Strange as it may sound, breast reduction surgery is also practiced on men it’s a procedure that many cosmetic surgeries are seeing rise! In fact nearly one in three men, and up to 65% of male teenagers, has enlarged breasts—a condition known as gynecomastia. They have excess fat and glandular tissue in one or both breasts. Gynecomastia can be painful but the main purpose of treating it is to do away with the shame, humiliation and insecurity that men suffering from it may feel. In teenagers, gynecomastia disappears without treatment within two to three years in 90% of cases. It is the remaining 10% that require breast reduction surgery.

Diagnosis

One should be careful in diagnosing gynecomastia as it may be easily confounded with accumulation of fat in the chest (pseudogynecomastia). In general, fat accumulation is reduced with diet and exercise. Gynecomastia is not. The doctor also needs to rule out male breast cancer by doing a mammogram or breast x-ray.

Causes

Although the precise cause is largely unknown, gynecomastia has been attributed to imbalances between testosterone and estrogen. It is also attributed to genetics and diseases such as endocrine disorders and tumors as well as intake of drugs (steroids, marijuana, lavender oil and tea tree oil). In older men, the decrease in the quantity of testosterone with respect to estrogen may also produce gynecomastia.

Treatment

Good candidates for gynecomastia surgery are men who:

• Do not respond to alternative medicinal treatment
• Do not have life-threatening medical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease…etc.
• Do not smoke or take drugs

The surgical procedure basically involves reducing the breast size and flattening and enhancing the breast contours. It is generally performed under intravenous sedation or general anesthesia. Excess fatty tissue is removed through liposuction which involves in the insertion of cannula (thin hollow tube) through incisions on the breasts. The cannula is made to move to loosen fatty tissue which is then removed by vacuum suction. In many cases, liposuction is sufficient to deal with gynecomastia.

If glandular tissue is present, their excision becomes necessary. The size of the areola may also be reduced. The nipple is subsequently repositioned to a more natural position.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 at 12:23 pm and is filed under misc, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.