do pecs show after surgery?

[ell456]

im a pretty muscular guy but i have pretty bad gyno...as in full blown man boobs..and i was wondering if anyone can tell me if surgery would make my pecs stand out? when i got a consultation the doc told me the skin would contract heaps...does that mean around the muscle? or just so there arent skin folds etc

[Grandpa Bambu]

If you have well defined pecs, you should be able to notice them now. Your pecs sit much higher on the chest than G. If you don't have defined pecs, then getting surgery will not magically make them such....  

Post a pic or two...

GB...

[ell456]

well yeh they arent like cut or anything but people know i have them and u cant tell and stuff...was just wondering if the surgery would effect the look of them or anything thats all

[Grandpa Bambu]

Naw dude, the surgeon doesn't touch the muscle, AFAIK... 

GB...

[ell456]

haha cheers man...ill be getting the surgery i just wanted to make sure u know

[Grandpa Bambu]

 

GB...

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

I always tell my patients that properly done gyne surgery will reveal the pecs that are there -- but hidden by the gyne.  Surgery, of course, cannot add muscle nor will it remove muscle -- but the pec contours will be revealed.

Dr Jacobs

[Grandpa Bambu]

but the pec contours will be revealed.

Dr Jacobs

The extent of which will be dependent on how much adipose tissue was there to begin with...

GB...

[DrBermant]

im a pretty muscular guy but i have pretty bad gyno...as in full blown man boobs..and i was wondering if anyone can tell me if surgery would make my pecs stand out? when i got a consultation the doc told me the skin would contract heaps...does that mean around the muscle? or just so there arent skin folds etc

I work with many Bodybuilders with Gynecomastia and it does not take much to distort the muscular male chest contour. You can find many examples of how surgery can let the muscle contour be revealed.  For most, skin does retract quite well. How much skin contracts depends on many factors. However, it will only contract to the base level fat left on the body. 

The extent of which will be dependent on how much adipose tissue was there to begin with...

GB...

Quite right! Surgery is not an answer to contour problems of generalized weight issues.  Male Body Fat Distribution extends around the chest and will also obscure muscle contours.

Dr. Jacobs is also correct, surgery will only reveal muscles that are already there.

Hope this helps,

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

[headheldhigh01]

this seems like it's worth the followup question.  i assume the gyne is pretty discrete and identifiable once it's opened up, and maybe not too hard to detach, with a little patience, from the skin or the other side.  the standard medical disclaimer, reasonably, is that it's not possible to get every bit of it, that there are shreds or fingers left behind in places.  is it safe to say, though, in an excision case, that if you've got a thin mass but spread out over a larger area that you can still get 95+% of it as sort of a solid mass, or is it less well defined at the outer edges and harder to work with and get at there?    

[ell456]

yeh thanks everyone...i do have bulk muscle there to begin with, so im expecting to see it a lot more clearly once surgery is done. skin folds of the actual chest are normal because ive built up muscle, its just around the nipple and under the pecs where the fat and gyna has built up. so i should expect with skin contractions to see some good results 

[Grandpa Bambu]

I'm sure you'll see an improvement dude...  

GB...

[DrBermant]

this seems like it's worth the followup question.  i assume the gyne is pretty discrete and identifiable once it's opened up, and maybe not too hard to detach, with a little patience, from the skin or the other side.  the standard medical disclaimer, reasonably, is that it's not possible to get every bit of it, that there are shreds or fingers left behind in places.  is it safe to say, though, in an excision case, that if you've got a thin mass but spread out over a larger area that you can still get 95+% of it as sort of a solid mass, or is it less well defined at the outer edges and harder to work with and get at there?    

How defined the gland is varies from patient to patient and often from side to side.  You can see some examples of how this gland disperses through fat in these drawings of the Anatomy of Gynecomastia or in these Male Mammograms.  This Picture Gallery of Glands Removed shows how extensive the gland can be, but it is kind of like looking at jelly fish out of water, the original shape is not the same after removal.

Hope this helps,

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

[headheldhigh01]

it does - thanks.