Men who have a feminine chest are often ridiculed for having “man boobs” and this can take a significant hit on their self-esteem. These “man boobs” are either the result of chest fat (a condition called pseudogynecomastia) or gynecomastia. It is important to know the difference between these two conditions since true gynecomastia can cause more adverse symptoms and often requires more extensive treatment.
What is Gynecomastia?
Gynecomastia is the growth of male breast tissue that creates a more feminine-looking chest. Rather than a buildup of chest fat, gynecomastia is the growth of glandular tissue which has more structure and will create a rounded breast, rather than the sagging appearance of excess fat. Chest fat can often be resolved with weight training, but gynecomastia will require liposuction or a larger surgical procedure to fully eliminate the excess glandular tissue. Gynecomastia requires gland excision which often includes liposuction.
The Difference Between Gynecomastia and Chest Fat
If you are uncertain whether you have gynecomastia, the following questions can help you answer that question and determine whether you should schedule a consultation. When you schedule a consultation with Dr. Delgado, a gynecomastia specialist, he may also ask these questions and more to get an in-depth understanding of your symptoms and determine the best course of treatment.
Is Your Chest Sore?
Gynecomastia is often more painful than chest fat unless there are other underlying conditions. If your chest feels swollen, constantly sore, and painful to the touch, this is an indication you may have gynecomastia. Although other conditions can cause your chest to hurt, all these factors combined make it much less likely you are dealing with chest fat.
What Does Your Chest Feel Like?
Chest fat will feel like any other fat on the body: soft to the touch. Gynecomastia feels firm, hard, or rubbery. Sometimes, it may even feel like you have a solid lump under your skin. Fat should not be hard so if you notice these symptoms, it is unlikely your chest’s appearance is being caused by chest fat.
What Does Your Chest Look Like?
While chest fat sags without a defined shape, gynecomastia forms a rounded shape similar to a woman’s breasts. The nipple and/or areola may also project out more than the rest of the chest; this is a condition called puffy nipples.
How Does Your Chest React to Diet and Exercise?
One of the most frustrating things about gynecomastia is that it does not improve with proper diet and exercise. On the other hand, fat will reduce gradually so you should start to notice some reduction in the volume of your chest after a few weeks of exercise. If there is little to no change even after significant weight loss, this is one of the strongest indicators of gynecomastia.
Gynecomastia Surgery
Dr. Delgado classifies gynecomastia by four different grades, depending on the severity of your symptoms and the size of the amount of breast tissue present. Grade 1 and some Grade 2 gynecomastia can be treated with the “pull-through” technique that only requires one small incision or more commonly gland excision and liposuction, more severe cases of gynecomastia in Grades 3-4 will likely require a double incision mastectomy. Even though surgery will leave a scar, these marks fade over time and most men leave satisfied and newly confident without their feminine-looking chest.
Why Choose a Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon for Gynecomastia Surgery?
The revision rate for gynecomastia surgery is high because there are only a few gynecomastia specialists in the country. One of these specialists is board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Miguel Delgado who has been treating all grades of gynecomastia for over 30 years. He has earned the respect of the medical community and patients who travel from outside the country to experience his expertise.
Dr. Delgado has an in-depth understanding of gynecomastia, how it affects the anatomy of the chest, and how to effectively remove all the excess tissue to prevent the condition from returning. You can schedule a consultation with Dr. Delgado in San Francisco, CA, by filling out an online contact form to effectively diagnose and treat your gynecomastia.
For those who are overweight, it is to assume that they can lose the extra fat that is prevalent in the chest area with dieting and exercise, only to make things worse. The unflattering chest appearance became more noticeable.
Maintaining a healthy weight and body is always recommended.
How Do I Lose The Fat And Excess Breast Tissue?
If being overweight is an issue, do make an effort to lose the extra weight. Unfortunately, it is not possible to get rid of gynecomastia with exercise because the majority of the time, the problem is excess glandular tissue which no amount of exercise or healthy eating will eradicate.
In fact, many men have reported that as they lose weight, the gynecomastia actually looks worse because the fatty tissue around the gland shrinks and the gland subsequently stands out more, making the condition more prominent.
The more fat tissues you carry, the higher your chance of developing gynecomastia, so the problem is prevalent among overweight men. However, men who are in great shape do suffer from the condition as well because it is caused primarily by a hormone imbalance.
Gynecomastia is not just an aesthetic problem; it is a medical condition. Symptoms include tenderness around the breast, swelling of the breast gland tissue and more. The cause of the condition varies, and this includes hormonal imbalance and also from the side effects of certain medications.
Ageing is also a known cause of the condition. Gynecomastia during puberty is not uncommon, but if the problem persists into adulthood, surgical intervention is the recommended option.
