Get Gynecomastia treated by leading gynecomastia surgeon Dr. Sreekar Harinatha.
Procedure time: 60 mins
Admission: Daycare basis (9 am to 6 pm)
Stitch Removal: No (Absorbable stitches)
Leave from Work: A total of three days including the day of surgery, Follow-up consultation after two days of surgery. Gym, swimming, and workouts can be resumed after three weeks
Cost: Rs.55,000 plus 18% GST 9,900= 64.900 plus cost of the compression garment (around 2-3000): Total: Approximately 67-68,000
Appointments: Call 7022543542 or book at www.conturacosmetic.com
Gynecomastia is the most common condition affecting the male breast. It affects 32%–65% of all men. Gynecomastia can be physically and psychologically harmful to the patient and hence surgical correction is needed in many circumstances. Many grading classification systems and surgical approaches exist including the one by Dr. Sreekar Harinatha that was published in the Brazilian Journal of Plastic Surgery
Methods of surgical treatment of grade I gynecomastia vary and include gland removal only, gland removal in combination with liposuction, etc. Most authors agree that skin resection is not indicated for patients with grade I gynecomastia.
Gland removal can be done using various techniques, including a traditional, larger, 2-cm infra-areolar incision for direct excision, or a small 6–8 mm infra-areolar or inferolateral quadrant incision for “pull through” or “orange peel” techniques for direct excision. Both techniques include grasping of the breast tissue through a small incision with removal of the breast tissue from surrounding structures under direct visualization.
A large variety of surgical approaches was also noted for the treatment of grade II gynecomastia like in Grade I.
An even wider variety of surgical techniques exists for grade III gynecomastia, including gland isolation with central subdermal plexus pedicle, with posteroinferior subdermal plexus pedicle, liposuction + gland removal, breast amputation through inframammary fold (IMF) approach with free nipple graft, etc. Several of these surgical approaches have been previously detailed in this report for the treatment of grades I and II gynecomastia.
No definitive, universally accepted algorithm exists regarding the ideal surgical approach for the treatment of gynecomastia based on severity. Each patient must be considered individually, and the treatment decided upon should be tailored as such. Given the wide variety of acceptable surgical techniques available regardless of patient severity, several factors should be considered. These include patient scarring/tendency for poor scarring, patient comfort with the possibility of revision, patient comfort with the presence of skin redundancy, and other specific circumstances such as the presence of tuberous breast deformity, size of the nipple, and large nipple-to-IMF (Infra-mammary fold) distances, as seen in massive weight loss patients.
Based on the published literature and personal experience, Dr. Sreekar Harinatha provides the following surgical algorithm based on the Simon grading system to assist the plastic surgeon in determining the most appropriate surgical approach for each individual patient.
The first step in the determination of appropriate surgical treatment should be the grading of the patient’s gynecomastia based on Simon’s grade. For patients with grade I gynecomastia, the patient’s previous scars should be examined. If the patient is known to form hypertrophic scars or keloids, excision of glandular tissue should be avoided as an unsightly periareolar scar may cause distress to the patient. In this case, liposuction alone should be chosen as the modality treatment of choice. Conversely, if that patient does not scar poorly, liposuction in addition to SSPM may be chosen.
For patients with grade II gynecomastia, the question regarding the presence of excess skin should be considered. If that patient does not have excess skin but does have an enlarged NAC, gland removal ± liposuction may be utilized. If the patient does not have excess skin and NAC is not enlarged, we advocate for the use of gland removal+ liposuction. If significant excess skin exists regardless of NAC size, we advocate for the use of secondary skin tightening.
Finally, for patients with grade III gynecomastia, the primary question we consider pertains to the nipple-to-IMF distance. If that distance is >10 cm, we advocate for the use of simple mastectomy via the IMF approach with free nipple grafting, as the amount of resection necessary to achieve an acceptable contour would likely revascularize the NAC. If the nipple-to-IMF distance is <10 cm, we advocate for the use of gland removal ± liposuction.
