Optima Plastic Surgery Clinic - Retraction and Nipple Plastic Surgery

In men, only the root of the breast tissue remains after development. However, if it is stimulated for whatever reason, men can grow breasts just like women, and are susceptible to the same diseases as female breasts. This phenomenon of male breasts is possible due to the effect of an injection of female hormones, or if a man incises his own testicles for the purpose of a sex change.
The development of breasts in men is generally due to a disorder of the endocrine system. In normal men, female hormones exist physiologically, but are far outweighed by male hormones. However, if the balance between the male and female hormones changes, then breasts could develop by stimulation of the breast parenchyma.
In fact, male infants often have bulged chests, which at times lactate if squeezed. This is caused by a temporary effect of female hormones which were transferred through the placenta at birth. Furthermore, adolescent boys around 15~16 years of age often have lumps on the chest due to rapid changes in hormone balance and may even cause pain. According to statistics, lumps on the chest appear in about 50% of adolescent boys and then disappear after hormone balance stablizes again. In addition, breasts may form again due to a decrease in testicle function caused by aging.
Every disease that affects breasts, including breast cancer, can also occur in male breasts. In many cases of breast cancer in men, the prognosis is usually worse than in women.

Gynecomastia is the condition where female breasts form on men and could appear due to the temporary destruction of hormone balance caused by the growth process. In most cases this is not a major concern. However, cautionary steps should be taken just in case this was caused by a rare disease or there were other special circumstances. There is not enough data in Korea, but considering foreign statistics, it occurs in one out of every 10000 males. So, it is estimated that there are around 2000 patients in Korea with this condition.
Male gynecomastia is usually temporary and caused by changes in hormone levels in adolescence. In most cases, it disappears naturally by the age of 20. However, if gynecomastia persists beyond 20 years of age in a healthy male without any disorders in other areas of the body, surgical removal is necessary.

Causes of Gynecomastia
The major cause of gynecomastia is known, and in many cases breasts grow due to temporary imbalances of hormones in the neonatal period or adolescence. It is also possible for it to appear by the administration of hormone drugs such as estrogen. There are other cases where liver disorders such as hepatocirrhosis or a testicular tumor or dyscrinism such as hyperthyreosis, hypothyroidism, hyperpituitarism, or an adrenal tumor which may cause gyencomastia.
Therefore, if the symptoms of gynecomastia appear, the individual should be checked for any liver disorders or endocrine system disorders through internal medicine examination, orchiopathy through urological examination and side effects to drugs.

Diagnosis of Gynecomastia
As for male gynecomastia, though it may cause no inconvenience or stress, it should still be checked for breast tissue, for the possibility of cancer, and to make sure there are no other related diseases.

Breast cancer in men is a very rare condition, and is often more dangerous since it is usually only discovered after other symptoms. As a result, the cancer is usually quite far along resulting in a bad prognosis.

If you display any symptoms of gynecomastia, it is best not to brush it off as simple weight gain, but to visit a hospital and to receive an examination. The idea of a man having breasts may be quite embarrassing, but the alternative of not addressing this issue could be detrimental to your health. There are medical teams who are sensitive to this issue and ready to share your worries with you.

Gynecomastia in most cases does not require treatment, but if problems such as pain or overgrowth occur, surgery may be required or other treatments such as medicinal therapy using hormones could be used. At this time, incision surgery of gynecomastia requires the most delicate technique and aesthetic consideration compared to any other surgery related to the breasts.
Subcutaneous Mastectomy, which incises the breast tissue completely by incising a line of skin under the breast or around the areola, can be performed. If the remainder of a scar is undesirable breast tissue can be extracted with an endoscope by resecting about 1cm of skin under the armpit which is performed in parallel with liposuction.

01. Liposuction
This method removes breast parenchyma as well as fat through liposuction after making a small 1cm incision on the outer side of the breast. Even in cases where there is a significant amount of breast parenchyma, it is possible to get good results by only using liposuction. In the case of gynecomastia that is not serious, it could be effective, but if the amount of breast parenchyma is significant and dense, it could be difficult to expect an effective surgery.

02. Resection of Mammary Gland
In the case that the amount of breast parenchyme is significant and dense, breast parenchyma can be removed directly by making an incision of about 2~3cm to the bottom area of the areola. It is possible to remove mammary glands more delicately. However, if removing the entire breast parenchyma the breast may seem dented and it would be difficult to retain a natural chest frame.

03. Liposuction + Resection of Mammary Gland
In the case of major gynecomastia, breast reduction surgery may be necessary. By paralleling liposuction and resection of the excess mammary gland, it is possible to maintain a normal male chest.

Gynecomastia