A condition little talked about but widely apparent is Gynecomastia, the overdevelopment of a male breast. A reaction to too much estrogen or too little testosterone, gynecomastia can occur in newborns, teenagers, and adult men.
In babies, preteen, teenage boys, and young adult men. gynecomastia is a reaction to estrogen from the mother or changes in hormones caused by puberty. It usually resolves within 18 months and is not a cause for concern. In older adult males, however, gynecomastia is usually caused by the natural decline in testosterone production or being overweight provides more fat cells which convert testosterone to estrogen. Of course, screening for much less common conditions such as liver or lung cancer, thyroid or hormone problems, or drug use can cause gynecomastia as well as certain medicines.
• Steroids
• Medicines to treat ulcers or epilepsy
• Digitalis and other heart medicines
• Chemotherapy drugs, especially alkylating agents
• Antriandrogen drugs (such as flutamide, cyproterone, and spironolactone)
• Antianxiety and antidepressant medicines
• Products containing tea tree or lavender oil
Luckily, gynecomastia is not harmful and easily treated. If caused by hormonal imbalances, it will usually go away on its own. If caused by a medicine or disease, discontinuation of the medicine or treatment of the disease will usually cure gynecomastia. If you find a one-sided breast lump, it is extremely important to consult a physician, particularly if you have had any close relatives that have had breast cancer. A Doctor can check the lump with a biopsy or surgery.
In extreme cases, surgery may be necessary. This surgery is similar to a breast reduction. The average cost of gynecomastia surgery is $3,500.00 – $4,000.00, not including anesthesia or other related. After surgery, patients usually notice some discomfort and pain which can be alleviated with prescribed medication. Typically a week recovery period is recommended. The patient will wear a compression vest beneath clothes for two or three weeks to control swelling and help shrink the skin. Patients should refrain from physical activity for two weeks. They may notice some slight scarring, but results will be visible within the first two weeks after the swelling goes down, with continued improvements for six months.
Gynecomastia can cause some men to feel insecure. If you notice an enlargement of your breast, and diet, exercise, and discontinuation of medicines have failed to produce results, male breast reduction surgery can give you a flatter, firmer, and more masculine chest and profile.
Deciding to proceed with male breast reduction surgery is an exciting time(Season For Gynecomastia Surgery). It also presents with many arrangements that you will need to make; such as, having someone care for you for at least the first 24 hours, transportation home after surgery, getting lab tests done, filling prescriptions, getting time off work…and when will you have the surgery?
After surgery, you will most likely be wearing a compression garment for 6 weeks. Wintertime is more comfortable for the additional layer of clothing as you can wear thicker shirts and jackets.
By having your surgery in the wintertime allows your recovery to be complete before summer when most people want to enjoy the outdoors. However, be aware that you still need to protect your young scars from the sun to prevent hyperpigmentation (turning dark brown). As long as your incisions remain pink in color, you need to be very careful of the sun, use a sunblock of at least 30 SPF, complete healing can take several months.
It is important to note that you will need to refrain from any type of formal exercise for about 4 to 6 weeks. Outdoor activities such as jogging, bike riding, volleyball, basketball, etc. may be easier to give up when there is inclement weather, than a beautiful sunny day.
With all this being said, if your schedule doesn’t allow you to plan your surgery during the winter months, anytime you can schedule is the right time. Remember it is only a short time to be inconvenienced compared to a lifetime of freedom from your man boobs.
Gynecomastia Affects Posture, Many men attempting to hide their gynecomastia breasts may roll their shoulders and even tip their spinal cord forward. Ultimately, this poor posture may have many detrimental effects such as; back and neck pain, and misalignment of their skeleton, and even digestive and breathing problems.
Slouching shows a lack of self-confidence, insecurity, and weakness which may affect personal relationships and job prospects. With continued slouching, the joints, ligaments, and cartilage may become inflamed and then the body will react to the stress by producing cortisol. When there is excess cortisol produced in the body, the production of testosterone will be reduced, resulting in additional complications.
Standing straight counteracts the pull of gravity. Bad posture will affect energy expenditure and as mentioned hormone production.
It is challenging to correct bad posture, but men who have male breast reduction surgery have new found confidence that encourages them to stand tall and proud.
Risperdal Lawsuits Accelerate, In 1993 the FDA approved the use of Risperdal for the treatment of autism, bipolar mania, and schizophrenia. However, it became evident that the drug had some serious side effects including the development of breasts in boys and men.
Lawsuits are increasing against Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson and the manufacturer of the drug. The public has become aware of the drugs side effects through massive television advertising, by attorneys looking for more men to represent. In addition, Johnson and Johnson has canceled the “tolling agreement” which pauses or cancels the statute of limitations and allows potential claimants the opportunity to file legal action. Thus the Philadelphia courts are bogged down with an increase of over 3,000 cases in the first quarter of 2017, bringing the total to over 5,000 now pending.
To date, of the cases that have made it to trial, Janssen has lost 4 of the 8 cases. In 2016 one claimant was awarded $70 million, plus another $7 million due to a delay in proceedings.
Johnson and Johnson has been accused of non-disclosure of serious side effects to doctors, parents and the public. In November 2013, Johnson and Johnson plead guilty to aggressive marketing, off label use, and paying doctors kickbacks; they paid fines totaling $2.2 billion.
Surprisingly, the drug remains on the market, and in fact, sales increased 1.6% over 2016 with a first-quarter sales report for 2017 of $17.8 billion. There is some debate about the benefits versus the side effects; meanwhile, the drug is still being prescribed.
Asymmetry and Gynecomastia, When a man has too much estrogen stored in his body, female type breasts may develop. In most cases when breasts develop, they are mostly the same size and shape. However, it is possible for breasts to be different sizes or possibly only one breast will develop. Asymmetric breast development can cause even more distress for men than symmetric gynecomastia.
It is normal to have some asymmetry, but when it is obvious, it may cause shame and embarrassment. A gynecomastia specialist can correct asymmetry with liposuction and removal of some breast tissue.
Asymmetry can happen during male breast reduction surgery if complications should arise, or lack of experience by the surgeon. Unfortunately, this will require revision surgery, but in the right hands, the result can be very satisfying.
About 40% of Dr. Delgado’s gynecomastia practice is revision cases where the patient had surgery by another surgeon. Most revisions are a correction of “crater deformity” where too much fat and/or tissue was removed. Some revisions are because not enough fat/or tissue was removed.
In the before and after pictures below is a 43 year old man who was not satisfied with his original surgery done by another surgeon. Dr. Delgado removed 350cc’s of fat on the right side, and 375cc’s of fat on the left side to obtain a symmetric chest.