Though the clinical diagnosis of gynecomastia is straightforward, there is some issues that may make this seemingly simple issue a little tricky. These diagnoses that mimic a certain other disorder are called differential diagnoses.
One such common differential diagnosis is pseudo gynecomastia. As the name suggests it refers to ‘false male breast’ meaning fat that masquerades as breast tissue. It is especially common in men who are overweight or obese. However in my opinion the term pseudo gynecomastia is overused and over-diagnosed. There have been instances in mine and my colleagues’ practices where a patient is referred to us as pseudo gynecomastia and the patient is expecting liposuction as the sole treatment.
Some surgeons have even gone ahead and done liposuction to this apparently pseudo gynecomastia only to them realize that there is in fact a large amount of breast tissue left. Now, this complicates the issue manifold. One, the patient has not been told that he requires a gland excisions and a bigger skin cut to do the same. Now, either the surgeon has to explain to the patient’s friends or relatives who have accompanied the patient that the surgical plan has changed as he has now noticed breast tissue or he has to end the procedure there and plan breast tissue removal later on. In either of these scenarios, the surgeon does not come off with flying colors. More importantly, the patient is put through a procedure that he is ill-prepared for.
If the surgeon takes the relatives into confidence and goes ahead and operates and removes the breast tissue, it is left to him to explain it to the patient when he comes out of anesthesia. The matter is easier said than done as it depends entirely on how the patient takes the news. If the surgeon chooses the second option and ends the surgery without removing the gland, he needs to explain that to the patient who may not be happy hearing that he needs another procedure to sort out his chest. I have seen patients who underwent only liposuction for ‘pseudo gynecomastia’ and coming to me complaining that their surgeon has left a lot of hard fat under the nipple. I have had to explain such patients that only fat was removed and the gland was left behind and indeed the diagnosis may be wrong. Now imagine the patient’s conundrum at this phase. An issue that could have been easily sorted in the first procedure has now dragged on not only needing another procedure but also making the patient invest a disproportionate amount of time to sort out the one issue at hand.
This is especially true if the patient following liposuction gets fitter and loses more weight only to notice his breast tissue getting more prominent. Before the surgery and his weight loss, the overall smooth contour due to fat might have camouflaged the breast tissue better than when he gets the liposuction or loses weight. All these issues are readily avoided if one is carefully diagnosing pseudogynecomastia. If the diagnosis is correct then liposuction should suffice.
Apart from fat, there may be other swellings on the chest that simulate a gynecomastia. These swellings may arise from any of the structures over the chest. In most of cases they are unilateral, meaning they are usually only on one side. Nonetheless, it is paramount to diagnoses the swelling before proceeding with the treatment plan.
Skin swellings are quite common on the chest too. The commonest of them is the lipoma. It is an accumulation of immature, abnormal fat cells under the skin. They are more mobile under the skin than the breast tissue and are softer. The treatment for these lipomas is excision (removal) through a small cut in the skin. A big enough lipoma can mimic a breast. Many other such swellings can occur on the chest skin like a sebaceous cyst, dermoid cysts, fat necrosis after injury ( a situation where the fat cells die in a particular area following a high impact injury and clumps up) etc.
Most of them are quite straight forward for the doctor to rule them out. But another sometimes serious and under-diagnosed issue is mastitis. It is basically an infection of the breast tissue. It is way more commoner in females but does occasionally affect men with breasts. The breast glands can get infected by various paths. It can get infected through external sources across the skin like an injury to the skin, nipple piercings, or just a skin infection that spreads inwards. The other mode is infection via blood. Any infection in a part of the body can theoretically spread to another tissue like the breast. When one has mastitis they would complain of severe pain, redness over the chest skin, sometimes pus discharge from the nipple, enlarged lymph nodes in the armpits ( axilla), and fever. The treatment is a course of antibiotics and occasionally removal of the pus and if necessary, the gland.
