Gynecomastia Surgery

Gynecomastia is the development of abnormally large breasts in men. It is fairly common and can happen to any man at any age. Very often it happens in puberty and goes away as the person grows older. It may be due to overweight, heredity, medicines, drugs or aging. Normally it gets cured on its own in ninety percent of the cases. If it is due to overweight it goes away when weight is lost and controlled. It is harmless unless it is due to some disease.

In some cases only one breast gets enlarged while the other one is normal. If it becomes a cause of self-consciousness and embarrassment and the person wants to cure it, he can go in for surgical removal of the breasts if all other methods fail. Before deciding on surgery he can try natural methods like reducing weight, correcting the possible cause of the problem like stopping the medicines that have caused it if those were the reason.

The doctor will discuss with the patient all aspects of the surgery and if the person is willing to undergo it after knowing all the possible risks, he can do so. He has to be in good health and has to stop smoking if he is a smoker and he has to be in a positive frame of mind before he undergoes the surgery. The procedure is normally carried out under anesthesia, and may consist of removing the fat tissues through liposuction or through excision.

In liposuction the fat may be initially separated from the other tissues and then sucked out. In excision, the fat tissues may be surgically cut and removed. Gynecomastia surgery results in a scar but in most cases the surgeon will see to it that the scar is hidden in the natural folds of the skin. The nipples may be out of shape and position after this surgery and will have to be relocated.

Surgery may cause unfavorable scarring, fluid retention, blood clot, swelling or puckering of the nipples or many other similar things. The surgeon has to talk to the patient so that he has no unrealistic expectations and is ready to accept the surgery risks and still want to undergo the operation. After the surgery, he has to take care and follow the surgeon’s instructions perfectly. This operation is successful in most cases and one dos not need to repeat it. If, by chance, the breasts again grow then the surgery can be repeated and the problem corrected.