Male Breast Reduction - Gynaecomastia

About 

Male breast tissue and fat which shows through clothes causes embarrassment (‘man boobs’). Even slight fullness at the nipple can show through a T shirt. When extreme it can produce an actual breast shape. Losing weight can help but after that surgery is the only way the problem can be corrected. 

The surgical techniques used to address this start with simple procedures for mild problems and increase in complexity when the male breast is larger. The priority though is not to leave any visible marks or signs of surgery. There is no point in solving one embarrassment and replacing it with another. Scar lines are only made if there is no other choice when the problem is extreme and there is very loose skin that won’t recoil. Operations are done under general anaesthetic and recovery is between 1 and 2 weeks.

Consultation.

If you’re overweight then I’ll advise you to trim down. Some will avoid surgery and in others the magnitude of the problem reduces and the surgery required is less. I assess the areas of fullness, draw contour lines on the chest and take photographs. Then using examples of previous patients, I explain the procedure and recovery. You can look at these in the Gallery. If the problem is minor and you have tight elastic skin the surgery is relatively straight forward. This is usually liposuction through small incisions. There might also be a scar along the lower edge of the nipple. If there is obviously a lot of loose skin then it becomes more complicated. Then the discussion is about avoiding scars unless they are absolutely necessary and how to make them as hidden as possible.

Operation

There are a range of options which are scaled to suit the size of the problem. 

The simplest scenario is fullness only at the nipple with the rest of the chest being very flat. A fibrous disc of male breast tissue underneath the nipple is removed through a half circle incision at the lower edge of the areolar. This is where dark skin meets paler skin and the scar can’t be seen. The stitches are dissolving and the line takes 10 days to heal.

The next level is a definite breast shape with chest fat which can also go around the sides and even into the armpit. Liposuction is done first to remove the fat using small incisions leaving only tiny marks. Elastic skin will recoil making the chest area flat but nipple fullness usually still persists due to fibrous male breast tissue which liposuction can’t correct. This is then removed, as described above, through an incision at the lower edge of the areola.

The worst case scenario is a drooping breast shape and loose skin. In this case it will be necessary to remove the excess skin leaving scars. But the strategy is to reduce the bulk of the breast first and have a period of recovery to allow the skin to retract. If at that point loose skin still persists then a second operation can be planned. The least visible scar line to remove excess skin is one around the edge of the nipple. If that’s not enough then a vertical line is added downwards to the crease and along the crease if necessary. 

Recovery

Liposuction needs a week for recovery. An incision at the nipple will take 10 days to heal. If the scar line is a longer then 2 weeks should be allowed. There will be check at 2 weeks and a follow up appointment at 8 weeks. Wearing a firm supportive garment after surgery will provide comfort and reduce swelling. The simplest is a tight sports top which is easy and cheap to buy. 

Gallery

Look at photographs of typical results for this procedure