The word ‘Tumor’ incites various feelings in people. They vary from formidable, dread, distressing, and downright scary. But, not all tutors are not cancers and not all cancers are untreatable. Most of the tumors are benign, meaning, non-cancerous. They are treated like any swellings and usually require removal. In the breast tissue, some men do develop breast cysts and fibroadenomas.
Breast cysts are fluid-filled swelling that has a thin capsule. These cyst again are commoner in females and show up a lump on examination. In most cases, ultrasound is required to correctly diagnose. Sometimes your doctor will insert a thin needle into the breast lump and attempts to withdraw (aspirate) fluid. This may be done under ultrasound guidance or by feeling the lump itself. If the fluid comes out and the breast lump goes away, your doctor can make a breast cyst diagnosis immediately. If the fluid is not bloody and the breast lump disappears, you need no further testing or treatment unless it comes back. If the fluid appears bloody or the breast lump doesn’t disappear, your doctor may send a sample of the fluid for lab testing and refer you to a radiologist for the scans. If no fluid is withdrawn, your doctor will likely recommend a scan such as a diagnostic mammogram and or ultrasound. Lack of fluid or a breast lump that doesn’t disappear after aspiration suggests that the breast lump or at least a portion of it is solid, and a sample of these cells may be collected to check for cancer (fine-needle aspiration biopsy). The treatment of breast cysts is rarely by surgery. It is operated upon only if the diagnosis is unclear even with the scans or if it is troublesome to the patient.
Other breast swellings that may occur in a male breast are duct ectasia, fibroadenoma, and breast cancers. While duct ectasia and fibroadenomas are benign, cancer is another matter altogether. In duct ectasia, the patient may have a scary sign of bloody nipple discharge. One fine day he wakes up to find a bloodstain on his nipple. Many men freak out and rush to the doctor fearing cancer. It usually is a duct ectasia which is nothing but an alteration in the ductal structure. It sometimes needs treatment but always needs assessment. Cancer should be ruled out when there is nipple discharge.
Fibroadenomas are the commonest swellings in a female breast. Some do occur in a man. They feel like a firm lump that is unnaturally mobile. It was often referred to as the ‘mouse in the breast’. While that scenario is far fetched for a male breast, nonetheless it depicts how mobile a fibroadenoma can be. The treatment is removal if the size is more than 3cms in diameter. Occasionally men do wait for them to get very big assuming it’s just a skin lump. While it’s not necessarily dangerous, it’s better to wait to know what it is than without.
Gretchen Dickson in 2012 published a widely referenced article in the journal, American Family Physician that outlined an algorithm to diagnose gynecomastia.
When one talks about tests for a gynecomastia patient, it has two facets to it
Tests to check for causes of gynecomastia
Test mandatory to check if the patient is fit for surgery
Once the doctor suspects its gynecomastia, then the next step is to check if there is indeed a hormonal issue or its idiopathic in nature. The word idiopathic itself means that the cause is unknown. It accounts for over 70-90% of all cases of gynceomastia. However, before diagnosing someone as ‘Idiopathic gynecomastia’ the doctor needs to rule out a few things. The other category of patients belongs to ‘Secondary gynecomastia’ wherein there is a proven cause for gynecomastia as was enlisted above.
Apart from the drug induced gynecomastia that may be easier to diagnoses, the doctor should bear in mind other hormone disorders. Laboratory evaluation is indicated only if the clinical assessment suggests a secondary underlying cause. It is not needed for boys at puberty for enlargement due to fat (pseudogynecomastia) and for men taking drugs known to cause gynecomastia.
In cases of secondary gynecomastia without a clear cause, laboratory tests should be advised and must include, liver, kidney, and thyroid function tests (to exclude the respective causative medical conditions), as well as hormonal tests. The hormonal analysis is always in a series of tests as a part of the evaluation. They include:
Estrogen level
Total and free testosterone
Luteinizing Hormone
Follicle-stimulating hormone
Prolactin
And occasionally hCG, DHEASO4 or 17 ketosteroids, SHBG and αFetoprotein
If the patient’s testes are small, the patient’s karyotype (chromosomal analysis) should be done to exclude Klinefelter’s Syndrome.
