Male Breast Liposuction / Gynecomastia Surgery Information Resource for Southern California including Orange County, Newport Beach, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Beverly Hills.
Treating Enlarged Male Breasts
Types of Gynecomastia
Until recently, gynecomastia has lived in the shadows of the plastic surgery world. Most men who had it did not even know it had a name and certainly did not know it had a predictable treatment or what type of gynecomastia they had. Outlined below is the most current understanding as well as the most cutting edge treatment options for gynecomastia.
It has only been over the last few years that a small number of plastic surgeons have dedicated a large portion of their practice to this condition. They have meticulously categorized different types of gynecomastia and developed effective treatment plans to address each one. Dr. Cruise is certainly in the forefront of this movement. Read along and we will outline these different types and describe what is necessary to treat each one.
Many people do not even know what gynecomastia is, let alone, what the different types of gynecomastia are. Determining the type is important as it helps define what is necessary for treatment.
Dr. Cruise categorizes gynecomastia into four types based on what is actually causing the enlarged breast:
The causes of the different types of gynecomastia are:
- Excess breast tissue
- Excess fat
- Excess skin
- A combination of the above
It is critical to determine which type of gynecomastia is present because it determines what type of surgery is necessary to correct the problem. Usually this can be determined during clinical examine by an experienced plastic surgeon. Sometimes, however, it can only be determined at the time of surgery.
Ideal Male Chest
Of course, before we describe the various types of gynecomastia it is critical to define what is the ideal male chest and what it is we wish to accomplish. It is important to understand that not everyone can have the “ideal chest”. Conditions such as advancing age, excess weight, poor skin elasticity, and unfavorable anatomy certainly affect what is obtainable.
Ideal Chest – Notice horizontal orientation of breast tissue showing outline of underlying pectoralis major muscle.
The ideal chest is not flat. It has a defined contour with a chest fold separating the chest from the abdomen. This chest fold is predominately horizontal. It begins to round out with increasing degrees of gynecomastia.
Ideal Chest. The ideal chest is not flat.
Instead, it has a masculine contour.
The nipple is typically 5-6 cm above the chest fold and faces forward. Ideally, the areola is flush with the surrounding skin. With certain types of gynecomastia, the areola protrudes forward creating a “puffy nipple.”
Ideal Chest. Cut out view demonstrates
normal
subcutaneous
fat under skin
and underlying
pectoralis major muscle.
At the margins of this cut out you will see that there is an approximately ½ inch of fat underneath even the ideal chest. Therefore, removing all the fat is not a good idea. You can see that the contour of the pectoralis major muscle and how it corresponds to the chest fold.
Ideal Chest. Slice view demonstrates that even the
ideal
chest has breast tissue underneath the nipple
Even the ideal male chest has some breast tissue located directly below the areola. You can feel it by squeezing the tissue deep to the areola. You will feel a firm, glandular tissue that clearly feels different than fatty tissue. Once again, this is normal. Gynecomastia is simply an excess of this normal breast tissue.
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Gynecomastia Surgery / Liposuction Male Chest Information Resource for Southern California including Newport Beach, Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Beverly Hills.