New here= Mom of an 11 yr old son with "severe" Gyne.

[GyneKidsMom]

Hi everyone and THANK GOD I found this site.  My son is currently being seen by a doc. for his Gynecomastia.  It's very severe.  I won't post pictures because I know he would be absolutely mortified.  Suffice it to say, if I had to give you a description- he's probably the equivalent of a female B-Cup.  Hard to imagine for some men probably. 

My son is overweight.  He's 5-7 almost 5-8 at weighs 200 pounds. (Yes... he's a lineman and every football coach's DREAM LOL )  The doc is currently working with him to lose weight (of course) but he's told us that even weight loss will not fix this.  He's very active and athletic. His problem is not fat, it's actual breast tissue. 

I recently had my own breast reduction and my doc was amazed at how dense my breasts were.  Very little fat.  Just lots of tissue.  So- when I passed this information on to Evan's doctor, he said that made a lot of sense because he can see evidence of this in Evan as well.

We are meeting with his doctor every few months as he's trying to build a case for insurance to cover the surgery for us. 

My question is... do any of you know if surgeons will perform this procedure on young men?  How difficult will it be to get a doctor to do this?  We're considering skirting the whole insurance thing and just paying out of pocket.

Needless to say, this is  VERY traumatic thing for Evan and we all know how cruel kids can be.  Any suggestions would be helpful.

And again- THANK YOU to whoever manages this site.  What a relief to find a group of people who REALLY understand.  This really is no laughing matter.

[Mr_Nip]

...My question is... do any of you know if surgeons will perform this procedure on young men?  How difficult will it be to get a doctor to do this?  We're considering skirting the whole insurance thing and just paying out of pocket....

Welcome to the site.  Your son is very fortunate to have a mom like you who cares and supports him in this. 

To answer your questions, it is easy to find a surgeon who performs these surgeries.  You'll need a gynecomastia-experienced plastic surgeon.  There are a few really good ones who post here frequently and will hopefully pick up on this thread soon.  In choosing a surgeon, you'll need to choose one who has experience in MALE breast reduction.  Look at before/after photos and ask a lot of questions about their gynecomastia experience. 

The difficult thing will be getting insurance to pay for it.  I've only heard of insurance paying for it in a few cases, and those were because it was proven that the condition was causing physical (not mental) pain in the sufferer. 

Don't worry, though.  If you're willing to pay out of pocket, there's real help out there for him.  He doesn't have to go through life with gynecomastia. 

[Mr_Nip]

Note to moderators:  Please resist the temptation to move this thread to the Parents/Family section.  I think it  needs to remain here in Gynecomastia Talk for at least several days so it can get the exposure and responses it deserves.  Thanks for your consideration.

[GynO_DuDe]

Thats what this forums all about! No need to thank any one

[TM]

Much respect to you for having so much concern for your sons gyne. Ive had gyne since I was a your sons age and my mom was in complete DENIAL. I opened a thread in the "user photos" section called, "On going debate.....need opinions." If you have time you should check it out. My mom is still in denial and im 27 years old!
Good luck to you and welcome to the board.

[enthusiastic]

I'm 33 and I've been suffering with this for so long.

When I was 12 I was also overweight and it was terrible.  The football coach came to me and told me I'd get "straight A's" if I played for the team.  I did not.   That was stupid.

However, 

Getting so overweight so early, I've read research that says that overweight boys mature later and have lower testosterone levels throughout their lives as a result of their obesity.  His best chance to lose massive amounts of weight are NOW and you have the opportunity to TRAIN him to eat well and lose weight.  Please from a guy who has resented his mother for years for never teaching him how to eat properly, take this chance now to help your son lose weight.

Glad this thread stayed here.

[rolo3175]

i just had my surgery on 9/10/2007 in Hawaii. this affected me since 12 and i always been ashamed of it now im 24 5'7 145lbs good health and waited this long to get it. I missed out on years of time at the beach, pools, bbqing with friends while playing sports like volleyball. i hope he gets the surgery. i have pics of my Gyne on here too, so you can see how bad it was. this really lowered my self esteem. i hope ur son isnt or got teased like i did.

[Paa_Paw]

Dear Mom,

You may have hit on something. I am a grandpa, all 4 of my sons have the condition as did I ( though not as large as what you describe in your son) and concurrently all the women of the family have breasts significantly larger than average.

Perhaps there is a family predisposition involved but who knows?

Your son is fortunate to have an understanding mother.

Good Luck.

[Paa_Paw]

I Thought I was the only one with the problem for some time.  Then realized how common gynecomastia really is when I was in my twenties.

Rather shy through my teens and twenties, I was 35 years old before I married. And I'm sure that my mother dispared of having any grandchildren up 'til then.

Mom's worries were for naught though, I have 8 children, 23 grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.

[Mr_Nip]

I found out last year from my mother that females in my family have commonly complained about having extra large areolas, so I'm convinced there's a female genetic connection.  This is in addition to her father's gynecomastia.  To make it worse, I was given steroids as a child to treat asthma (glad they did it or I wouldn't be here today).   With all that working against me it's a wonder I didn't have to carry my chest in a wheelbarrow. 

[Grandpa Bambu]

My Mother's dad had Gynecomastia. And.... staying with the female family member issue,  mom has farily large breasts also...

AFAIK, my dad never had gyne and my brother never had it.

GB

[Mr_Nip]

...You might want to start a new thread with this particular question....

Excellent idea.  Make a new thread and maybe Bambu will make it a sticky.

[Grandpa Bambu]

Somehow this thread got moved to the 'US' board. Very odd...

GB

[Tallguy]

1) It's great that you are being proactive with your son's condition. It's difficult for some mothers to accept the fact their child is not perfect. I applaud you for your support. I can't tell you the number of missed opportunities or events that I passed on because I was embarrassed or had a lack of self esteem.

2) I do not know where you live. Since I live on the west coast, I researched doctors in Seattle, Los Angeles, and Northern California. I chose Dr. Delgado. I had my surgery 13 months ago. He was excellent, took the extra time, and made me fell very confident in choosing him. He was head and shoulders above the rest. His staff is excellent and the motel (Innmarin) I stayed at for 1 week was very nice and at a good price. I am happy with my results. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help you, or any additional information that is needed.