If all tests are negative, the patient should be diagnosed with idiopathic gynecomastia. Sometimes it is indeed advisable to have an endocrinologist look at such patients, as there may be other important than just gynecomastia. It is especially more prudent to meet one if these tests reveal significant variations. Early stages of secondary gynecomastia can be medically treated through the gland does not always regress and may end up needing procedure to sort the gland.
Ultrasonography and mammography can occasionally be used to differentiate fat from breast tissue or if there are abnormal masses especially in terms of consistency. Scans are definitely when the patient has one of the signs suggestive of a cancer lump. Other than these, scans may be necessary also to ascertain breast tissue that feels abnormal or feels irregular in places. Mammography is about 90% sensitive and 90% specific for cancers compared with benign masses in men.
However, a biopsy is the only way to make a definitive diagnosis. Patients with a hard, irregular, or asymmetrical mass, nipple discharge (bloody or non-bloody), enlarged armpit lymph nodes, or a mass fixed to skin or the chest wall must have a biopsy. Usually, a core biopsy is recommended over a fine needle or excisional biopsy. In core biopsy, a small amount of tissue is taken via a small hole under local anesthesia. It is more accurate over the commonly done fine needle biopsy. In a fine needle biopsy, an injection is given and the feels obtained through it are examined under a microscope. Since the amount of cell sone gets from such biopsy is very small, the chances of error are consequently high. An excision biopsy is one where the lump is removed in its entirety and sent for testing. While this is the most accurate, it is reserved for specific cases where the diagnosis with routine biopsies are not confirmatory.
Rarely done tests include:
Ultrasound of testes: If there is any abnormality in the testes on examination, or if there is a raised beta-hCG or alpha-fetoprotein.
Abdominal Scans: If a tumor of the adrenal glands or the testes is thought to be responsible for the gynecomastia after hormonal analysis.
Chest X-ray: If a lung tumor is suspected as a cause for gynecomastia. Sometimes tutors in other tissues may be hormonally active, meaning they may produce hormones which in turn may lead to gynecomastia. Though these are rare, one does come across such cases and a quite often a diagnostic dilemma.
Once these diagnostic tests are done as necessary, the next set of tests are for those planning to undergo the corrective procedures. Since the procedures can be theoretically done under local or general anesthesia, the test also varies depending on the anaesthesia planned. For a gynecomastia surgery under local anesthesia, no additional tests are needed, if the patient is clinically fit and has a clear unremarkable history. When the procedure is planned under general anesthesia a set of tests are mandatory.
Complete blood counts
Blood sugar levels
Coagulation parameters: PT, INR and aPTT
Kidney function tests: Serum Creatinine and Urea levels
Other tests that are often done are: HIV screening, HBsAg to check for hepatitis B, HCV etc
Apart from these routine tests, a few more may be advised depending on the patient’s age, medical history and the factors. These include Echocardiography, Chest X-rays, ECG, Liver function tests, Sickle cell tests etc. Cardiac (heart) evaluation becomes necessary when an older patient comes for corrective surgery. Occasionally a consultation with a cardiologist or the relevant physician is needed before surgery.
When one talks about the tests for a gynecomastia patient, it has two facets to it
Tests to check for causes of gynecomastia
Test mandatory to check if the patient is fit for surgery
Once the doctor suspects its gynecomastia, then the next step is to check if there is indeed a hormonal issue or its idiopathic in nature. The word idiopathic itself means that the cause is unknown. It accounts for over 70-90% of all cases of gynecomastia. However, before diagnosing someone as ‘Idiopathic gynecomastia’ the doctor needs to rule out a few things. The other category of patients belongs to ‘Secondary gynecomastia’ wherein there is a proven cause for gynecomastia as was enlisted above.
