Surgical Treatment of Gynaecomastia: A Prospective Study in 75 Patients

Abstract

Introduction: Gynaecomastia is a benign enlargement of male breast; many techniques have been described for management but none have gained universal acceptance. We discuss the outcomes of the surgical management of gynaecomastia and assess the morbidity and complication rates associated with the procedure to determine whether certain surgical techniques produce better outcomes. Materials and Methods: 75 patients with gynaecomastia were operated in our hospital during the period from Jan. 2009 to Jan. 2015. Results: A total of 140 breasts were operated on during the study period. Patients underwent either liposuction alone (20 breasts), excision alone (70 breasts), both excision and liposuction (36 breast) or skin reduction procedure (14 breasts). 19 operated breasts (13.4%) experienced some form of complications. Minor complications included seroma (4 patients), superficial wound dehiscence (3 patients) and two patients developed haematomas requiring evacuation in theatre. Unsatisfactory cosmotic result was present in 10 breasts and surgical revision was done in 5 breasts. Simon grade 111 breasts experienced the highest complication rate. Conclusion: The study has found that moderate sized gynaecomastia whether true or pseudo gynaecomastia with mild to moderate breast redundancy can be managed easily and effectively by liposuction alone or combined with glandular resection while the conventional infraareolar subcutaneous mastectomy still gives satisfactory results and with no need to remove extra skin. On the other hand, large gynaecomastia with severe breast redundancy can be treated effectively by the inferior pedicle technique without vertical scar.