Lost weight, chest hasn't reduce but become more prominent. What are my options?

[GynoThrowaway]

Last year I began to lose weight, and i've lost around 6 or 7 stone (90 pounds) since my largest. I now weight 72 kilos (160 pounds)
.
At first glance (and I know the quality of the images are poor), I believe the gynecomastia is quite severe. I wanted to know if there was anyway I could reduce it without surgery? To lose the weight, i've been going to the gym - but it hasn't really been helping.

I have acknowledged I have quite a bit of excess skin around my chest region, and if my gynecomastia is removed surgically, I would have even more excess skin. How could that affect the surgery, final image, and cost?

Thanks

Pictures: http://imgur.com/a/WjRfZ

[TigerPaws]

Your choices are limited, you may need to see a physician and have an ultrasound to determine exactly how much actual breast gland tissue is present, as it can vary widely.  at the same time you should have your hormone levels checked. This will help in determining the cause of your breast development.

If your breast tissue is mostly fat then Liposuction my be a relatively east solution as you have lost a great deal of fat.

Beyond that your options are surgery or living with what you have. Diet, proper eating healthy and organic food, avoiding phytoestrogens (which are in almost everything - look it up) will go a long way to managing your development.

[GynoThrowaway]

Your choices are limited, you may need to see a physician and have an ultrasound to determine exactly how much actual breast gland tissue is present, as it can vary widely.  at the same time you should have your hormone levels checked. This will help in determining the cause of your breast development.

If your breast tissue is mostly fat then Liposuction my be a relatively east solution as you have lost a great deal of fat.

Beyond that your options are surgery or living with what you have. Diet, proper eating healthy and organic food, avoiding phytoestrogens (which are in almost everything - look it up) will go a long way to managing your development.

For the past year I have eaten very healthily, and kept up an active lifestyle - but nothing seems to work.

I believe my chest is mainly a composition of breast tissue and fat, perhaps with a ratio of 60/40, but it's difficult to tell - and i'm only basing it off of how it feels. 

I may start lifting weights in order to combat it, but that might only make it even more prominent if I don't lose the fat also. And as we all know, it is impossible to spot-target fat loss.

As for surgery, I want it as a last resort - I really don't feel comfortable under the knife. But at the same time, I don't want this situation to ruin my late-teen, early-twenties lifestyle. Going to uni next year, I was hoping the situation would be resolved by then, but i'm unsure if that's me being hopeful. 

The best situation in my opinion would be to visit a doctor, understand the exact situation, and how to tackle it. Problem is, the NHS will attempt to cut costs at all corners, and so it may be dragged out for a long time.


I'll make an appointment, and explain my situation, asking for both a hormonal test, and an examination to understand the composition of breast tissue/fat. I believe it arose from obesity, though. I'm not sure if that causes any hormonal imbalances in itself, though.

Thanks for your reply.

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Having lost a large amount of weight, your skin will have undoubtedly lost some of its elasticity.  And it is that elasticity that allows for gyne surgery to be done with minimal scars.  

There are exceptions -- however.  If you are young, your skin may have retained a moderate amount of elasticity.  A consult with a plastic surgeon with lots of experience with gyne surgery would be helpful at this point.

Good luck!

Dr Jacobs

[Askone]

Congratulations on your weight loss! To drop 90lbs takes enormous courage, control and willpower!
My case was somewhat similar, having dropped about 50lbs, by breasts became more and more 'breast like' as the weight dropped. I had lipo a year ago, and the same surgeon went back in 3 weeks ago to excise gland and do a bit more lipo.
It's the only option (surgery) I'm afraid.

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Askone verifies the fact that weight loss doesn't equate with a better, smaller, tighter chest.  In fact, often there is residual lax skin and some breast tissue, even though the fat component has diminished in size.

What is important, however, is that one should not have to have two operations to do lipo and excision which an expert gyne surgeon would accomplish in one procedure.

Lesson?  Consult an expert in gyne surgery in your area.

Dr Jacobs

[GynoThrowaway]

Should I not attempt to lose more weight, and gain more muscle, first?

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

There are reasonable limits to everything but there is nothing wrong about losing weight until you are comfortable and building more muscle.  Bringing your best "body" to a surgeon would be great.  But you will still need surgery.  Be realistic, however, because guys can get carried away with getting down to their slimmest weight -- and obviously, for most guys, one can never have enough muscle.  You must decide when enough is enough.

Dr Jacobs

[GynoThrowaway]

I'll visit my GP, to further assess my options. I would go to a specialist, but can't afford surgery at the moment.

[jal26]

Same thing. I think only option is surgery, but I got fat again and now they wont do it because I am fat.