Simple question for a doc or anyone else with experience

[charlesfl]

Hi all,

I see that a lot of people decide to lose weight before the surgery and even people who are pretty lean. I know that the procedure takes out both breast fat tissue and gland tissue. I understand that someone who is on the heavy side needs to lose weight so that the whole chest area looks even with the rest of the body.

Why is it also good for someone who is fairly lean to lose weight? The way i see it is as follows - Someone like me - 5 8, 150 lbs who gets the surgery done will get the gland and fat tissue removed. If i lose weight to become really lean - say another 10 lbs then the doc will remove gland tissue and very little fat tissue.

But obviously i am the type whose fat is distributed on my chest area, so if, after the surgery, i go back to a weight of 150 (which i most probably will) i will still have a fatty chest (without the gland of course because that cant grow back) so isn't it better to maintain my present weight for the surgery so that the fatty tissue will be removed and only if ever get heavier than 150 will i get a fatty chest.

[DrBermant]

Hi all,

I see that a lot of people decide to lose weight before the surgery and even people who are pretty lean. I know that the procedure takes out both breast fat tissue and gland tissue. I understand that someone who is on the heavy side needs to lose weight so that the whole chest area looks even with the rest of the body.

Why is it also good for someone who is fairly lean to lose weight? The way i see it is as follows - Someone like me - 5 8, 150 lbs who gets the surgery done will get the gland and fat tissue removed. If i lose weight to become really lean - say another 10 lbs then the doc will remove gland tissue and very little fat tissue.

But obviously i am the type whose fat is distributed on my chest area, so if, after the surgery, i go back to a weight of 150 (which i most probably will) i will still have a fatty chest (without the gland of course because that cant grow back) so isn't it better to maintain my present weight for the surgery so that the fatty tissue will be removed and only if ever get heavier than 150 will i get a fatty chest.

I advise my patients to get to a weight / body fat percentage they are comfortable with before considering surgery.  You can Calculate your BMI to see what is normal.  For those with too much body fat, Weight Loss Before Gynecomastia Surgery can help with the fat, but not the gland.  However, you cannot pick where your fat comes from. As a surgical sculptor, I view weight loss as a coarse tool and my plastic surgery as a refinement tool.  I prefer to use the coarse tool first, and then my sculpture for refinement. 

Hope this helps,

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

[charlesfl]

Tx doc. I should be calling your office in the morning to schedule something. I have learned a lot from your site and from the answers you have given on this site.