The Adolescent Breast

Plastic surgery continues to evolve as new knowledge, techniques, and technology are incorporated into the care of our patients. The current editors have compiled this issue on the adolescent breast to provide the reader with a comprehensive review of relevant topics and best practices, and to discuss patient safety and controversies surrounding surgery of the breast in teenagers. To achieve this goal, the authors and coauthors with expertise in these areas have been asked to sift, evaluate, appraise, and synthesize the latest literature for plastic surgeons who care for adolescents with breast concerns. For example, our series of three articles on approaches to breast masses in adolescent girls describes the roles and responsibilities of the breast surgeon, the radiologist, and the plastic surgeon to ensure safe and comprehensive management of breast masses. We have also included an article on augmentation mammoplasty in the teenager, as well as a discussion on the psychological, ethical, and legal concerns when facing cosmetic breast surgery in adolescents. An effort has been made to cover a variety of topics that address the majority of issues that may arise when taking care of this patient population.

This special issue is the fruit of the combined effort of numerous expert contributors from multiple disciplines, editors, and other volunteers to ensure that the most current information is presented.

We have engaged the authors in a spirited dialogue and often have requested more than one revision of their articles to arrive at what we hope will be a great compilation of articles to serve plastic surgeons, trainees, and students.