The tuberous breast deformity is a common congenital breast anomaly that becomes manifest at the time of puberty and breast development. The exact aetiology is unclear.

Tuberous breast is characterized by a wide spectrum of breast abnormalities.

A typical sign of a tuberous breast is breast constriction, breast hypoplasia (small breast size or underdevelopment), breast skin deficiency, malposition of the inframammary fold (the crease beneath the breast), areolar herniation (puffiness or bulging of the nipple-areolar area), large sternal gap (space between the 2 breasts).

All or some of the above signs can be present in one patient and can affect the 2 breasts in different ways, as the tubular breast is also often associated with breast asymmetry.

The surgical correction will vary from case to case, depending on the severity of the tubular breast case.

Very mild cases can often be treated by performing breast augmentation, when instead the case is more complicated the gland will need to be reshaped internally (gland scoring).

When the areola is large and herniated the patient will need to be treated with an areola mastopexy, which will leave a scar around the areola. Most severe cases with ptosis and malposition of the inframammary fold will require a breast uplift and/or fat transfer.

Tubular breast correction will often require a 2-stage procedure to achieve the best result.