Apart from the drug-induced gynecomastia that may be easier to diagnose, the doctor should bear in mind other hormone disorders. Laboratory evaluation is indicated only if the clinical assessment suggests a secondary underlying cause. It is not needed for boys at puberty for enlargement due to fat (pseudogynecomastia) and for men taking drugs known to cause gynecomastia.
In cases of secondary gynecomastia without a clear cause, laboratory tests should be advised and must include, liver, kidney, and thyroid function tests (to exclude the respective causative medical conditions), as well as hormonal tests. The hormonal analysis is always in a series of tests as a part of the evaluation. They include:
Estrogen level
Total and free testosterone
Luteinizing Hormone
Follicle-stimulating hormone
Prolactin
And occasionally hCG, DHEASO4 or 17 ketosteroids, SHBG and αFetoprotein
If the patient’s testes are small, the patient’s karyotype (chromosomal analysis) should be done to exclude Klinefelter’s Syndrome.
If all tests are negative, the patient should be diagnosed with idiopathic gynecomastia. Sometimes it is indeed advisable to have an endocrinologist look at such patients, as there may be other important than just gynecomastia. It is especially more prudent to meet one to reveal significant variations. Early stages of secondary gynecomastia can be medically treated through the gland and do not always regress and may end up needing procedure to sort the gland.
Ultrasonography and mammography can occasionally be used to differentiate fat from breast tissue or if there are abnormal masses especially in terms of consistency. Scans are definitely when the patient has one of the signs suggestive of a cancer lump. Other than these, as may be necessary also to ascertain breast tissue that feels abnormal or feels irregular in places. Mammography is about 90% sensitive and 90% specific for cancers compared with benign masses in men.
However, a biopsy is the only way to make a definitive diagnosis. Patients with a hard, irregular, or asymmetrical mass, nipple discharge (bloody or non-bloody), enlarged armpit lymph nodes, or a mass fixed to skin or the chest wall must have a biopsy. Usually, a core biopsy is recommended over the fine needle or excisional biopsy. In core biopsy, a small amount of tissue is taken via a small hole under local anesthesia. It is more accurate over the commonly done fine needle biopsy. In a fine needle biopsy, an injection is given and the feels obtained through it are examined under a microscope. Since the amount of cell sone gets from such biopsy is very small, the chances of error are consequently high. An excision biopsy is one where the lump is removed in its entirety and sent for testing. While this is the most accurate, it is reserved for specific cases where the diagnosis with routine biopsies are not confirmatory.
Rarely done tests include:
Ultrasound of testes: If there is any abnormality in the testes on examination, or if there is a raised beta-hCG or alpha-fetoprotein.
Abdominal Scans: If a tumor of the adrenal glands or the testes is thought to be responsible for the gynecomastia after hormonal analysis.
Chest X-ray: If a lung tumor is suspected as a cause for gynecomastia. Sometimes tutors in other tissues may be hormonally active, meaning they may produce hormones which in turn may lead to gynecomastia. Though these are rare, one does come across such cases and a quite often a diagnostic dilemma.
Once these diagnostic tests are done as necessary, the next set of tests are for those planning to undergo the corrective procedures. Since the procedures can be theoretically done under local or general anesthesia, the test also varies depending on the anesthesia planned. For a gynecomastia surgery under local anesthesia, no additional tests are needed, if the patient is clinically fit and has a clear unremarkable history. When the procedure is planned under general anesthesia a set of tests are mandatory.
Complete blood counts
Blood sugar levels
Coagulation parameters: PT, INR, and aPTT
Kidney function tests: Serum Creatinine and Urea levels
Other tests that are often done are: HIV screening, HBsAg to check for hepatitis B, HCV, etc
Apart from these routine tests, a few more may be advised depending on the patient’s age, medical history, and the factors. These include Echocardiography, Chest X-rays, ECG, Liver function tests, Sickle cell tests, etc. Cardiac (heart) evaluation becomes necessary when an older patient comes for corrective surgery. Occasionally a consultation with a cardiologist or the relevant physician is needed before surgery.
