what to do?

[Rae Sremmurd]

I got gyne when i was 12 or 13.  Back then, I went to the doctor's office for it.  The doctor told me that it would go away within 2 years.  Now, 5 years later, I'm 18.  It still hasn't gone away.  I went back to the doctor's office, and they say something similar.  Oh, it will go away by the time you are 21.  Now, I really don't believe this since they were wrong the first time.  Do you think that the gyne will go away by the time i am 21? what should I do about this now because i've tried to tell my parents that it wouldn't.

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Welcome to the forum!  Here you will find sympathetic and understanding brothers with similar physical problems.

I respectfully disagree with your prior doctors.  Once gyne is established in your early teens, if it doesn't spontaneously disappear within about two years or so, then more than likely it will remain.  Many docs point to the magical age of 18, at which time you can vote, drive a car, join the military and your gyne will totally disappear.  Unfortunately, the gyne tends to remain -- and it will not disappear when you reach the next magical age of 21, when you will be able to drink legally in most states.

Suggest you have a really good sit-down talk with your parents and then, together, seek the opinion of a gyne specialist in your area.

And feel free to pose questions on this site.

Dr Jacobs

[DrPensler]

A photo in cases like this are useful for me. All males as they go through puberty get an increase in the size or their breast bud ( the tissue below the nipple and areola). The increase in size is related to the hormonal fluxes that are occurring. In the overwhelming majority of cases the size increase is small and then recedes once the hormone levels stabilize. In a small number of individuals the increase is not small and does not recede.The recession as your doctor initially correctly stated occurs within two years.If there is no recession there is a dramatic alteration of the "odds" which makes it more likely the tissue will remain. I am not aware of anything substantial changing around 18 and routinely see patients who have been evaluated by pediatric endocrinologists at 15 to 18 years of age.For them the key age is that at which the patient begins to undergo pubescent changes.This may be getting a bit complicated but as you know some patients undergo  puberty at 10 while others are much later say 17 or 18 years of age. A patient at  15 who has not undergone puberty is very different than a 15 year old who began puberty at say 11.

[Dr. Schuster]

This is a very controversial issue, especially among gynecomastia surgeons. Classic teaching for Pediatricians is that most cases of gynecomastia will resolve on its own. Pediatricians are, by and large, a fairly conservative group of doctors that are not so willing to embrace elective surgery. Most of their patients who "graduate" from their office with gynecomastia don't return to show them that it did not go away. There has never been good research documenting the incidence of gynecomastia nor the natural resolution of it. I really don't think Pediatricians have any idea about how many of their patients have persistent gynecomastia and how deep the psych-social effects are. This is a long answer to your question. In summary, because of the large number of gynecomastia patients that I treat, as well as other busy gynecomastia surgeons, I generally recommend to young patients and/or their parents, to consider corrective surgery if the gynecomastia is causing significant issues with relationships or activities.

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

I think you have now heard from myself and two other reputable plastic surgeons, all of whom share the same view -- that once gyne is established and is stable for two or more years, it will not disappear spontaneously.

I think you should, if possible, sit down with your parents and discuss the issue with them.

Best of luck!

Dr Jacobs