Overweight but very worried! Do I have it?

[tucrain]

Hey, I'm 19 years old, overweight, and worried that I have Gyno. I have been overweight my entire life, when i was 16 I was nearly 300 pounds so I wasnt as worried about the size of my breasts. I am now 6' 1'' and weigh 235 pounds and it seems to me like they shouldnt be as big as they are although you cant really tell that they are bigger than normal when I am wearing a shirt, even if its rather tight.

I have never had tender or sensitive nipples but they are often times quite puffy, could this just be because of how big my breasts are? My nipples hang about an inch below my pec muscle.

Anyways, I am still trying to lose more weight before I do anything about this but any expert opionions or advice on whether I have this or not and what I should do would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Sorry about the somewhat poor picture quality.

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Congratulations on your weight loss -- it is the best thing that you could do for yourself.

Yes, you do have gyne, even though it is a very poor photo.

Would suggest you wait until you have lost all the weight that you intend to lose -- and then find a plastic surgeon who specializes in gyne surgery.  Yours would probably require a more extensive operation than usual in order to remove the excess skin and re-position the nipple into a more normal location.  The additional scars from that operation, unfortunately, are the compromise for a better and more contoured shape.

Best of luck!

Dr Jacobs

[tucrain]

Congratulations on your weight loss -- it is the best thing that you could do for yourself.

Yes, you do have gyne, even though it is a very poor photo.

Would suggest you wait until you have lost all the weight that you intend to lose -- and then find a plastic surgeon who specializes in gyne surgery.  Yours would probably require a more extensive operation than usual in order to remove the excess skin and re-position the nipple into a more normal location.  The additional scars from that operation, unfortunately, are the compromise for a better and more contoured shape.

Best of luck!

Dr Jacobs

Thank you for the reply! a few questions though... as I have been losing weight my breasts have barely shrunk while the results are quite drastic everywhere else, should I expect this to continue or is it more likely that my breasts will start shrink soon? Also, by mentioning the extensive operation are you implying that i have a more severe case or that my nipples are just oddly placed?

[DrBermant]

Hey, I'm 19 years old, overweight, and worried that I have Gyno. I have been overweight my entire life, when i was 16 I was nearly 300 pounds so I wasnt as worried about the size of my breasts. I am now 6' 1'' and weigh 235 pounds and it seems to me like they shouldnt be as big as they are although you cant really tell that they are bigger than normal when I am wearing a shirt, even if its rather tight.

I have never had tender or sensitive nipples but they are often times quite puffy, could this just be because of how big my breasts are? My nipples hang about an inch below my pec muscle.

Anyways, I am still trying to lose more weight before I do anything about this but any expert opionions or advice on whether I have this or not and what I should do would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Sorry about the somewhat poor picture quality.

Congratulations on your weight loss!  Does it not feel much better with that weight off?  65 pounds is a great deal of weight.

Weight Loss Can help with the fat of gynecomastia, but not the gland. Remaining gland, and sometimes the skin can be residual contour concerns.

Weight loss before surgery is usually much better than weight loss after surgery. Weight loss is a coarse tool, Plastic Surgery is better reserved for refinement. This is especially true when tissue sagging is a factor.  Why lift sagging tissue, lose more weight, and see that tissue sag again from further deflation? 

Weight loss and surgical sculpture is a series of compromises. What suites any one individual will vary.  Ideal sequence that I recommend my patients:

• Get to a weight you are comfortable living with.
• Let the skin adjust as much as it will. It can take from 6 to 18 months for skin equilibration after a gastric bypass and major weight loss.
• Consider Tightening Lower Tissues First. There is little sense to lift the chest and then have a tummy tuck, lower the chest result, requiring a revision chest lift.
• Then Address the Chest.
• Use No Surgery Body Shaping Garments as emotional support not to rush the process.

Bouncing redundant flesh also can be a major emotional factor stressing any patient trying to lose weight.  That is why I posted Videos of Compression Garments dealing with gynecomastia and stabilization.

Male Body Fat Distribution tends to put fat on first on the chest and stomach. We take it off those regions last. Low Nipples Look Strange on a Male Chest. Dealing with Excess Skin on the Male Chest is a more complex compromise in that there needs to be a place where the excess skin can be removed.

Hope this helps,

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

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

When you are overweight, your breasts are large due to a combination of both fat and breast tissue.  When you lose weight, the fat component of your breasts will diminish but the breast tissue remains.  Thus the breast will shrink a bit but not all the way down.  While you are losing weight, the fat in other areas of your body will diminish leading to a thinner overall frame.  Sometimes, even though the breast has become slightly smaller, it is still comparatively larger and more prominent than your now more slender frame.

It is an axiom that skin loses its elasticity when it is stretched, such as when you are overweight.  Women have the same problem with their abdomens during pregnancy.  After they deliver, their abdominal skin never really returns to its former taut self.

The same is true with skin from formerly large male breasts.  Weight loss results in lax skin and droopy breasts (which still have breast tissue within) and with displaced nipples.

Since the goal of gyne surgery is to provide a contoured chest, we cannot count on the stretched out skin to tighten up spontaneously (as is done in the vast majority of cases).  Thus, operations on men who have lost lots of weight require not only removal of the excess breast tissue, but tightening of the skin and re-positioning of the nipples to a more appropriate location.  This is more than the standard gyne operation -- it will leave scars.  But as stated previously, the scars are a good trade-off for a tighter, trimmer and more comfortable chest.

Dr Jacobs