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 to have cancer before she 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 swelling by an extra 1.6lbs each every 30 days.
Within a few months, her breasts weighed so heavily on her petite 132lb frame that Marcondes was suffering from constant back, shoulder and neck pain that became so bad she needed a wheelchair.
In late October, she was referred for a $7,200 10-hour breast reduction surgery where doctors removed a whopping 22lbs from her breasts.
Marcondes is thrilled with the results, but said that as a result of the surgery she has lost feeling in her nipples and the area around them and will not be able to breastfeed.
Her breasts are being monitored in case they start to grow rapidly again, 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.’
Thaynara Marcondes, 22 and from Brazil, suffers from gigantomastia – which is when the breasts grow rapidly and uncontrollably in size
‘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, and only became worried about her breasts 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 the goods underneath her breasts.
Revealing the impact the larger breasts had on her life, she said she was afflicted by constant back, shoulder and neck pain because of their size.
At one point, she even said her back locked up and left her struggling to move, leaving surgeons to suggest that she use a wheelchair.
It also became difficult to do basic household chores like sweep or cook because her breasts would quickly trigger backpain, or even to do things like tie up her shoe laces.
Marcondes is pictured above celebrating her 22nd birthday just before the surgery and, right, after the surgery. Bandages are also visible in the photo
Marcondes is pictured above before the surgery. Her breasts were growing by about 3.2lbs every month
Revealing how the breasts impacted her life, Marcondes said on social media: ‘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 shared these two images of herself in the same outfit before and after the surgery
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 gynacomastia using breast reduction surgery or medications to halt tissue growth in the breasts. But in cases where the tissue keeps growing, they may also recommend a mastectomy — or breast removal — to treat the condition.
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.
