Macromastia and carpal tunnel syndrome: is there an association?

Macromastia is a disorder commonly reported by women. The prevalence of electrophysiologically confirmed, symptomatic carpal tunnel syndrome is 3% among women. A consecutive series of 31 patients with macromastia requesting breast reduction between August 2002 and April 2003 was recruited. The physical characteristics recorded included age, body mass index, and breast size. Clinical and electrophysiologic assessments of the upper limb were performed. Electrophysiologic testing showed that 7 (22%) of the 31 women had a prolonged median nerve latency conduction time longer than 0.40 ms. Age, chest circumference, and the ratio of nipple-to-inframammary line to chest circumference was associated with carpal tunnel syndrome. The prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome among patients with macromastia was shown to be higher than in previous epidemiologic studies investigating the prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome among women. Age, chest circumference, and breast size, but not body mass index, have a positive correlation with the increased prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome in macromastia cases.