Have you thought of the possibility that the breast development is just
fine, but the "plumbing" where it goes through the nipple is disrupted?
Isn't this the mother who had surgery to correct inverted nipples?  An
interruption to the fine ducts in the nipple, or a severe narrowing, can
also occur *in nature*, without any history of breast surgery.  (This might
also apply to the Mum with the split/cracked nipple on one side, with no
milk coming out, also discussed just now on Lactnet.)
    Years ago, I lived on a cattle station where one of the cows had just
such a problem - in all four teats.  (In the stockmen's parlance, she had
"blind tits".)  The poor animal had a terribly distended udder and teats,
and no milk could get through.  She went up and down the paddock, calling
out with the pain.  (No veterinarian within hundreds of kilometres, anyway.)
    Several years ago, I attended an evening seminar in Brisbane where a Mum
presented her case history - apparently normal development in both breasts
during pregnancy, but she could never get more than a few drops out of one
side, and was very engorged.  Obviously the plumbing was in some was
interrupted or constricted.  So she dried up that side and fed one-sided.
The same with the 2nd and 3rd pregnancy - there was engorgement, but she
couldn't get the milk out of the problem side.  That 3rd pregnancy resulted
in twins, by the way, and she breastfed them successfully on the one
functioning breast.
    Unfortunately for the mother being discussed in this strand on Lactnet,
both sides are affected, and so one-sided BF isn't going to be an option.
     I offer these thoughts in case they are of use in other cases in the
future.
                 Virginia
              Virginia Thorley
               in rainy Brisbane, Queensland
        (This is called the Sunshine State - ha! ha!)

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html