A young woman says she can’t wait to get married after having surgery to reduce her gigantic 26lb breasts.
Thaynara Marcondes, 22, and from Brazil, initially feared she had cancer before being was diagnosed with gigantomastia, a rare condition only recorded 300 times in medical literature where the breasts grow rapidly and uncontrollably in size.
The teaching assistants’ breasts were of normal size until the start of last year, but then they started to grow by an extra 1.6lbs each every 30 days.
Within a few months, her breasts were so heavy that Marcondes was left suffering from constant back, shoulder and neck pain and, at times, needing a wheelchair to get around.
In late October, she was referred for a $7,200 10-hour reduction surgery where doctors removed a whopping 22lbs from her breasts.
Marcondes was thrilled with the results, but said that she has lost feeling in her nipples and the area around them and will not be able to breastfeed.
Her breasts are now being monitored for any new growth, with doctors saying that if this is the case she may need to have a double-mastectomy, or breast removal.
Speaking about the results to CNN Brazil in Portuguese that has been translated to English, she said: ‘I’m super happy. I look in the mirror and think, ‘Wow, I look beautiful.’
‘Sometimes I even cry looking at myself because I still can’t believe I did it.
‘I’m so glad I had the surgery. Now I just want to live my life more comfortably and without the strange looks.’
She also joked with reporters that she’s now ready to start dating and get married, although her relationship status has not been revealed.
Her aunt was the first person to notice her breasts were growing rapidly in February last year, telling Marcondes to get them checked.
But the teaching assistant ignored her, only becoming worried when she noticed other people staring at them and pointing. In one instance, she also got held up at a grocery store where staff accused her of shoplifting and hiding goods under her breasts.
Revealing the impact of the condition, she said at one point her back locked up because of the extra weight, leading surgeons to suggest that she use a wheelchair.
It also became difficult to do basic household chores like sweep or cook because of the back pain, or even to do things like tie up her shoelaces.
She added on social media before the surgery: ‘It really bothers me. It is hard to cut my toenails, put on my sneakers. I can’t run, I stopped going to the gym because of my back.
She added to local news station G1: ‘I couldn’t even wear a bra anymore. I put all my clothes in a bag because they didn’t fit me anymore. One day, I tried on eight shirts and none of them fit. I ended up freaking out.
‘I started going out on the street, and people were staring and pointing. Once, I went to the grocery store and people even started to think I was stealing products and hiding them in my breasts. Then I got worried.’
Gigantomastia is a very rare condition, and is defined as when the breasts exceed a weight of 5.5lbs (2.5kg).
It isn’t clear what causes the complication, but it’s thought to be linked to hormonal changes and some fertility treatments. It wasn’t clear what caused Marcondes’ condition.
The young woman was initially signed up for surgery with Brazil’s public health service.
But amid a lengthy wait and mounting pain in her body, she started fundraising to get breast reduction surgery privately.
She crowdfunded for the RS$40,000 (USD$7,200) procedure online and via a local media channel that appealed for donations.
Marcondes revealed her case to raise awareness about the condition and support other women who may be suffering from the complication.
The Cleveland Clinic says online that the condition can be ‘physically and emotionally devastating’, and recommends those suffering from it seek help from surgeons.
Doctors commonly treat gigantomastia using breast reduction surgery. But in cases where this is unsuccessful and breast tissue keeps growing, they may also recommend a mastectomy — or breast removal.
For Marcondes, she isn’t certain whether her breasts will again surge in size, and is continuing to monitor them on the advice of doctors.
