Women aren’t the only ones feeling self-conscious about their breast. As you know, many men want to have a well-defined and chiseled chest and they spend hours and hours in the gym focusing on their chest muscles. However, some men, due to gynecomastia or pseudo-gynecomastia aren’t able to achieve this effect. These conditions cause either enlargement of the male breast tissue or cause excess fat being built up which creates a look of male breasts.
Now, some severe cases will require surgery in order to reduce the size of the breast tissue, but mild to medium cases of both conditions, can be treated without surgery.
What is exactly gynecomastia?
Abnormal increase of male breast tissue which results in large breast is called gynecomastia. This can occur in newborns, boys going through puberty or even with older men due to the change of hormone levels.
The increased breast tissue occurs when there’s a lower level of testosterone (male hormone) compared to estrogen. This imbalance can be caused by many things like some medication, alcohol, kidney failure and so on.
In many cases, this condition doesn’t cause any health problems, however, in severe cases, where the breast tissue is abnormally large, it can cause pain and increase sensitivity of the tissue. In case when gynecomastia doesn’t resolve on its own, surgery is required.
Pseudo-gynecomastia
Even though pseudo-gynecomastia creates he same breast tissue enlargement as gynecomastia, the enlargement is result of excess fat buildup. In this instance, the simplest solution is weight loss and a good exercise routine that will focus on the chest muscles.
Treatment without surgery
As mentioned before, this condition can sometime be treated without surgery, depending on the severity and the age of men when it occurred. In young boys, it is recommended to wait until the age of puberty ends and the hormones return to their normal balance. This should allow the breast tissue to return to its normal size and reduce the size of breasts.
When the cause is another, underlying condition, it’s best to start at the source i.e. at the condition that is causing it. So for example, if it’s caused by hyperthyroidism, restoring the balance of hormones usually resolves the issue. And if it is caused by prescription drugs, a doctor would simply recommend different medication.
Now when gynecomastia cannot be reduced by any other method, or it causes increased pain and tenderness of the breast tissue, breast reduction is necessary. This is of course for gynecomastia. For pseudo-gynecomastia, exercise will do the trick.
What does surgery include?
If it comes to surgery, gynecomastia can be treated with breast reduction. This usually means a combination of breast gland removal and liposuction. With the combination of these two procedures, the cosmetic / plastic surgeon removes the excess breast tissue, reduces the appearance of large breasts. The end result should resemble a well-defined and masculine appearance.
If you believe that you have gynecomastia, make sure to schedule an appointment with a cosmetic / plastic surgeon so he/she can determine whether it is indeed gynecomastia or pseudo-gynecomastia and to recommend the best treatment option.
