Do I have gynecomastia?

[dharry]

  Hello

 I am 53 years old. I lift weights and do cardio but nothing extreme. I am a few pounds overweight.

I am 5'9" tall and weigh 193 pounds. I plan on never being heavier than 200 pounds. Would I be better off doing surgery at 200 pounds or 180 pounds?

 Thanks for all advice.

[Paa_Paw]

It appears you do. But as a weight lifter some of that could be development of the pectoral muscles. The opinion of a good surgeon might be of value.

If you were 30 years younger and having serious emotional problems related to the condition surgery would be a good idea. At your age, you should be pretty much comfortable with your body and surgery is less of an issue.

[dharry]

I guess I feel 20 years younger. I definitely feel uncomfortable taking my shirt off at the beach. I could afford to drop a few pounds and will do that. Just not sure how much is fat versus breast tissue. Funny how some guys can be 100 pounds overweight and have a flat chest, good old genetics. Thanks for the reply.

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Obviously, if you are planning to go down to 180 lbs, then do so first.  Then do some careful thinking about whether your chest is still bothersome to you.

Surgery is always an option -- even at your age!  Many guys will accept their chest as it is.  But for others, having an absolutely cut and trim chest is a lifelong dream -- and that would require surgery.

Good luck!

Dr Jacobs

[dharry]

     Thanks for the replies. I am definitely not happy with my chest when I weigh in the 193 to 200 pound range. I have not weighed under 190 pounds for many years. I am on the stocky side and with advancing age it is very difficult to keep my weight under 190 pounds. Trying to be as realistic as possible.

 I hope I fully understand the weight loss discussion I keep reading about.

 I like the idea of losing weight to see if a person's gynecomastia is improved enough to not have surgery. If it is greatly improved [where surgery isn't required] a person now has huge motivation to keep the weight off, in a sense the weight loss is the surgery. I get that.

 But if the weight loss isn't enough shouldn't a person go into surgery weighing what he can [realistically] maintain. If a person goes into surgery 30 pounds lighter than what he can [realistically] maintain isn't that a bad idea. When he gains the 30 pounds back isn't that counterproductive to the surgery.

Thanks for all replies.