Skin sticking to muscle post op

[Chodel]

assuming this happens can it be dealt with via other means than just surgery?  can massaging help?  what are the potential solutions?

does it just stick to muscle? or is it tissue and the like as well?


thank you

[mmaman]

You might want to be more specific with your question.

[BigLouJr]

Is your skin sticking to someone's muscle? I think in the human body, the skin lays on top of the muscles. So it goes like this, bones, organs, muscles, some fat, and skin (the outer layer). The lover your body fat is, the closer the skin is to your muscles and in some areas your bones. I do not think you need to be concern with the skin and the muscles. Be concern of your mammary glands and your skin since they will make your chest look like boobs.

[Chodel]

You might want to be more specific with your question.

i thought it was pretty clear...but i shall clarify...

IF your skin (post  op) sticks to muscle what solutions to correcting this problem are there?  For instance are there any other potential solutions rather than JUST more surgery?

for the second poster, not my skin hasn't stuck...but just had the op and worried that this might occur 

[BigLouJr]

You are still not clear. What do you mean by sticking to your muscle? The skin goes on top of your muscle, so they must be touching internally, it is normal for them to touch or stick, however you want to call it. The bigger your muscle or boobs (mammary glands), your skin will expand since it is on top of it, and they stick together. The older you get, the less expandable your skin becomes. After surgery, and I mean after all of the inflammation disappears, the skin will be touching, sticking, adhereing, bonding to your muscle and small layer of fat (depending on your level of fat) or glands if they are still there.

You need to be more clear or give an example.

[wildman]

Do you mean you're concerned about "loose" skin or "excess" skin after surgery?

[Mr_Nip]

I think he's talking about adhesion. This is when the skin attaches to the muscle down in the cavity left behind when the fat/gland tissue was removed.  Adhesion can make the skin look concave or sunken in shape where it "sticks" to the muscle. 

If that's the case, then I'm not 100% sure as of what besides revision surgery may work to improve it.  Maybe one of the surgeons can pick up on this and give a qualified answer. 

[Mr_Nip]

I just found this thread with an interesting response by Dr. Bermant on the topic of adhesions: 
http://www.gynecomastia.org/smf/index.php/topic,1097.msg9391.html#msg9391

[Chodel]

am i talking another language? lol

I think he's talking about adhesion. This is when the skin attaches to the muscle down in the cavity left behind when the fat/gland tissue was removed.  Adhesion can make the skin look concave or sunken in shape where it "sticks" to the muscle. 

If that's the case, then I'm not 100% sure as of what besides revision surgery may work to improve it.  Maybe one of the surgeons can pick up on this and give a qualified answer. 

that's what I meant    cheers for the link!

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

During standard surgery for gynecomastia, some fat tissue is always removed with the breast tissue.  However, the surgeon must be careful to make sure he leaves at least a thin layer of fat beneath the skin.  If he doesn't, and there is only bare under-surface of skin left, then there is a good chance that the skin will stick (or dimple) down to the muscle layer and heal that way.  While you can try massage if this happens, it usually doesn't work; the real culprit is the loss of that vital fat layer.  Usually, if this occurs, the treatment would be minor surgery to release the dimple and then place a fat graft in the area.

This problem is very rare in the hands of a competent surgeon who perform a large volume of gynecomastia operations.

Hope this explains the problem.

Elliot Jacobs, MD, FACS
New York, New York

[Chodel]

During standard surgery for gynecomastia, some fat tissue is always removed with the breast tissue.  However, the surgeon must be careful to make sure he leaves at least a thin layer of fat beneath the skin.  If he doesn't, and there is only bare under-surface of skin left, then there is a good chance that the skin will stick (or dimple) down to the muscle layer and heal that way.  While you can try massage if this happens, it usually doesn't work; the real culprit is the loss of that vital fat layer.  Usually, if this occurs, the treatment would be minor surgery to release the dimple and then place a fat graft in the area.

This problem is very rare in the hands of a competent surgeon who perform a large volume of gynecomastia operations.

Hope this explains the problem.

Elliot Jacobs, MD, FACS
New York, New York

thank you good sir!

[outertrial]

o m g. A new doctor!

[DrBermant]

assuming this happens can it be dealt with via other means than just surgery?  can massaging help?  what are the potential solutions?

does it just stick to muscle? or is it tissue and the like as well?


thank you

The skin sticking to the deeper tissues is a component of the Crater Deformity Defect. Crater Deformity Defects After Gynecomastia Surgery can look terrible.  Check out this new page showing just a few of the horror stories I have seen.

Prevention is so much better than trying to fix such a problem.  My Dynamic Technique Male Chest Contouring permits me to target gland first and then use an artist's pallet of tools to contour the remaining tissue.  Sometimes Revision Gynecomastia Surgery can help.  I typically prefer my Fat Flap Technique instead of a fat graft.  The fat flap comes with a blood supply, tends to survive better than a graft, and seems to be softer and moves better on animation.

Take some time to browse through the many examples of my work to see typical results of my methods.

Hope this helps,

Michael Bermant, MD
Learn More About Gynecomastia and Chest Sculpture