Liposuction is a cosmetic procedure that removes pockets of stubborn fat that cannot be eliminated with exercise and nutrition alone. Modern techniques reduce tissue trauma while maintaining a natural appearance. Male-liposuction describes a series of techniques that are used by our board certified plastic surgeons to remove unwanted fat and enhance the masculine aspects of the treatment area.
Male Liposuction Benefits
More and more men are learning the benefits of it. Some of the most common reasons that men consider liposuction are:
Eliminating exercise-resistant fat
Giving themselves a boost in body fat reduction that increases their drive to continue living a healthy, active lifestyle
Enhance the definition of muscles
Improving how clothes fit
Can be used to refine the results of other male plastic surgery procedures, such as a male tummy tuck
Who Is A Good Candidate For Male Liposuction?
If you are looking for a way to lose weight, male liposuction may not be right for you. You should be within 30% of your ideal weight before you are considered a good candidate for the procedure. You also need to have good skin elasticity. Otherwise, the procedure will remove fat, but leave you with sagging skin in the treatment area.
Liposuction or lipo is a type of fat removing procedure used in plastic surgery. It is one of the most common operative procedures performed nationwide. There is no evidence that states that liposuction has an effect on weight beyond a certain amount of months. And there is also no evidence which states that this procedure has an effect on obesity-related problems. Liposuction surgery is frequently performed simultaneously with other procedures.
Who is a good candidate for lipo surgery?
The ideal candidate for liposuction surgery is a patient who is at or close to ideal or long-term, stable weight who has a disproportionate amount of fat that is resistant to diet and exercise. Many patients find that there are certain areas of the body that are “preferred storage sites”.
That is to say, these areas are the first places weight gain shows up and the last place for it to leave. This often genetically determined and may even run in families. From about the age of five or six on, the number of distribution of fat cells in the body is determined for life.
Weight loss and weight gain cause these fat cells to get larger or smaller, not increase in number. Therefore, when the fat cells are removed by liposuction from an area, they are not coming back, and the patient’s contour is now more proportionately sculpted. In the future, weight gain and weight loss will be more diffuse and proportioned across the body rather than going to these “preferred storage areas”.
What areas of the body are commonly treated with liposuction surgery?
In women, the most common areas are the inner and outer thighs, knees, abdomen, and hips as well as the upper back, arms and under the neckline. For men, the most common areas are the abdomen, love handles, and often times the chest as part of the treatment for gynecomastia. Multiple areas of liposuction done simultaneously are more the rule than the exception.
Can anyone have this surgery?
The skill and integrity of the surgeon can help you decide whether liposuction surgery is suitable for you. Some patients for loose skin and liposuction surgery may make the appearance of loose skin worsen. Other patients may not have enough fat to make the liposuction surgery worthwhile, and it is up to your surgeon to set realistic expectations with patients beforehand.
Some patients may in fact be more of a candidate for a tummy tuck or thigh lift surgery rather than liposuction surgery. It is also important to recognize that liposuction surgery does not in general help with cellulite.
Do you have to put me asleep for liposuction surgery?
In general, it is safer to simply let the patient go to sleep and not feel or remember anything about the procedure and wake up in the recovery room with everything already completed. This is the advantage of using a board-certified plastic surgeon well versed in all aspects of surgical and anesthetic care.
Who should perform liposuction surgery?
The most important factor is finding a surgeon board certified by the American Society of Plastic Surgery. Ideally, they should be members of the American Society of Plastic Surgery and the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery – the premier organization for plastic surgeons.
There are many physicians who are untrained in plastic surgery residency programs who take weekend courses and perform these operations. Patients need to be clear on the qualifications of the surgeon they select. In addition, it is important that the facility where the surgery is performed is state-licensed.
Liposuction is one of the most common plastic surgery procedures for fat removal. The main types are: tumescent, ultrasound, and laser assisted. Due to the demand for fat removal, there are multiple marketing gimmicks and catchy names for various liposuction methods.
“The Doctors” TV show recently had an episode featuring “BodyTite.” BodyTite combines liposuction with a special instrument that tightens skin using radio frequency energy. The advantage of tightening skin during male breast reduction surgery is ridding the patient of excess skin and avoiding the necessity of a secondary procedure. However, for “true gynecomastia,” surgical excision of breast tissue is required. Breast tissue is too dense to be removed successfully by a cannula.
Over 40% of Dr. Miguel Delgado’s gynecomastia practice is revision cases where other surgeons attempted male breast reduction by liposuction alone. Dr. Delgado does, however, use a technique for tightening skin during surgery where he applies controlled heat directly to the underlying skin.
Only in the case of “pseudo-gynecomastia” can liposuction alone be successful. Surgical excision combined with liposuction for fat removal and contouring remain the “gold standard” for male breast reduction.
When choosing your surgeon, be sure to find a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon who specializes in gynecomastia.
For personalized information about gynecomastia plastic surgery procedures, please complete Dr. Delgado’s inquiry form.
