A girl’s journey to breast reduction surgery: How she got the burden off her chest and gained body confidence

A happy face and the sudden burst of laughter cannot reveal the pain Shiva Shukla had been facing as a teenager while suffering from Gigantomastia, a rare condition where women develop extremely large breasts. Battling the curious and degrading male gaze through her growing up years, fighting taboos at home, being body shamed for her unique condition, proving she was a fit cabin crew in an airline and finally becoming a mother, she decided she would not carry the burden of her physical and mental problems anymore. So, she opted for breast reduction surgery and is finally learning to live light and breathe free.
Dealing with angst: ‘I used to have pain in my shoulders and back’
As a teenager, Shiva was hardly body-conscious but the unwanted gaze from both men and women affected her. Unlike a normal teenager, she wouldn’t wear figure-hugging trendy clothes as they could draw unwanted attention.
This was the time when Shiva’s confidence in her body had started corroding and a self-consciousness crept into her mind, affecting her social behaviour. Meanwhile, her physical pain mounted as her shoulders hurt. “I used to have pain in my shoulders, back and neck because of the heaviness in my chest but I dismissed it as stress. My body was disproportionate with my thin legs, hands and face,” she says.

Currently a resident of Delhi’s Vasant Kunj, 29-year-old Shiva belongs to Lucknow. Growing up in a traditional household meant that a discussion on private parts was a taboo even with family and friends. “At times I tried to share my ordeal with my mother. I told her about the constant pain in my neck and back which had become droopy under the weight of my large breasts but nobody paid any attention or considered it a malaise. Rather nobody wanted to hear me out as it was a big deal to discuss someone’s breasts. Not only that, most family members would tell me that I should consider myself lucky as I had been liberally endowed. ‘How can large breasts become a problem? You should consider yourself lucky,’ they told me,” says Shiva.
What is gigantomastia? ‘I cried in the bathroom’
Gigantomastia or breast hypertrophy is a rare condition that involves developing extremely large breasts due to excessive breast tissue growth. “It is usually genetic. My mother and my aunts have large breasts too but they got balanced out the fat in other parts of their bodies. I was told to exercise regularly and keep my body fit,” says Shiva.

With age and hormonal changes, her condition worsened as her breast grew disproportionately. She was unable to understand her condition because of its rarity and low prevalence. “The trauma of my abrupt breast size dogged me and the time I was in my 20s, my condition became more severe. I would often cry in my bathroom and hate my body. Even exercising did not help. Cycling, high intensity workout, physiotherapy, I tried everything but nothing worked for me. The excessive tissue build-up in my breasts just would not go away,” Shiva recalls.
A trip to Guwahati and a lesson learnt: ‘Will I be able to breastfeed my child?’ 
Shiva would not give up her dreams though. After graduation, she started her training as a cabin crew and was recruited a private airline. Travelling to different places brought her joy and confidence. Besides, she could meet her childhood sweetheart, who never gave up on her and ultimately married her, in Guwahati, where he was posted.
It was on one such trip in 2017 that he observed she was in great physical pain and recommended that she consult a doctor for a breast check-up. “He is an avid reader and came across an article about breast reduction surgeries. He told me that in the US, many women had undergone similar procedures. Excited the idea, the very same day we met a doctor in Guwahati who told us that a surgery would help reduce my breast size but it could also get in the way of lactation if I ever had a child,” says she.
Now this posed a moral dilemma. Should Shiva jeopardise her motherhood or prioritise her own body? “When I came home, I was eager to plan my surgery and shared this thought with my mother who refused instantly. As a nurse, she knew the complications that might arise with my motherhood, including breastfeeding. I did not say much at that time but I silently kept meeting doctors in between,” she adds. But the doctors also warned her about her inability to breastfeed her child.
“In 2018, I decided to get married to the man of my dreams. We settled in Guwahati. Life was very peaceful but I kept thinking about the idea of a surgery,” says she. So she became pregnant and as luck would have it, her husband was posted to Delhi in 2019.
Post delivery trauma: ‘Breastfeeding compounded my condition’
Post the delivery of her ba in 2020, her body changed drastically with her breasts almost touching her navel. Shiva says that her shoulder joints would freeze, she developed a cervical spondylitis and was unable to hold her own ba due to the size of her breasts. She would be exhausted and could not even find a supportive bra. “There were hardly any shops which provided the right kind of undergarment for me,” says Shiva.
Earlier this year, she decided to get the surgery done and in July met Dr Rakesh Khajanchi, Chairman of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery at Medanta, Gurgaon.
Dr Khajanchi was the voice of solace she had always wanted to hear. He told her that should she intend to become a mother again, he would give medicines to stop the lactation.
The total cost of the surgery was Rs 2.5 lakh. “My husband’s company initially said that they would not cover this surgery under the health insurance provided to him. Then the doctor showed my medical papers which said that more than 450 grams of tissue had to be taken out from my body. They agreed to pay,” she says.
Husband and mother became a pillar of support: ‘The surgery took away my aches and pain’
While her father never intervened in these matters, Shiva’s mother kept requesting her to not go ahead with the surgery.“But she came along with me and my husband. When the doctors marked my breasts to prepare for reduction, my mother saw me naked and was shocked. She finally realised how severe the problem was,” says Shiva.
The surgery went on for four hours. And about 1.5 kg of tissue was extracted from each breast.
When she woke up, a strong pain coursed through her body but she was relieved that it was over. She knew that things would only be better for her hereon. “They had carved out a significant portion of both breasts. They had separated the nipples which they stitched back again after extracting the tissue. I was discharged in three days but it took 15 days for me to recover,” Shiva says.
Her husband, mother and the three-year-old would help her take baths, clean herself and sanitise her scars.
“The scars are hardly visible now and I am highly relieved. My shoulders are relieved. My back does not ache anymore and I am now trying to get into yoga for better posture,” she says.
Shiva says that a number of women go through the same problem but do not come forward to talk about it. “It is a fresh start for me. I breathe easily thinking that I can wear clothes of my choice and live a better life,” she adds. She is now fighting fit, ready to take on the world.