Opinions please, gentlemen

[skeen]

Hoping for some opinions.

29yo. Used to be overweight at 5'9 175lb or so.
Now fairly lean at 160lb or so, and fairly happy with my progress (would always like to be a little bigger and a little more ripped, but who wouldn't!)

What bugs me (you can probably guess) is the appearance of my chest.
My nipples feel fleshy, and I feel they hang below (especially on the right) where the bottom of my pec finishes.
When I wear a tight or thin singlet/t-shirt, I can see the nipples/areola pushing out through the fabric.
Additionally, there appears to me to be some asymmetry between my left and right sides

Here is a photo:

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/5007/p1010025l.jpg

I tried to make this img as high res as possible - if you zoom in there is an almost "translucent ring" around the right (monitor left) nipple?

Here is another, different angle and lighting to exaggerate the appearance (taken about 1 minute apart, goes to show what difference angle and lighting make I guess)

http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/865/p1010021c.jpg

If I pull upwards on the skin of my upper chest to bring the nipples north, they look better, but still fleshy.
When the weather is cold, the skin pulls tight, and they look (to me) perfectly acceptable.

To touch, the tissue underneath feels soft and uniform; it doesn't feel like there is any glandular tissue.
There is certainly an element of loose skin; I can grab the skin and pull it an inch or so.

First off, how about an objective assessment of how bad this is?
What is everyone's feeling on what this appearance represents: fat/loose skin/gyno?
And what would be a suitable management plan? Would trying specific exercises to help balance out the size of the 2 sides help at all - if it makes any difference when I do dumbell chest presses, my right side (the more titty side) is weaker than my left but I'm not sure if this is tricep weakness or pec weakness.
I am really averse to surgery at this point, but what would the options be?

Thanks

[PBC]

 From what I have read and been told by doctors, is it is very difficult to tell the nature of a person's gyne (fatty or glandular). You certainly don't look out of shape, so maybe it has less of a fatty component perhaps. That second picture certainly does look to me like you have gyne though. If that is the case surgery is really your only option. As far as exercise goes, if you have true gyne, it will have a minimal effect on your condition. I would imagine you are a good surgery candidate though; it appears that you have built up a good amount of muscle in your pecs.

[DrBermant]

Hoping for some opinions.

29yo. Used to be overweight at 5'9 175lb or so.
Now fairly lean at 160lb or so, and fairly happy with my progress (would always like to be a little bigger and a little more ripped, but who wouldn't!)

What bugs me (you can probably guess) is the appearance of my chest.
My nipples feel fleshy, and I feel they hang below (especially on the right) where the bottom of my pec finishes.
When I wear a tight or thin singlet/t-shirt, I can see the nipples/areola pushing out through the fabric.
Additionally, there appears to me to be some asymmetry between my left and right sides

Here is a photo:

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/5007/p1010025l.jpg

I tried to make this img as high res as possible - if you zoom in there is an almost "translucent ring" around the right (monitor left) nipple?

Here is another, different angle and lighting to exaggerate the appearance (taken about 1 minute apart, goes to show what difference angle and lighting make I guess)

http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/865/p1010021c.jpg

If I pull upwards on the skin of my upper chest to bring the nipples north, they look better, but still fleshy.
When the weather is cold, the skin pulls tight, and they look (to me) perfectly acceptable.

To touch, the tissue underneath feels soft and uniform; it doesn't feel like there is any glandular tissue.
There is certainly an element of loose skin; I can grab the skin and pull it an inch or so.

First off, how about an objective assessment of how bad this is?
What is everyone's feeling on what this appearance represents: fat/loose skin/gyno?
And what would be a suitable management plan? Would trying specific exercises to help balance out the size of the 2 sides help at all - if it makes any difference when I do dumbell chest presses, my right side (the more titty side) is weaker than my left but I'm not sure if this is tricep weakness or pec weakness.
I am really averse to surgery at this point, but what would the options be?

Thanks

The male chest can be distorted by gland and fat of Gynecomastia Male Breast Enlargement. After weight loss, loose skin can also be a factor to different degrees. Drooping or Ptosis is a frequent problem after massive weight loss or deflation of massive muscles.   

Posting Standard Pictures to Show Male Chest Drooping after weight loss can help others better understand if the loose skin component is a factor.

Low Nipples Look Strange on the male chest and comes in many different degrees.  When sagging is significant, surgery can combine both the residual contours of gynecomastia and loose hanging tissues in a single sculpture.  Male Mastopexy Chest Lift for Drooping Chest or Ptosis can consist of many different Surgical Options for Excess Skin of the Male Chest.  A Short Scar Skin Reduction Chest Lift hides the scars under the pectoral muscles and around the areola.  However, for more subtle problems, the compromise of leaving the loose skin alone can be a better option.

Hope this helps,

Michael Bermant, MD
Learn More About Male Mastopexy Chest Lift for Sagging Tissues

[headheldhigh01]

looks like a possible mild case, a little irregularity in shape from second picture.  side profiles are more revealing, moderate cases can look like nothing in just a flat front shot.  if you say it sticks out in a t-shirt, that's an indicator.  my theory, just a theory, is that older cases can get a little wider and flatter over time. 

whether the gland is soft or dense isn't that important unless somebody uses soft as an excuse to want to do lipo only on you, which you should resist.  the answer would boil down to whether you can feel something kind of firm or sort of squishy instead. 

people have tried, but nobody has found a credible alternative to the surgery yet.  welcome to the site. 

[DrBermant]

my theory, just a theory, is that older cases can get a little wider and flatter over time.  

It is usually not the age that changes the shape, but extra fat. As fat gets put on, the female breast contour extends wider to the center, under the arms, and eventually as a band all around the back. The extra fat tends to overwhelm and hide the gland component, but the breast is not getting flatter, just the regions away from the areola are filling up more.  Other factors with age are the muscle and skin. Skin tends to lose its elasticity over time. Muscles built with the passions of youth fade. Both can lead to sagging and drooping and other contour issues.  Eventually the residual fat and gland can drop well below the pectoral muscles, and that can flatten the chest.

Hope this helps,

Michael Bermant, MD
Learn More About Gynecomastia and Male Breast Reduction

[headheldhigh01]

thanks, very interesting, did kind of wonder about that. 

[Dr. Cruise]

The pictures you have sent or difficult to interpret. The first one has your arms up which stretches the chest skin and makes the problem much better. The second picture is from below. This angle along with what appears to be a wide angle lens makes the problem seem much worse. I would recommend sending 3 pictures. One from the front and one from each side showing a true profile of the chest. Use the timer so you can set up comfortably. Make sure the lens in not set at wide angle as this causes significant distortion.