The Treatment of Male Gynecomastia: Individualized Male Breast Surgery

Gynecomastia is the enlargement of breast tissue. It can be applied to both male and female breast tissue. Male gynecomastia is a very common condition treated by Dallas plastic surgeon Dr. Trussler, which usually affects adolescent males and can be related to multiple different medical problems and medications. It is most commonly associated with an abnormal, but benign hormone imbalance, which can relate to increasing peripheral hormones from adipose (fat) tissue. At the time of birth, the mother’s hormones do circulate in the newborn, which commonly causes neonatal breast hypertrophy in males, which resolves over the first months of life. During puberty, there are increased amounts of circulating hormones, which can be affected by the peripheral fat and increase the balance of estrogen in the male, which can stimulate the formation of breast tissue. This breast tissue can be located just under the nipple causing an enlargement of the nipples or it can be more general, with the development of fairly large breasts. The male breast tissue is usually firm and nodular glandular tissue with peripheral fatty tissue. This breast enlargement is a source of social embarrassment and poor self-confidence, which alters the participation in athletics and clothing. The treatment of male gynecomastia, first involves identifying and correcting any reversible causes of the problem, which can involve medication changes, and hormone therapy. In cases where there are no identifiable causes of gynecomastia, surgical removal of breast tissue is really the only effective modality of correction in combination with weight loss. Typically an endocrinology evaluation and ratio of the documentation of glandular tissue to fat is needed for identifying whether excision is medically necessary.
Surgical treatment can involve removal of the tissue under the nipple just with simple local anesthesia or chest contouring with liposuction combined with removal of the firm tissue under the nipple to a complete chest reconstruction with repositioning of the nipples. Recovery is variable depending on what is done, though some element of a compressive garment on the chest is recommended for approximately 3 weeks. Patient satisfaction is very high and the treatment of male gynecomastia is very rewarding for not only for the patient, the plastic surgeon as this can dramatically change the life of a young man.
Dr. Trussler will discuss the technique that will give the optimal result in each degree of male gynecomastia. The individualized treatment plan will factor into recovery and any cost incurred with the procedure.