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Male Breast Reduction

Breast enlargement in males (Gynecomastia) commonly occurs during puberty, and in most instances, it will resolve on its own. But if it does not, it can cause self consciousness and embarrassment. Male Breast Reduction Surgery is designed to help remove excesses of glandular tissue and fat to give a flatter, more masculine look to the chest.

  • Gynecomastia primarily due to excess subcutaneous fat can be treated with Liposuction alone.  This will leave only small (¼ inch) scars that will be relatively unnoticeable, even when the patient’s shirt is off. If the Gynecomastia is due to the combined effects of excess subcutaneous fat and excess glandular tissue, direct excision will be necessary to remove the dense glandular tissue.  Once again, Liposuction will be used to remove the excess subcutaneous fat.  In addition, an incision will be made (typically around the bottom half of the nipple/areolar complex) to provide direct access to the excess glandular tissues.  If the Gynecomastia is severe, with excess skin, additional incisions may be required to provide optimal reshaping of the breasts and chest.

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Surgery & Recovery

All Male Breast Reduction Surgeries are performed in the privacy of our Surgery Center on an outpatient basis.  The surgery itself is generally one to two hours long.  Drains are rarely used, and sutures are all absorbable. Patients are provided with a compression garment that is typically worn during the first six to eight weeks of recovery to provide the flattest contour possible.  The garment can be removed whenever desired, but the more it is utilized, the better. Patients can expect to return to light activity within several days, including driving.  More intense activities, including regular exercise, can typically be resumed within 14 days.

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Male Liposuction

Liposuction is the ‘gold standard’ for removing excess, unwanted subcutaneous body fat from specific areas of the body with minimally invasive scars. It can provide for true ‘spot reduction’ of excess fat in a well-controlled, sculptural fashion. All other methods of reducing excess fat (freezing; thermally heating; etc.) simply provide for less controlled and less reliable removal of excess subcutaneous fat.

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Good Candidates

All fat cells are not created equally. The superficial subcutaneous fat layer that encompasses a majority of the body (much like a diver’s wetsuit) contains fat cells that are physiological in nature. These cells enlarge in volume when caloric intake exceeds caloric demand, and shrink in size when caloric demands outstrip caloric availability.

  • In contrast, there are specific deposits of Body Fat deep to the superficial layer that contain fat cells that are primarily structural in nature. These fat cells are genetically designed to protect specific areas of the body. As such, they vary little in size with fluctuations in the energy balance of the body (these cells have fewer cell surface receptors and respond differently to physiological changes). Liposuction surgery is ideally suited for those patients who have reached a healthy body weight via diet and exercise but still have ‘diet-resistant’ genetic deposits of fat that will not shrink in size. These deposits are outside of the physiological loop of the body and will remain in place until physically removed. 

    Does liposuction work? Liposuction procedures are not a quick and easy solution to being overweight. Far from it. Like many other procedures in plastic surgery, the best results are ultimately obtained by combining the procedure itself with healthy changes in eating habits and increased levels of physical activity.

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Liposuction Areas

It is perfectly safe to perform liposuction surgery on multiple different areas of the body at the same setting. It is not necessarily safe to perform extensive liposuction in combination with other large body contouring procedures wherein a large area of the body is being disrupted in a single procedure. Such “whole body makeovers” are often much safer to perform on patients in separate settings.

  • Abdomen

  • Flanks (“love” handles)

  • Chest

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Surgery & Recovery

All liposuction procedures are performed in our private surgery center under IV sedation only. General anesthesia is not necessary and most procedures last less than an hour. There are no stitches and no drains. Patients will realize the best results when they wear appropriate compression garments for the first 6 to 8 weeks. Patients have very minimal downtime and most are able to drive within the next one to two days. Recovery is often described as a sense of ‘soreness’ without actual pain. Exercise can be resumed as soon as it is comfortable to do so.