1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,560 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio, Hey 2 00:00:06,600 --> 00:00:10,480 Speaker 1: brain Stuff Lauren Vogel bomb here. Pregnancy and motherhood are 3 00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:12,959 Speaker 1: two of the most challenging experiences life can throw at 4 00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:16,880 Speaker 1: a person, and while neither is ever easy, unique complications 5 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:21,360 Speaker 1: can make the inherently tough situations exponentially tougher. Case in point, 6 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:24,119 Speaker 1: a twenty nine year old woman in Austria who developed 7 00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:26,720 Speaker 1: a super rare case of a topic breast tissue that 8 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:31,760 Speaker 1: caused her to lactate from an unexpected area her volva. Confused, 9 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:34,839 Speaker 1: it's safe to assume the woman experiencing it was too. 10 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:37,400 Speaker 1: It all started soon after she gave birth to her 11 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:40,320 Speaker 1: second child. A severe pain developed in the right side 12 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:42,800 Speaker 1: of her vulva, which doctors assumed was related to the 13 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:46,120 Speaker 1: sutures she had received after the birth. They figured her 14 00:00:46,159 --> 00:00:48,960 Speaker 1: pain and excessive swelling were due to an abscess, but 15 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:51,360 Speaker 1: there was another odd symptom that didn't quite line up 16 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:54,680 Speaker 1: with their theory. A milky white fluid was being released 17 00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:58,160 Speaker 1: from the area. It turns out the woman had experienced 18 00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:00,640 Speaker 1: similar symptoms after the birth of her first child, and 19 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:04,240 Speaker 1: when doctors performed an ultrasound, the answer became clear. There 20 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:08,120 Speaker 1: was breast tissue growing on her volva. Believe it or not, 21 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:10,680 Speaker 1: this is a real condition that can happen to anyone, 22 00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:14,440 Speaker 1: albeit it doesn't happen very often. A topic breast tissue, 23 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:17,320 Speaker 1: also known as accessory breast tissue, is breast tissue that 24 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:19,800 Speaker 1: develops anywhere outside the breasts and can be found in 25 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:23,400 Speaker 1: about six percent of the population. Ectopic simply means occurring 26 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:27,240 Speaker 1: in an abnormal place or position. According to a report 27 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:30,399 Speaker 1: published in the journal Upsettrics and Gynecology, which detailed the 28 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:33,720 Speaker 1: case of the woman mentioned above quote, A topic breast tissue, 29 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:37,120 Speaker 1: defined as memory glands located outside of the breast, arises 30 00:01:37,160 --> 00:01:40,679 Speaker 1: from remnants of the embryonic milk line or memory ridge. 31 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:45,240 Speaker 1: Let's break that down. All mammals, including humans, develop a 32 00:01:45,319 --> 00:01:48,920 Speaker 1: memory ridge as embryos. This is the area where nipples 33 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:52,160 Speaker 1: form and where memory glands and breast tissue developed during puberty. 34 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:56,200 Speaker 1: For some Surprisingly though, breast tissue and nipples can actually 35 00:01:56,200 --> 00:01:58,880 Speaker 1: develop anywhere along the milk line, which runs from the 36 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:01,280 Speaker 1: armpits to the growing on both sides of the body. 37 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:04,200 Speaker 1: If you've ever heard of someone having a third nipple 38 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:07,440 Speaker 1: like Chandler Bing's nubbin on the show Friends, ectopic breast 39 00:02:07,440 --> 00:02:10,800 Speaker 1: tissue is the cause. This sort of situation is rare, 40 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:13,800 Speaker 1: but it happens, and it's not often even discovered until 41 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:17,480 Speaker 1: problems arise, like in the case of the Austrian mom. 42 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:19,680 Speaker 1: In her case, the swelling and pain was a result 43 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:22,760 Speaker 1: of a condition called galactos stasis, which means milk backs 44 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:25,800 Speaker 1: up and causes pain. It turns out the women's stitches 45 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:28,840 Speaker 1: were covering an excretory duct, so the milk really had 46 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:32,440 Speaker 1: nowhere to go. Once doctors removed the sutures, her pain 47 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 1: immediately went away, and the swelling and milk discharged from 48 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:38,680 Speaker 1: the vulva gradually diminished over the next two weeks. She's 49 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:41,160 Speaker 1: been able to breastfeed normally for the time being, but 50 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:43,640 Speaker 1: doctors say they may have to consider removing the tissue 51 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:46,920 Speaker 1: in the future. While there's no standard treatment required for 52 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:50,120 Speaker 1: asymptomatic topic breast tissue, it is possible for it to 53 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:54,400 Speaker 1: become cancerous, so surveillance and eventual removal may be necessary. 54 00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:57,680 Speaker 1: The moral of the story, get to know the potential 55 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:00,120 Speaker 1: weirdnesses of the human body and don't be a aid 56 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:02,160 Speaker 1: to raise concerns with your doctor if any of that 57 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:10,919 Speaker 1: potential is realized. Today's episode. We're written by Michelle Konstantinovski 58 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:13,519 Speaker 1: and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is a production 59 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:15,560 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio's How Stuff Works. For more in 60 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:18,200 Speaker 1: this and lots of other unusual topics, visit our home planet, 61 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:21,080 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com and for more podcasts from 62 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:23,000 Speaker 1: my heart Radio was at the I heart Radio app, 63 00:03:23,160 --> 00:03:25,680 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.