What is

Gynecomastia?

Breast enlargement among men is called gynecomastia. Gynecomastia may be present in one or both breasts. No underlying reasons can be found in most of the patients; these reasons can be found in only a certain number of patients. There is not much structural difference between the breast tissues of men and women. Both have fatty and mammary gland tissues. The main difference is that men have less estrogen. Progesterone and estrogen manage the biological development of breast tissue. Testosterone suppresses the effects of estrogen on breast tissue. The gynecomastia cases that occur during adolescence arise from the imbalances seen in the suppressive impacts of these hormones. Decreases in the level of testosterone, testicular tumors, adrenal tumors, cases increasing the level of estrogen level, obesity, renal insufficiency, hemodialysis, thyroid imbalance, hepatic tumors, and use of substances such as alcohol and steroids used in body building activities are among the reasons for gynecomastia.

The case called physiological gynecomastia often occurs during adolescence and following periods. The rate of physiological gynecomastia among the male children aged between 10 and 16 years is around 40%. This rate reaches 65% in periods when men’s heights increase at most. Researches report that gynecomastia continues for a year among 27% of patients, and for two years among 7-8%. Moreover, it is reported to continue after adolescence among 4% of patients. Gynecomastia is seen in 50-60% of patients during adolescence. It continues for a couple of years and disappears in two years among 75% of patients and in three years among 90%. With the advancing age, hormonal balances change in body, increasing the fat rate in the body, and amount and volume of breast tissues may increase.

A multi-disciplinary approach is utilized in the treatment of gynecomastia. If the patients go through adolescence when they have gynecomastia, the issue will probably disappear in time; therefore, follow-up will be sufficient in that period. If the stage of gynecomastia is advanced during the adolescence, a consultation with an endocrinology specialist is required. Gynecomastia cases that emerge after adolescence are examined, and efforts are made to see whether there is an underlying cause. If there is such a cause, a consultation is done with a relevant branch specialist. The only treatment alternative for the gynecomastia cases that start during adolescence and do not disappear at the end of this period, continuing after the adolescence, and that have no underlying causes is surgery. Unfortunately, treatment cannot be performed through the activities of going on a diet, doing sports or performing medical practices.

The modern of treatment of gynecomastia can be easily conducted through liposuction or liposuction+tissue excision method. The size of breasts and intensity of glands regarding the breast tissues determine whether liposuction or additional tissue excision will be performed during the surgery which can be conducted under general or local anesthesia based on the size of breasts. The procedure generally lasts an hour. The patients can be discharged on the same day or hospitalized for a day. Patients are provided a special corset after the operation and told to wear that corset for three to six weeks. They are informed that they can take shower on the third day following the surgery, that they can return to their daily lives or non-heavy duties three days after the operation, and that they can do light sports activities after the second week and heavy activities after the sixth week.