| Male breast over-development or Gynecomastia is generally a bilateral and symmetrical anatomical
abnormality of male breast maturation. Occasionally
due to endocrine hormone abnormalities, the process
most often occurs with no apparent cause in adolescent
or fully mature males.
Obesity may be a contributing factor, but equally
often the problem is simply due to undesirable
pectoral fat storage and some element of glandular
tissue enlargement in the male breast. Certain
medications may also contribute to the development
of Gynecomastia, especially drugs used for hormonal
treatments of some male cancers.
Gynecomastia
usually does not signal the presence of any "disease",
but since Breast Cancer does occasionally occur
in older males, the finding of unilateral (one-sided)
male breast enlargement must be considered a particular
danger, and biopsy is usually warranted.
Although
the anatomical finding of Gynecomastia does not
usually represent a disease, it is a source of
teasing, and anguish, in adolescent males, and
certainly a source of significant embarrassment
in adult men.
As such, the surgical correction of this deformity
has often been a covered expense under health
insurance in the past. However, with the advent
of "managed care" and HMO-type health
insurance schemes, this treatment has usually been
arbitrarily labeled as "cosmetic surgery",
and thus is very frequently denied by insurance
companies, much like female breast over- development
has likewise been labeled as a "cosmetic
problem".
Treatment of Gynecomastia at the California Surgical
Institute usually entails a combination of Tumescent
Liposuction contouring, and direct removal of
excess glandular breast tissue which is too fibrous
to be removed and shaped by liposuction technique
alone. A small incision under each nipple results,
and generally heals quite favorably. A compression
garment is worn on the chest for about two weeks
after surgery, and exercise is limited for about
3-4 weeks.
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