Male Breast Liposuction / Gynecomastia Surgery Information Resource for Southern California including Orange County, Newport Beach, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Beverly Hills.
Male Breast Reduction
Overview of Male Breast Reduction
Another name for enlarged male breasts is gynecomastia. Ideally, the male breasts are muscular and well defined. It signifies strength and masculinity. Sometimes, for various reasons, the male breast becomes fatty and begins to sag. Instead of a healthy masculine look, the man is left with an unhealthy, out of shape, feminine look.
The causes of this problem range from hormonal changes, to intake of medications, to genetic predisposition. In fact, it is not uncommon for healthy teenage boys, usually around 14 years of age, to have this problem for 1 to 2 years. The reason is hormonal and usually goes away after puberty.
Often, the cause of gynecomastia is never identified. Certain diseases and medications can be the cause and these need to be looked into by your family doctor. The medical causes range from deficiency of testosterone to excess of estrogen. Being overweight can cause too much estrogen and, therefore, it is highly recommended that you lose weight.
Medications that are known to cause gynecomastia are as follows: estrogens, digitalis, clomiphene, ketoconazole, metrondazole, cisplatin, spironolactone, cimetidine, isoniazid, methyldopa, tricyclic antidepressants, valium, heroin, and marijuana. Liver problems can also be the cause. There are many more possibilities and only a medical evaluation can determine them with any certainty.
The good news is that with modern plastic surgery, gynecomastia can be effectively treated so that you no longer have to be embarrassed to take your shirt off. Normally, gynecomastia is treated with liposuction because the majority of the breast tissue is fat. If you are relatively young with good healthy skin, the skin shrinks back after the fat is removed and a good result is obtained.
Sometimes the gynecomastia is so bad that liposuction alone will not get rid of the sagging breasts. In these cases, Dr. Cruise must also remove skin in addition to the fatty tissue in order to obtain the desired results. Another tool in Dr. Cruise's armamentarium to treat gynecomastia is ultrasonic liposuction. This is particularly useful when the excess tissue is very hard and fibrous. The ultrasonic liposuction is highly effective in removing this type of tissue.
Patient's Story from Gynecomastia.org, June 16, 2008.
It all started when I was about 12 years old. I had noticed that my chest was sort of bigger than the other kids. I was an overweight kid back in the day. I eventually grew out of being overweight though. I started working out more and lifting. I always worked out chest, trying to get rid of all the extra fat on my chest. I would never see any results though. I had always thought there was something wrong and some reason why I couldn't work this off. My parents had always said I'd grow out of it, but for 5 years I never did. I was always embarrassed to take my shirt off. Most of the time I would and just play it off like it didn't bother me. But it did. The worst part was "Bean Dips", all my friends and everyone I knew would always bean dip me. I knew that they weren't trying to be mean. But it was embarrassing when people did it.
I remember watching an episode of True Life on MTV and a guy on there was getting surgery to get rid of his "Man Boobs" or gynecomastia surgery. After I seen this I wanted the surgery right away, I was only 15 at the time though. And the price tag was pretty hefty too, $7,000. I knew that I was too young to go under the knife and just learned to deal with it.
About 3 months ago I did some research on the internet to see if there was anything I could do to get rid of this without surgery. Everything I read said that surgery was required if I'd ever want to get rid of gynecomastia. I talked to my parents about and they thought about it for a couple weeks. We came to an agreement that I'd pay payments to them for the surgery. I searched all over the internet for different doctors, and then I came upon Dr. Cruise. I liked the way his site was setup and how all his past patients had felt good about their experience with him. So I scheduled my consultation with him. After the consultation with Dr. Cruise I felt very comfortable with him being my surgeon. I was also happy to see that the procedure was only $5,000 compared to other doctors, at rates of almost $8,000.
We scheduled my surgery date. I kept it on the down low with all my friends and told them that I was having benign lumps removed. I was so excited to have the surgery, I had no worries at all! The day finally came where I had my surgery. Dr. Cruise and the nurses that were there helped me feel very comfortable before they put me under. Before I knew it I was awake and pretty out of it. The anesthesiologist was great, I didn't feel sick or groggy at all. I just hung out and took it easy for the next few days.
It has only been about a week since I've had the surgery. My chest is a lot smaller than it used to be and I'm still swollen. I have already noticed my self-esteem to be at an all time high! It makes me so happy to look in the mirror and have a flat chest. I can't wait to see how I'll look in these next couple of weeks. I feel very blessed to have had the opportunity to have this surgery. I thank GOD, my parents, Dr. Cruise, and his staff so much for this! I know I am going to be the happiest 17 year old kid this summer!
Travis, 17,
You can post your story as well. Go to www.PlasticSurgeryBlog.org and write about your experience. You can also ask questions and get feedback from others who have gone through the procedure or are considering it.
Gynecomastia Surgery / Liposuction Male Chest Information Resource for Southern California including Newport Beach, Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Beverly Hills.