Gynecomastia is a condition that causes male breast tissue to become enlarged. Sometimes that tissue is glandular, sometimes it’s fatty, and sometimes it’s even a combination of both. When people come into the clinic they often have questions for our surgeon Dr. Seth so we thought to address the most common and most important ones for you here.
Do I have Gynecomastia with my current symptoms?
First of all, it’s helpful to understand that it can affect one or both breasts. It is very common to have asymmetrical breast enlargement or be disproportionate. Another symptom is having the appearance of puffy nipples along with sometimes feeling tenderness or swelling. Depending on the severity you may also experience the breast growth might feel rubbery or firm. Furthermore, the skin around the nipples may be darker or redder than usual.
In addition to the physiological symptoms there are also psychological indicators that are prevalent in many patients, such as feeling self-conscious or embarrassed about the proportion of their chests, wear loose fitting clothes to hide the imbalance or even avoid activities like swimming where they might have to go shirtless and experience higher levels of anxiety. Just remember it is normal to feel like this when experiencing gynecomastia and we want to help you get back to feeling confident and comfortable in your own skin.
Can Man Boobs Return After Gynecomastia Surgery?
We perform 10-15 male breast reductions a month and it is very unusual for patients to experience a re-growth of the breast tissue that is corrected surgically. Since most of the time, the causes are genetic, diet, hormones we can remove a significant amount of the fatty tissue, sculpt a more natural look. However, in rare cases there is still a chance for it to come back this remaining tissue is still susceptible to weight gain, hormonal imbalance, steroid use, drug use – all factors known to contribute to excess breast tissue in men. If any of these factors played a role previously in the patient’s medical history, it’s important to make sure that they are properly managed post-operatively to prevent gynecomastia recurrence.
Can You Get Rid of Gynecomastia with Exercise?
Exercise and diet can help eliminate fat in the body, and that’s probably why a lot of people assume you can get rid of excess male breasts. However, the underlying cause of this condition can be attributed to drug use, steroid use, hormonal imbalance, environmental factors, or genetic abnormalities — none of which can be solved by working out. Thus, surgical treatment is the best way to correctly address this issue.
If you have experienced any of these gynecomastia symptoms and you’re wondering what options are available to improve your quality of life, a good first step could be to come in for a free consultation.