Breast prostheses are breast forms intended to simulate breast

Breast

The breast is the upper ventral region of the torso of a primate, in left and right sides, which in a female contains the mammary gland that secretes milk used to feed infants.Both men and women develop breasts from the same embryological tissues...

s. There are a number of materials and designs although the most common construction is silicone

Silicone

Silicones are inert, synthetic compounds with a variety of forms and uses. Typically heat-resistant and rubber-like, they are used in sealants, adhesives, lubricants, medical applications , cookware, and insulation....

 gel in a plastic skin. Off-the shelf breast prostheses come in a range of shapes and sizes, while customised breast prostheses are moulded to fit an individual's chest by taking an impression of both breasts and sculpting a mirror image. Fabrication of customised prostheses is typically done by an anaplastologist

Anaplastology

Anaplastology is a branch of medicine dealing with the prosthetic rehabilitation of an absent, disfigured, or malformed anatomically critical location of the face or body. The term anaplastology was coined by Walter G...

 who makes somato prostheses

Somato prosthesis

Somato Prostheses are custom made breast prostheses, areolas, fingers, partial/total hands, toes, and partial/total feet. Somato prosthetics are created by anaplastologists and limb prosthetists.-External links:*...

. The areola

Areola

This article is about the breast tissue. For the entomology term, see the glossary of Lepidopteran terms. For an artistic cloud motif, see aureola. For the cactus feature, see Areole....

 and nipple

Nipple

In its most general form, a nipple is a structure from which a fluid emanates. More specifically, it is the projection on the breasts or udder of a mammal by which breast milk is delivered to a mother's young. In this sense, it is often called a teat, especially when referring to non-humans, and...

 may be replicated by being moulded into the breast form or a separate prosthetic nipple may be attached to the breast prosthesis. Both custom made and off-the shelf breast prostheses come in varieties that are designed to either be held in a pocket in a specially designed mastectomy bra or attached to the skin and worn with a standard bra.

Breast prostheses have a long history. In the 19th century they were made of rubber. On 22 September 1885, one Charles L. Morehouse received US patent 326915 for his "Breast-Pad", made of natural rubber and filled with air at normal pressure.

Mastectomy

Breast prostheses are most commonly used after a mastectomy

Mastectomy

Mastectomy is the medical term for the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely. Mastectomy is usually done to treat breast cancer; in some cases, women and some men believed to be at high risk of breast cancer have the operation prophylactically, that is, to prevent cancer...

, usually a consequence of cancer

Breast cancer

Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...

. They may act as an alternative to, or a stopgap measure until, plastic surgery

Plastic surgery

Plastic surgery is a medical specialty concerned with the correction or restoration of form and function. Though cosmetic or aesthetic surgery is the best-known kind of plastic surgery, most plastic surgery is not cosmetic: plastic surgery includes many types of reconstructive surgery, hand...

 to reconstruct a breast.

Transgender

Many pre-hormonal transwomen and males who cross-dress

Cross-dressing

Cross-dressing is the wearing of clothing and other accoutrement commonly associated with a gender within a particular society that is seen as different than the one usually presented by the dresser...

 as females use breast prostheses in order to create the illusion of feminine breasts. They are sometimes combined with cleavage enhancement

Cleavage enhancement

Cleavage enhancement encompasses a range of techniques used temporarily to improve the appearance of a person's breast cleavage or to create the illusion of breast cleavage on a person who has no such cleavage...

 techniques when used with clothing with low necklines.
Full frontal Cleavage Tops

Cleavage Tops

A Cleavage Top refers to a prosthesis designed to provide what is claimed by the manufacturers to be a realistic looking breast and cleavage, allowing someone with little or no breast tissue to wear low cut tops and more revealing clothing while appearing to have large breasts.Unlike breast...

 are also available, mainly marketed to the Transgender community. They incorporate a pair of breast prostheses in a one-piece skin coloured garment that is designed to provide the illusion of natural cleavage. Such garments have the disadvantage of having a visible top edge at the neck, which requires the wearing of a choker

Choker

A choker is a close-fitting necklace, worn high on the neck. This type of jewellery can consist of one or more bands circling the neck. Chokers can be made of a variety of materials, including velvet, plastic, beads, metal, and leather. They are often adorned in a variety of ways, including with...

 or similar necklace to hide the top edge of the garment. The edges of the breast prostheses are often distinguishable through the thin outer cover.

Shapes

Non-customised prostheses are made of different shapes to suit the extent of breast tissue removal or the shape of a crossdresser's chest. Asymmetric

Asymmetric

Something which is asymmetric displays asymmetry. Specific uses of the term may include:*Asymmetric relation for information on such relations in mathematics and set theory*Asymmetric warfare for information and theories of modern war...

 breast forms incorporate an extension towards the armpit to replicate the shape of the tail of Spence

Tail of Spence

The Tail of Spence is an extension of the tissue of the Breast which extends into the axilla.It is named for James Spence.-External links:*...

, while symmetric

Reflection symmetry

Reflection symmetry, reflectional symmetry, line symmetry, mirror symmetry, mirror-image symmetry, or bilateral symmetry is symmetry with respect to reflection. That is, a figure which does not change upon undergoing a reflection has reflectional symmetry.In 2D there is a line of symmetry, in 3D a...

"triangle" or "teardrop" prostheses do not incorporate that extension. Customised prostheses will mirror the other breast.