Gynecomastia is a benign overgrowth of the breast and nipples that occurs primarily in male glandular tissue. Female and male breasts have the same structural shape, but male breasts are smaller than female breasts due to a lack of the male hormone estrogen. It is common in three life stages. Newborns, adolescents and middle-aged men. Gynecomastia is seen in one out of every three men in our country. It causes aches and pains in some patients, but is not harmful to health. However, both young and adult men may experience embarrassment, shyness and other discomfort during physical activities such as swimming and sports. Gynecomastia can cause anxiety, introversion and poor posture in many men. Gynecomastia can occur in one or both breasts. In gynecomastia, hard, firm tissue forms. Spontaneous regression or healing is not possible. Gynecomastia is now a treatable condition. In addition, gynecomastia is also among the surgical operations frequently applied by people who have obesity problems and who suddenly experience excessive weight loss. Most patients make searches such as “obesity surgery in Turkey“, “gynecomastia in Turkey” within the framework of this subject.
Types of gynecomastia
Gynecomastia can be classified into her three types:
Glandular Gynecomastia:
Glandular gynecomastia has hardened mammary glands that resemble female breasts and do not produce milk.
Fat type gynecomastia:
Adipose tissue predominates in adipose gynecomastia. No increase in mammary tissue. Excessive weight gain or loss causes this type of gynecomastia.
Mixed Gynecomastia:
Mixed gynecomastia is a type of gynecomastia in which excess glandular and fatty tissue are found together. Symptoms of Gynecomastia
- Breast tenderness
- breast pain
- A discharge from one or both nipples
- Difference in size between two breasts
- Feeling of a lump under the nipple
- swollen axillary lymph nodes
How is gynecomastia diagnosed?
First, a specialist will perform a thorough physical examination of your breast tissue, genitalia, and abdomen. Gynecomastia is diagnosed using methods such as blood tests, mammography, computed tomography (CT), tissue biopsy, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), if the doctor deems it necessary. The most important point in this context is the differentiation between gynecomastia and breast cancer. Thanks to testing and diagnostic methods, other diseases such as breast cancer and breast abscesses can be easily distinguished so that appropriate treatment can be initiated.
What Causes Gynecomastia?
Gynecomastia usually occurs as a result of a hormonal imbalance. Gynecomastia is observed when male testosterone hormones decrease and estrogen hormones
Gynaecomastia treatment
Although gynecomastia usually does not pose a significant health problem in patients, it may be considered to be treated with various methods since it is an unwanted physical change. Apart from this, in gynecomastia due to liver and kidney failure and endocrine diseases, treating the underlying cause is very important for health. In gynecomastia due to physiological processes in adolescence or childhood, breast growth may regress without any treatment. Therefore, follow-up may be recommended in cases of gynecomastia due to physiological causes. In periods of 3 to 6 months, the size change in breast tissue can be monitored.
Temporary gynecomastia seen during puberty usually regresses completely within 2 years. In cases of gynecomastia detected due to drug use, the responsible drug may need to be replaced or discontinued with an alternative treatment method. In the medical treatment of gynecomastia, drug therapies that aim to prevent the sensitivity of breast tissue to hormones are often used. Since drug therapy has serious side effects, its use in clinical practice is limited, interventional methods are usually used in the treatment of gynecomastia. In this respect, mastectomy surgery and gynecomastia surgery which defines the surgical removal of excess breast tissue, is the most commonly used method in treatment. Which treatment will be applied is decided on a patient basis, based on the patient’s personal preference and the physician’s evaluation. In addition to treatment applications, avoiding the use of drugs and products that can trigger the development of gynecomastia is also extremely important in terms of treatment success.