COVID test for Gynecomastia: Currently there are no clear guidelines or consensus for conduction COVID tests for any gynecomastia patient.
TheMedicalDefinition: Gynecomastia is defined clinically as an enlargement of male breast tissue, characterized by the presence of a rubbery or firm mass extending in a diffuse and concentric fashion under the nipple and areola.
TheCommonMan’sDefinition: Chest fat, Male Boobs, MOOBS, Male Breast, etc
It’s common in my practice to have a patient come in saying that he has a lot of chest fat and wants it sorted. Most of these people are usually quite fit and don’t even have a lot of fat anywhere in the body, to begin with. Many would have worked out endlessly only to notice that the chest bulge hasn’t reduced. If anything the ‘chest fat’ is now more prominent and protruding than it was when they were less fit. Many men who do not research or take a medical opinion to attribute this to ‘stubborn fat’. Only when a doctor examines and points out the differences in how the ‘chest fat’ feels as opposed to the fat elsewhere do they realize that it’s something else. Some people actually feel crestfallen when confronted by the diagnosis. But nonetheless, the treatment is not too different than what they would have imagined if it was indeed fat.
When a male breast is seen under a microscope it contains what we call ‘a benign proliferation of glandular male breast tissue’. It actually means that the tissue is very similar to female breast structurally, but of course, is different functionally. It means that it serves no function in males and is a vestigial and purposeless tissue.
During puberty, changes in the breast bud occur due to the hormonal influence and lead to transient enlargement of the breasts and is a very common occurrence. It becomes an issue when this enlargement either becomes too excessive or fails to regress in time. The emotional impact that can result during these very important formative years can have long-lasting effects on the emotional and social development of the individual.
Male breast development occurs in a similar fashion to female breast development. At puberty in the female, complex hormonal interplay occurs resulting in growth and maturation of the adult female breast.
Gynecomastia normally can occur during three phases of life. The first occurs shortly after birth in both males and females. This is caused by the high levels of predominantly feminine hormones; estradiol and progesterone produced by the mother during pregnancy, which stimulates newborn breast tissue. It can persist for several weeks after birth.
Puberty is the second situation in which gynecomastia can occur physiologically. This again is due o the imbalance of hormones. It may be due to either decreased production of androgens (male hormones) or change in its ratio with respect to the female hormones.
The third age range in which gynecomastia is frequently seen is during older age (>60 years). Although the exact mechanisms by which this can occur have not been fully clear, it may result from reduced male hormone production associated with aging and other factors.
In early fetal (when the baby is still in the mother’s womb) life, epithelial cells (Cells on the skin surface) that are destined to become areola also form the ducts. The ducts form the supply pipelines from where the mother’s milk is produced in the alveolar structures (the milk-producing part of the breast) glands up to the nipple. As the influence of the mother’s hormones that are transferred to the baby while in the womb reduces, the breast development ceases. This process of multiplication and tissue replication restarts when the hormonal balance is altered like in puberty. But once the hormonal issues regress, the tissue also tends to reduce when it’s not large enough. But in many men, even after the hormonal influence ceases, the gland still persists and leads to all the issues at hand.
In puberty when the gland develops and gets noticeable, many complain of pain and tenderness which sometimes leads them to medical consultation. Evaluation under the guidance of a physician can be performed as needed to rule out other conditions that can result in hormonal imbalance having an effect on the breast. Although it is reasonable to simply observe patients who present with gynecomastia even until the age of 16 or 18, when social behaviors begin to become negatively affected by the condition, it is recommended to proceed with surgical correction nonetheless.
But most patients, however, tide over the issues during puberty and come for consultation when they are independent and employed. Most Indians, come to a doctor when they are looking for alliances or during a relationship.
The causes of gynecomastia can be broadly classified into two categories: primary and secondary.
