Breast disease for men??? What the heck you say. Well, it does happen even though breast problems and Cosmetic breast surgery IS much more common for women. What kind of problems would a guy have is a question you might ask. Well, there are several, but today I want to address a problem called gynecomastia. Gynecomastia is a word that means puffy nipples. Gynecomastia normally occurs during hormonal changes in the life of infants, adolescents, and men. The first time in life it occurs is in infancy. After birth, estrogen from the mother is high in the infant and breast tissue develops that rapidly disappears. It also occurs in elderly males as the hormonal changes of aging take hold. Many medications can also cause the breast tissue to increase. Other causes are beyond the scope of this installment. I mostly want to focus on the adolescent occurrence. In adolescent males, gynecomastia can develop in as high as 80% of individuals. Again, its the hormones that occur normally and in those who use anabolic steroids. Unfortunately, in up to 30%, it doesn't go away this time. 
Gynecomastia during adolescence is made of fatty tissue with a bud of breast tissue under the nipple. By the early 20's it should be gone, if not, it may become a real problem. The problems it causes are not generally physical but psychological. Wearing normal clothing becomes an uncomfortable situation for a guy that has breast tissue and makes one very self conscious. Working out to develop pectoral muscles can often times only make things worse...so what's a guy to do??
First of all, be patient. It is hard to do but fortunately, in a majority of cases the problem resolves after hormone changes settle down. In cases that don't resolve, we can take care of the problem. Usually, in the normal case, I will liposuction the chest and remove the "bud" of breast tissue. I do this through a small incision in the arm pit to liposuction the chest of excess fatty tissue. I then make an incision through the nipple to remove the small bud of breast tissue. We do this in the office procedure room using some IV sedation and tumescent local. It takes less than an hour and can be life changing. We have you wear a compression shirt for about 3 weeks and from that point on, normal clothes can be worn without the worry of those two little reminders poking through. The incisions heal very well and go unnoticed after a healing time of a few months.
If you or someone you know has this problem, come see us! We can help. Call 918-786-7780 for an appointment. Don't forget our other specials as well...laser hair removal, breast augmentation, nail fungus eradication, and great pricing on Obagi skin care products.