How can we treat Poland syndrome?

[Breast surgery Korea KIES-U]

Q. I have Poland syndrome. What can I do about it? Can there be any more problems in my body?

A. Here is the answer.

Poland syndrome was discovered by an English doctor, Patrick Clarkson in 1962. He had observed patients with abnormality on hands and hypoplasia on the breasts.



Clarkson found out that he saw was discovered about 100 years earlier by Alfred Poland. Poland reported it as just one of some cases and did not think that it was a symptom of some other illness. So it is correct to say that Patrick Clarkson was the one who found this Poland syndrome.

Guy's hospital in London, UK

As you can see from this background information, Poland Syndrome is not something that is common. Poland syndrome involves hypoplasia of pectoralis muscle and symmelia of your fingers.

It is a state where you are missing an big muscle between brachial and breastbone. There are at times where more muscle is lost near the breastbone making the shoulders look deform.

Also the ribs can be shorter than usual and the subcutaneous fat may be thin. You can find abnormalities in the areola and the nipple. You might not have any hair or too much hair in the armpit.



In most cases, we do not bring about the problems that may happen on the chest.Poland syndrome commonly happens on the right side and it is more common with women than men.

There is no accurate cause of Poland Syndrome but there are opinions that it is caused because there is a blockage in the subclavian artery blood flow during prenatal life. Subclavian artery is known to be somewhat involved in the growing of the hand under the chest during the prenatal stage.



There are many types of treatments (but we are only going to cover about the breasts)

We put implant in the greater pectoral muscle where there is a loss of volume due to the missing muscle. There is no Ready-made silicone implant for the greater pectoral muscle therefore we need to make CAD designed implant.
These implants are not made of cohesive gel but by silicone elastomer that feels similar to rubber and acts well like a strong muscle.
At times, we use TRAM flap or LD flap where we use the fat from abdominis muscle or latissimus muscle to fill up the pectoral space.

Axillary hyperhidrosis is cut in order to put in the implant. For women, we not only need to fill up the pectoral muscle but also provide more volume therefore second surgery might be necessary. The 2nd surgery could require cohesive gel implant or fat transplant.



It has been reported that women suffer Poland syndrome three times more than men and it happens on the left side twice as much than the right. The incidence rate of this illness is one out of every 7,000~10,000 newborns.

There is no limitation to daily chores for those with Poland syndrome. Fernando Alonso, F1 racing driver, suffers from this as well. He does not have right pectoral greater muscle. There are famous Olympic boxer and PGA golfer with this as well.



You cannot be differentiated as a disabled because you have a Poland syndrome. The surgery is done just to make the appearance better. It is for the balance of your body. (Your hands might require more microsurgery)
 

Female patients with Poland syndrome might require latissimus dorsi muscle flap surgery or pectoral implant surgery. If you want to fill up the less generated breasts, then we can use the cohesive gel implant on one or both your breasts and conduct breast augmentation. If you have a lot of fat, then we can also consider fat transplant.

This is all for today, thank you very much.