SURGICAL
AESTHETICS
58 MAY/JUNE 2016
|
Surgical Aesthetics
©
GETTY
IMAGES
GYNECOMASTIA surgery is a life-
changing procedure that can have a profound
affect on a patient's self-confi dence. It's also
a unique plastic surgery procedure in that
it focuses exclusively on males and almost
exclusively on a very young patient base.
"Most of my patients are very young—the
average age is 27," says Mordcai Blau, MD,
a Westchester, New York-based plastic
surgeon who specializes in gynecomastia
surgery and author of Masculinity Defi ned:
Gynecomastia and the Search for the Perfect
Pecs. "It is very rare to see a patient over
the age of 35."
As demand for gynecomastia surgery
increases, physicians can help their patients
achieve optimal outcomes by: understanding
the underlying medical concerns that may
cause excessive breast tissue growth in
men; and developing a surgical strategy that
maintains vascularization while removing the
correct amount of excess fat and tissue, so
patients are left with a naturally contoured
chest and a low risk of recurrence.
Chest Reduction
By Inga Hansen
Achieving
optimal outcomes in
gynecomastia surgery.
THE PATIENT CONSULT
The fi rst step in treating gynecomastia is determining the
root cause of the condition. When communicating with
patients, using the word "chest" rather than "breast" can
help put them at ease.
"One of the most important parts of the consultation is
to fi gure out the cause of the gynecomastia," says Babak
Dadvand, MD, a Beverly Hills, California-based plastic
surgeon. "I do this by asking a series of questions: 'When
did you fi rst notice it? Is your chest rapidly increasing in size?
Do you have any other symptoms, such as low energy, low
sex drive or increased irritability (that may be consistent with
low testosterone levels)? Do you have a family history of
gynecomastia? What medications are you on?' Because