Primary or idiopathic or physiological is the commoner type. It is seen in up to 90% of newborns due to the transfer of hormones from the mother. Newborn gynecomastia usually resolves spontaneously within four weeks of birth. Children with symptoms that persist after their first birthday should be examined further; they may be at risk of persistent pubertal gynecomastia. It is, however, important to rule out other causes while confronted with adolescent gynecomastia.
Secondary or non-physiological gynecomastia occurs due to a plethora of etiologies and requires thorough clinical and laboratory assessment
Causes of secondary gynecomastia
1. Mediation or drug abuse
Hormones: Androgens, anabolic steroids, estrogens, estrogen agonists, and hCG
Antiandrogens/ Bicalutamide, flutamide, nilutamide, cyproterone, and GRH agonists (leuprolide and goserelin)
Male breast reduction surgery in Bangalore is the leading treatment for gynecomastia and is exceptionally successful. This procedure involves removal of the breast tissue and liposuction to address the tissue as well as excess fat to achieve the desired results. Gynecomastia surgery relieves men of the embarrassment caused by having the condition and restores their chest to a pleasing masculine appearance.
Undergoing this procedure provides a broader range of benefits for a man than any other aesthetic surgical procedure would. It improves the overall masculine appearance of the chest, boosts self-esteem and confidence, makes physical activity easier, reduces back pain in cases of large gynecomastia, motivates people to stay fitter, allows men to wear tight-fitting dresses, allows one to swim bare-chested without embarrassment and improves the overall outlook of the individual.
Below are the top benefits of choosing male breast reduction surgery:
Meet Dr. Sreekar Harinatha by calling 7022543542 or 08047094167 and clear your doubts.
This video was made to provide you with the latest technique of gynecomastia surgery followed by Dr. Sreekar Harinatha, Plastic and Cosmetic Surgeon in Bangalore, India. This technique won an Award for the best new Technique at the IMCAS conference in Taipei, Taiwan.
If there is one factor that determines the kind of surgery and the outcomes it the grade of gynecomastia. Though there are many different methods of grading gynecomastia, the most commonly followed is Simon’s grading described in 1973. He classified gynecomastia into three grades depending on the amount of breast tissue and loose skin on top of the breast.
Grade I: Small enlargement without skin excess
Grade IIa: Moderate enlargement without skin excess
Grade IIb: Moderate enlargement with minor skin excess
Grade III: Marked enlargement with a lot of excess skin, resembling a female breast
Grade 1: Mild Gynecomastia
Grade IIA: Moderate Gynecomastia without skin excess
Grade IIB: Moderate Gynecomastia with skin excess
Grade III: Large Gynecomastia with skin excess
Rohrich in 2003 proposed another classification into four grades.
Grade I: Minimal hypertrophy (< 250 g) without ptosis
Grade II: Moderate hypertrophy (250–500 g) without ptosis
Grade III: Severe hypertrophy (> 500 g) with grade I ptosis
Grade IV: Severe hypertrophy with grade II or grade III ptosis
Though these two are used worldwide, Simon’s grading is simple and used more widely. One addition I would like to suggest to these gradings is the addition of skin tone factor. To put it simply, while skin excess is the loose skin on top of the breast tissue, skin tone is the inherent capacity of the skin to shrink and contract after the surgery. While skin excess has a linear progression from grades 1 to 3, skin tone can be independent of it.
The revised grading by Dr. Sreekar Harinatha is as below:
Grade IT: Small enlargement, No skin excess, Normal skin tone
Grade 1L: Small enlargement, No skin excess, Poor skin tone
Grade IIAT: Moderate enlargement, No skin excess, Normal skin tone
Grade IIAL: Moderate enlargement, No skin excess, Poor skin tone
Grade IIBT: Moderate enlargement, Minimal Skin excess, Normal skin tone
Grade IIBL: Moderate enlargement, Minimal Skin excess, Poor skin tone
Grade IIIT: Marked enlargement, Lot of excess skin, Normal skin tone
Grade IIIL: Marked enlargement, Lot of excess skin, Poor skin tone
The ‘L’ here would indicate laxity, meaning poor skin tone. This revised grading would also predict the eventual surgical results in terms of skin reshaping in a more accurate way. And once documented into history, it would serve as a reminder about the patient’s original skin tone before the surgery and during follow-up.
