Thinking about surgery

[DonW]

I'm 33 now and had mild gyne my whole life but I didn't know what it was! Thank god for the internet. Spending time away from the beach, thinking I'll go there one day when I can get myself back into shape in the gym etc for so long...

I'm overweight now, but I can remember lacking confidence to take off my shirt even when I was normal weight because of what I thought were my "nipples" but now I realise it's the gland under the nipples causing the problem.

I've attached two photos, I think my right side is the worst.
I would like your advice, is this looking like mostly from fat from being overweight?
Or is it true gland I can get excised?

Also I am worried about the recovery time I can't take much time off work. If I go for gland excision only without any liposuction, can I recover quicker and stop wearing the padded vest faster (< 2 weeks) so that no one will notice when I go back to work?

[pDiddy2]

To me, it looks like you carry more fat in your chest. That's how many guys are.  I'd say lose weight first. Give 100% to your diet and exercise program...no cheating. If after 6 months you don't see the kind of results you want then consider surgery. Depending on how much adipose tissue you have, some lipo might be necessary. Don't worry about recovery, you only need a few days of being off work. My recovery was a piece of cake. Virtually no swelling, no discoloration of any kind.

[gemidude]

I would politely disagree and say go for the surgery. Your chest is definitely disproportionately bigger than your stomach. Loosing weight will not help that. It will only make gynecomastia stick out more. It always made me so angry when non plastic surgeon doctors would say to me "lose weight gynecomastia will go away on its own". In any case, if you have to do one or the other do the GLAND only, not the lipo only. Liposuction only does not work!

[DonW]

I'm going to see the surgeon and see what she thinks.

I'll have to have a long gap between the appointment and the surgery anyway so I might use this time to lose weight as well.

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Surgery can be done at any time -- whether at your present weight or after you have lost some weight.

I often find guys who try to improve their chest by diet and exercise and see very little improvement -- they then just get frustrated and give up.  Oftentimes surgery can help -- even at a higher weight -- by removing the "excuse" and providing a smaller and more contoured chest.  Then, armed with a better self image and without the embarrassment of bouncy breasts, these guys really hit the gym and will see results.

This is a frequently asked question and there are no straight forward answers -- it is an individual decision.

Dr Jacobs