When someone was to mention male breast reduction to any member of my family back in the sixties, each and every one of them would have burst into fits of laughter - in particular the men. For who would have heard of such an absurd thing as a man growing breasts?! However, laugh as they would have done, this is in fact a very serious condition which is affecting more men in the UK each year. This is also not a new phenomena as the more men admit to this condition, more revelations of men suffering from this begins to rise.



The number of male breast reduction procedures rose in particularly during 2007, in which a worrying number of men were placed under the knife to have the unusual breast tissues removed. The condition which is medically known as gynaecomastia, is different to the fatty tissue developed from obesity. The former entails a growth in glandular tissues as well as fat, making it a further uncontrollable development.

More teenagers however, suffer from this greatly than adult men. More than 14,000 boys aged 13 to 19 years went under surgery in 2006, giving rise to the concerns over what caused this and why it affects more young men. This staggering number of adolescent teenagers suffering equates to approximately seventy percent of the total number of men who had been put under breast reduction surgery.

Unfortunately it is not known as to what causes this abnormal tissue development. However, there are only theories of what causes this, such as a higher oestrogen level which could have been passed on from the women who are on the pill, later excreting a small percentage of oestrogen and then it entering into the sewage system causing men to be exposed to the hormone in water supplies. Other causes can be due to the steroid used in livestock, in which the meat produce is later consumed.

Proven facts such as teenagers suffering from gynaecomastia can be as a result of puberty that soon resolves itself as they grow older. Other causes can be from taking certain types of oral medication, a rare genetic disorder or a severe hormonal imbalance. The fact remains that whatever the cause many men suffer a great deal of anguish and anxiety over it, thus opting towards male breast reduction surgery.

The surgery can take between 1-3 hours depending upon the individual and the condition. If the cause of the male breast tissue is due to fatty deposits then liposuction is only required. Retention of fat can be difficult to remove and sometimes diet and exercise is not enough, therefore surgery is needed. In the case of glandular tissue retention then the surgery will entail surgical excision. This simply means that surgical cuts are made around the areola or armpit, to which the glandular tissue is cut away and removed. If there is a high level of fat to be removed then there maybe some need to remove excess skin.

Depending on the amount of surgery required the recovery period can take from ten days to six weeks, however, consultants can advise their patients to go back to normal physical activities (gym, exercise etc). There are virtually no scars once the area has healed, leaving the patient feeling more confident in their body and dramatically changing their confidence in themselves. The patient will have limited arm movement for up to two or three weeks due to the healing process, in which case they should avoid exerting themselves in any physical activity.