Dr. Sreekar Harinatha’s revised grading is now widely accepted and also published in the prestigious Brazilian Journal of Plastic Surgery. Read the article here…
This is very important and is very often understated for reasons I cannot fathom. When two patients with grade IIA come for surgery and get operated by the same technique under the same surgeon, the results may be different. The reason being the difference in skin tone between the two. This should not come as a surprise as such a difference in results follows other surgeries like liposuction too. The lack of skin tone makes a visible difference in the results after any procedure. And patient with loose skin even after seemingly lack of loose skin may need other non-non-surgical procedures or very rarely surgery to tighten the loose skin. This can happen even in Grade IIA gynecomastia.
Meet the experienced gynecomastia surgeon in Bengaluru, Dr Sreekar Harinatha to get your male breast sorted.
Traditionally it was viewed that one should undergo Gynecomastia surgery only after puberty and around 16-18 years. Unfortunately, many teenagers spend their entire teenage years waiting for the surgery and are subject to ridicule and embarrassment during this critical time in their lives. Many people even think that Gynecomastia resolves on its own after puberty which is a very rare occurrence. It’s important to notice the state of the breast gland for a period of two years. If it has increased or is the same, then it’s prudent to plan the procedure. The decision to operate is based not only on the diagnosis of gynecomastia but also on the physical and mental maturity of the person and his capability of understanding the surgery as well as the ability to cope with the post-op pain and to follow the post-op care regimen. Surgery has been successfully performed on hundreds of young men from ages 12 through 18. Obviously, this decision is made is on an individual basis.
One parent in 2014 met me with their son who was studying in 11th. They were worried about the sudden drop in his grades and his low self-esteem. They had taken him to a psychiatrist too. The boy was on medication as he did not fully disclose the issue to the psychiatrist. Only later did he reveal gynecomastia to his father who in turn got him to meet me. The boy had in the last four years been under severe psychological impact apparently as his friends poked fun at him for his breasts. He started wearing loose-fitting shirts on top of a male bra. Yes, you read that right; a male bra.
The male bra is actually a compression vest that is actually used post-surgical correction for a few weeks for the surgical swelling to reduce. Many misguided boys wear it under their shirts to compress the breasts hoping that it would not show up on top of clothes and also that wearing it long enough would make the gland disappear. Some others try bandaging, where they roll a tight length of a bandage or a cloth in order to compress the glands against their chest to hide it better. Some boys end up getting their skin damaged and even sustain rashes that have to be treated independently. They occur due to the tightness and the subsequent skin damage and irritation.
Examples of skin damage and pigmentation due to overuse of Male Bra (Chest compression garments)
The extent to which some men go to for correction of the breast is quite baffling; especially in these days where a simple google search reveals that surgery is the straight forward option.
In August 2018, a very important and systematic meta-analysis was published on the psychological impact of gynecomastia and surgery. Meta-analysis is like an analysis of many research projects under one umbrella. In such studies, various other research patterns and results are analyzed to give us a better and clearer understanding of the issue being researched on. This study was published in the Gland Surgery journal by Martin Sollie from Denmark. They analyzed over 500 research papers on the topic. They too noted that gynecomastia impacts the general health, functional capacity, social aspects, vitality and mental health of the individuals. And all these were significantly and objectively improved once it was corrected by surgery. This is a seminal piece of information on the often neglected psychological aspects of the male breast. There are many more detailed and meticulous trials and studies that second this conclusion.
Men older than 45 years suffering from gynecomastia are also candidates for surgery but must understand that the skin may not totally tighten after the surgery is performed since they may have lost some elasticity in their skin through the natural process of aging. Such candidates also require more blood tests and other investigations before surgery.
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