Breast size reduction in men: All about gynaecomastia correction

If you have gynaecomastia, you might be considering getting it corrected. But how? And what's involved? Here to expertly address any concerns and queries you may have, is leading London and Brussels-based plastic surgeon Dr Gary Horn.

How is gynaecomastia corrected?

Gynaecomastia correction is a surgical treatment only. There are different things to be done. It depends on how bad the gynaecomastia is. Sometimes it's just a gland reduction, sometimes it's a reduction of a gland and VASER liposuction, and sometimes it's the gland, VASER liposuction and skin tightening.  

What exactly does surgical correction involve? 

When a patient comes to a consultation for gynaecomastia, I have to tell them what the different options are. As I said, the treatment is a combination of gland reduction, laser liposuction and sometimes skin tightening; it depends how extensive the gynaecomastia is. 

This procedure can be done with either a local anaesthetic, a local anaesthetic and sedation, and sometimes general anaesthetic. It takes between one hour to maybe an hour and a half.

There are some stitches at the end because of the gland reduction. Most of the time, they are dissolvable ones. It might also involve a drain that needs be removed after a day or couple of days, and a bandage. On top of this, the patient is asked to wear a compression garment for the next three weeks. Once the garment has been removed after three weeks, the patient is supposed to have some massage sessions to improve the quality of the result, and to speed it up. Otherwise, they will see that there will be swelling for between one and three months. 

Can it be corrected non-surgically?

Unfortunately, the correction of gynaecomastia is purely surgical. There's no medical treatment for it that works. 

Once gynaecomastia is corrected, might it be required to be corrected again?

Gynaecomastia can only recur in two situations:

• One: if the patient starts taking steroids, which of course isn't recommended.
• Or it's because the patient has a hormone disorder involving oestrogen and testosterone. In this case, more investigation needs to be done and there are some ways to avoid it, or to treat it. 

Looking for expert gynaecomastia reduction surgery? Arrange an appointment with Dr Horn via his Top Doctors profile.