What Is Symmastia? Symmastia, or webbed breasts, is a rare congenital breast deformity which results to the webbing of the two breasts right in the middle of the chest, connected via a soft, web-like tissue. This would look like there is only one breast, instead of two. The same effect can also occur if an over-dissection were to happen during breast augmentation surgery. Although the original intention of the operation is to increase cleavage depth, the implants can end up touching each other in the middle of the chest, crossing over the sternum, resulting in another form of botched breast implants. Other terms coined for symmastia are “bread loafing”, “kissing implants”, and “uni-boob”. Causes of Webbed Breasts After Augmentation Here is how symmastia occurs after an operation. To get the implants closer together to form a cleavage, the surgeon has to release soft tissues that cover the sternum, or the breastbone. The normal anatomical attachments of skin and muscle at the medial parts of the breasts where the cleavage normally rests are surgically disrupted, and the skin between the breasts is lifted. This increases the probability of the implants meeting at the middle, and the resulting defect is the webbed breast appearance. The condition of symmastia does not usually appear right after the surgery. It would take months for this condition to develop and become noticeable. This also seems to affect thin women more than larger women, especially if implants that are too large are used on them because they have less tissue and fat covering the breastbone. Preventing Symmastia in Future Augmentations To prevent symmastia from developing after...
