The possibility to know pecisesly the breast volume on which to operate is of outmost importance for surgeons, either in aesthetic either in reconstructive plastic surgery. Untill yesterday several methods have been described, some very complicate to performe and some other unreliable for the results obtained.
Prof. Fabio Santanell di Pompeo and Dott. Benedetto Longo have carried out a scientific study that allowed to realize a simple and statistically reliable method to measure breast volume. Ten different anthropometric measures were taken from 88 women, before undergoing to mastectomy for breast cancer; results have been later correlated to breasts volumes measured from surgical specimens, and only 3 (sternal notch-to-nipple distance, inframammary fold-to-fold projection distance and inframammary fold-to-nipple distance) out of 10 were found statistically significant. An algorithm was then developed, BREAST-V®, based on the simple determination of the 3 measures and able to precisely measure the volume of the studied breast.
To simplifye its use the Diepflap.it Medical Software has produced and delivered to Apple an "App" for iOS devices (iPod, iPhone, iPad) available on App Store, able to quickly performe the calculation.
Today thank to the BREAST-V® it is possible a fast, non invasive and statistically reliable breast volume determination. Such innovative method is of out most importance in all breast surgery, either aesthetic procedures as breast augmentation or correction of asymmetries, either reconstructive breast procedures after cancer.
