Gynecomastia
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What is gynecomastia?
Gynecomastia is a benign enlargement of breast tissue in boys or men, caused by an imbalance of estrogen and testosterone hormones. In this condition, the male breast becomes similar to female breasts. Gynecomastia can affect one or both breasts, sometimes unevenly.
Photo: Gynecomastia removal. Result after 1 month
Enlarged breasts in men can cause stress and embarrassment. Gynecomastia can be difficult to hide and can become a problem in romantic relationships. During adolescence, gynecomastia can make boys a target for teasing from peers. Since the issue causes psychological discomfort in men, leads to the development of complexes, and fear of breast cancer - early diagnosis is important.
Gynecomastia can be:
- true, when the mammary glands are enlarged
- false, when depositions of fatty tissue take place
Regretfully, this is a very common disease in Europe and I have to do surgery for reduction of breast in men more and more often.
Reasons of the disease
There are a lot of reasons of onset of gynecomastia and they can be divided into:
- objective (genetic predisposition with a disturbance of hormonal profile, other endocrinous diseases).
- subjective ones. We can see the results of them most often (high consumption of calories with very low physical activity as well as regular consumption of soft alcoholic beverages such as beer which contribute to enlargement of a share of female sexual hormones and reduction of the share of male ones).
Regretfully, there are a very low percentage of men in Ukraine and Poland engaged in sports and physical culture as well as watching their diet compared to most of European countries (especially compared to Scandinavian countries).
However, the secret is basic: physical exercise contributes to both utilization of excessive calories and production of male sexual hormone testosterone which is substantially missing in tissues of many men.
Indications to surgical removal of gynecomastia
Getting rid of gynecomastia is not difficult - it is important to have a good diagnosis to determine the source of the problem.
True gynecomastia in newborns and adolescents as a rule is a temporary phenomenon and requires no treatment. However of it does not disappear in adolescents by the end of puberty, treatment with hormonal drags is prescribed.
Surgical operation for removal of gynecomastia can only be done to adults.
Also men at the age from 35 are in the risk group.
It is necessary to receive consultation from endocrinologist in order to detect reasons of gynecomastia and have the course of treatment prescribed. It is also recommend doing mammography or radiological examination of chest to exclude presence of neoplasms and assess condition of tissues of mammal glands. Depending on results of examination, medicinal treatment or surgical intervention can be prescribed:
- liposuction to remove fatty deposition in breast
- mastectomy (in other words “removal of gynecomastia”) – removal of glandiform tissue of breast.
These operations can be carried out at the same time.
Contraindications:
- Disorder of blood coagulation
- The period of exacerbationof chronic diseases
- Acute infections
- Diseases of internal organs with disturbance of normal functioning
- Oncological diseases
- Diabetes mellitus (decompensated)
How does surgical operation take place
Surgical operation for reduction of breast in gynecomastia consists of removal of excessive glandiform and/or fatty tissues in the area of breast. Excessive skin can also be dissected if necessary with preservation of nipple and areola.
As a rule, liposuction of breast is sufficient and mastectomy is needed in very extreme cases.
Duration of operation: 30 -45 minutes
Anesthesia: general
Sutures: absent (in case of liposuction).
Rehabilitation
Discomfort and pain sensations are practically excluded after surgical operation for removal of gynecomastia. If necessary, a surgeon can prescribe analgesic drugs for you.
Compression garments (orelastic dressing): wearing within 2 weeks
Bruises and edema: disappear within up to 1 month
When is it possible to go to work: in 1 day after the operation
Physical loads: not until after 7 days
Content author - plastic surgeon Valentyn Zykov
- Practicing surgeon since 1998
- I perform more than 500 operations a year
- Laureate of the 21st national program "Person of the year"
- I operate in Poland (Warsaw) and Greece (Athens)
