Gynecomastia and adipomastia: how to deal with it?

Gynecomastiais is a mammary hypertrophy in men. In point of fact, men have two mammary glands. Located under the nipples, these glands in some cases will swell. Breasts then form and over time, they can psychologically damage the men who suffer from them.

There are different types of gynecomastia:

• Unilateral gynecomastia: there is an asymmetry between the two breasts, one is more swollen than the other.
• Diffuse gynecomastia, both nodular and dendritic : gynecomastia is diffuse when it is not defined. On the other hand, it is nodular when it is perfectly defined. Furthermore, it is dendritic when it takes a triangular shape.
• Glandular gynecomastia: when hypertrophy is the result of a fatty cluster, the surgeon can then perform an adipomastia.

Gynecomastia: the causes

A man can get gynecomastia when there is a hormonal imbalance between the levels of estrogen and androgen. Indeed, estrogen promotes the development of the mammary gland when testosterone slows it down.

Breast hypertrophy may occur when there is an increase in estrogen in men or even a decline in testosterone production.

That being said, gynecomastia can also occur with age. Indeed, over time, men produce fewer androgens in their fifties, it is not unusual for a slight swelling to occur.

Some drugs may also cause gynecomastia. They block the androgens which cause the mammary glands to swell. Similarly, some drugs, such as cannabis, heroin or steroids, may block androgens.

In addition, male breast hypertrophy may be due to significant weight gain. In this case, it is the fat build-up that causes breast hypertrophy. The surgeon will then have to conduct an adipomastia.

Gynecomastia: the procedure

The gynecomastia operation combines several surgical techniques, depending on the case. Fat liposuction may be used by the surgeon. Using thin cannulas that are introduced into thin incisions, the surgeon will suck out the excess fat. Breast reduction may also be coupled with liposuction. This method allows the removal of the mammary gland in humans. Thin semi-circular incisions are created around the areola by a surgeon and should result with only a few very fine scars.

In addition, the surgeon will have to tighten any loose skin.

In the event that a significant amount of sagging skin is present, the surgeon may remove part of the skin and then re-drape the chest. The length of the scars is then quite variable depending on the size of the sagging skin.