Unilateral Gynecomastia Treated with Hybrid Technique, Raleigh,NC*

Gynecomastia is a relatively common condition that a large percentage of boys experience during puberty. The majority of patients see resolution of this problems with maturity. A smaller percentage of patients will have ongoing breast enlargement. Gynecomastia can also occur in patients with significant weight changes to the point where the male breast will look like a female's fully developed breast in the worst cases. The cause of gynecomastia is felt to be hormonal changes affecting breast growth. All men have breast tissue and are even susceptible to developing breast cancer, albeit at a much smaller percentage than women. Although there are some medical conditions that could lead to this problem and some drug interactions which cause it, the majority are considered idiopathic-or unknown causes but likely related to hormonal changes. This 31-year-old gentleman had unilateral gynecomastia which never bothered him too much as he was younger but with aging it got somewhat worse. He underwent mastectomy to remove glandular elements. He had a hybrid technique which utilizes Vaser assisted liposuction to contour the chest and then direct excision of the remaining gland through an infra-areola incision. Some patients can have liposuction alone especially breast tissue which is intermingled with fatty tissue however patients with significant glandular only element have very tough fibrous tissue which cannot be completely extracted efficiently with liposuction