Gynecomastia is a condition in which the males develop large breasts like women. It causes a lot of embarrassment and makes the person self conscious and shy. This is especially true when it affects adolescent boys. He may stammer, become antisocial or change his behavior in some manner. It does affect boys during the puberty period in adolescence. Most boys undergo this condition. The good news is that in the majority of cases it regresses on its own, even though it may take anything from six months to two or three years. This is specially the case if the boy is chubby and has plenty of fat on his body.
Sometimes certain medicines can cause this condition. There are some drugs and some medicines, which enhances the breast growth. If a male patient takes them he may have enlarged breasts or gynecomastia. Sometimes the case is heredity. If a close relative like a father or a brother have large breasts the younger boy may also have them. Sometimes, though this may be rare, an underlying tumor or some disease may cause undue enlargement of breasts in males.
The result in all these cases is gynecomastia. Men with such breasts may want to go in for surgical contouring. The chosen surgeon will examine the patient thoroughly, study his history and perform certain tests before he suggests the surgically corrective procedure. He will suggest simpler methods like changing the medicine or stopping it, if that is the cause of the breast enlargement. If a tumor is the cause then removing it may solve the problem. If these methods do not help, surgical procedure is a sure method of removing the problem. Liposuction or liposelection may solve it. If these do not work as well then surgical removal of fatty tissues may be the answer.
The surgeon will put a ban on smoking before and after the operation. He may also suggest some pre and post operative medicines, care and physiotherapy. The procedure may be done under local or total anesthesia and can be done in a couple of hours. He may ask the patient to rest for a few days till the wounds heal. Most men do not like to tell others that they have had a gynecomastia operation. They may need a medical certificate from the doctor for leave on medical grounds and may shy away to inform the real cause. The doctor may oblige and give it another name. Since it is a body contouring or a cosmetic procedure, insurance may not cover the cost. |
