What You Need To Know About Your Gynecomastia Treatment Options

Gynecomastia treatment involves treatment of the underlying endocrinologic or systemic disease and reducing enlarged male breast. This can be done with the help of both surgical and non-surgical ways.

Gynecomastia is an abnormal enlargement of one or both the breasts in males. There are number of physiological and pathological causes that result in enlargement of male breast tissue. Gynecomastia can be seen in new-borns, adolescents and with increasing age.

Various pathological factors which result in imbalance between androgens and oestrogens cause gynecomastia. These disease conditions are absence of testes, viral orchitis, trauma, testicular tumour, hermaphroditism, obesity, hyperthyroidism, Klinefilterís syndrome and certain drugs.

Most cases of gynecomastia due to physiological causes may resolve spontaneously within a year or two. No intervention is required in teenagers or young men suffering from gynecomastia.Treatment includes:

1. Treating the underlying cause: Appropriate therapy should be used to treat this condition due to any pathology or underlying disease. Testicular tumours should be surgically removed. The drugs that cause gynecomastia should be discontinued. Radiation therapy is used in patients suffering from prostate cancer.

2. Lifestyle changes: In cases where no underlying cause is detected, persistent pain and embarrassment indicate the treatment. The treatment may involve certain lifestyle changes which may not show immediate results, but are effective in long term. Poor diet, lack of exercise and alcohol intake can cause weight gain. Weight reduction by diet control and exercise is required if obesity is the cause of appearance of male breasts. Cease the use of alcohol, anabolic steroid and marijuana.

3. Medical treatment: Idiopathic gynecomastia treatment involves use of medicines as the initial line of treatment. Medical therapies can be used in cases which are severe and do not resolve by themselves. Three types of drugs are used- androgens, anti-estrogens and aromatase inhibitors such as testolactane. Various androgens which are used to treat the condition are testosterone, dihydrotestosterone and danazol. Due to side-effects of danazol (such as weight gain), anti-estrogen such as Tamoxifen is found to be more effective. Aromatase inhibitors are another treatment option, although they are not universally approved.

4. Natural treatment: A pill called Gynexin, which is 100 % natural, is known as the most efficient cure for gynecomastia. Gynexin breks down the fatty tissue around the breast area and makes the area flatter and firmer.

5. Surgical treatment: Surgery is indicated in cases which do not respond to medical treatment. In long standing gynecomastia cases and in cases where there is suspicion of malignancy, surgery is advisable. The surgical procedure depends on the type and extent of tissue involved. The procedure involves removal of glandular tissue through periareolar incision. Male breast reduction surgery is done in cases where the enlarged male breast actually contains breast tissue. In some cases, enlarged breast is only due to fatty enlargement. In such cases, large amount of adipose tissue in the subglandular area is removed. This technique is called liposuction, where stubborn fat around the chest is sucked out with the help of tube. Side-effects of surgery include temporary numbness which may last for a year, scarring or pigment changes or fluid accumulation.