Male Breast Liposuction / Gynecomastia Surgery Information Resource for Southern California including Orange County, Newport Beach, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Beverly Hills.
Breast Reduction Male
Dr. Cruise's Philosophy Regarding Male Breast Reduction
Gynecomastia, enlarged male breasts, can seriously affect the psyche of a man. In our society, it is all right for a man to have a few extra pounds around his stomach but not on the chest. I am not sure why this is but I suspect it is because of the feminizing quality that breast fat brings out. Many of my patients describe not being able to take of their shirt in public and, sometimes, even with their lover. This brings up many self-esteem issues.
Within the media, treatment of gynecomastia does not get the attention that other plastic surgery procedures do, most likely because of the embarrassment associated with it. This is unfortunate; gynecomastia is very treatable. As a plastic surgeon, gynecomastia treatment is exceptionally satisfying to me because the results are predictably good. There are some men with poor quality skin who do not respond as well as others, but for the vast majority, the results are very good.
It is not just the results that satisfy me but also the enhanced self-esteem that I see within my gynecomastia patients. I believe this is why gynecomastia has become a big part of my practice.
As pointed out earlier, gynecomastia is composed of three possible problems. I will go over these problems and highlight the techniques I have found most effective to treat them.
Excess Fat
Almost every one of my gynecomastia patients has excess fat. This excess fat is often present even in patients who are not overweight. This fat is predictably treated with liposuction. The key is to use a very aggressive cannula because the fat underneath the nipple is usually very fibrous and hard to remove.
Excess Fat and Breast Tissue
Many of my patients are surprised to learn that men have glandular breast tissue just like women. In most of my gynecomastia patients, this breast tissue enlarges and becomes a problem. It is almost always located directly below the nipple and feels firm and squishy.
This breast tissue usually does not respond to liposuction alone. It usually requires a small incision under the nipple to remove it. Fortunately, this incision is well hidden.
Excess Fat, Breast Tissue and Skin
Uncommonly, gynecomastia may require that excess skin be removed. This is uncommon because chest skin has a great capacity to contract back to the chest when the breast tissue is removed. Only patients with significant sag or poor skin quality need to have skin removed.
If I have to remove skin, I typically remove it around the areola so that the incision is hidden between the interface of the dark areola skin and the chest skin. Normally, I do not remove skin at the same time as the breast tissue removal because it is impossible to know how much skin, if any, needs to be removed.
Remember, even poor-quality skin will contract somewhat. Therefore, it is best to allow this contraction to occur and remove only what is necessary. This way, the incision is much smaller. In addition, the skin removal is easily done under local anesthesia.
Gynecomastia Surgery / Liposuction Male Chest Information Resource for Southern California including Newport Beach, Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Beverly Hills.