breast growth
attracted global attention. A class five pupil of Roman
Catholic Primary School,
Segbwema, Sierra Leone, Mamie
Sam resides with her grandparents
in Sebwema town. Her innocence came under assault
when she noticed that her breasts
were growing at abnormal pace,
such that within a year, they had
outgrown any possible bra size,
and they had also become impossible for her small, thin frame
to bear. Because of the peculiarity of her
problem, her worried grandparents
made sacrifices on her behalf,
while they also sought medical
attention. However, nothing
worked for her The troubled adolescent soon
stopped going to school when she
could no longer endure the
taunting of her peers. However, succour came her way
when a team of surgeons from The
Netherlands agreed to operate on
her. She was quoted as saying that the
surgery, which took seven hours,
was done today at the Holy Spirit
Hospital, Sierra Leone. She is
currently recuperating from the
surgical interventions. But then, what could be
responsible for unusual breast
enlargement, medically known as
macromastia, in adolescents? According to America-based Board
Certified Plastic Surgeon, Dr.
Chuma Chike-Obi, several factors
could be responsible for breast
enlargement among adolescent
girls. Chike-Obi, who specialises in
cosmetic plastic surgery of the
breasts, said breast enlargement
of the sort experienced by Mamie
Sam can be spontaneous and not
necessarily due to any known cause. He explains that breast
enlargement can arise if an
individual is obese, or as a result
of hormonal imbalances. In a term paper he delivered
alongside a team of researchers,
Chike-Obi says the phenomenon
can result from exaggerated or
complex growth of the breasts in a
juvenile person, such as the one experienced by Mamie Sam. “In this case, hypertrophy, or an
alarmingly rapid breast
enlargement, can occur during
puberty,” he says. Experts say breast hypertrophy
(enlargement) in the adolescent
person can have significant long-
term medical and psychological
impacts. Chike-Obi notes that symptoms
can be severe, but reduction
mammoplasty, such as the one
undergone by Mamie Sam, is a
safe and effective treatment and
may be the only way to alleviate the increased social,
psychological, and physical strain http://punchng.com/adolescent-girls-
develop-unusually-big-breasts-
plastic-surgeon/
