Can Men Actually Have Breasts?

The answer is yes and I know this is extremely embarrassing for both adolescent and adult men.

The male breast development may have started as a teenager when you may have been a little chubby. As you started to look around and notice other guys and become aware of young women, you became more and more self-conscience of your developing male breasts. You became more and more embarrassed and became less and less willing to participate in sports and activities hence worsening the weight gain and noticeable breasts.

As you then started a radical weight loss program and mission to weight lift and take supplements you noticed that you certainly became skinnier and more cut up but your breasts didn’t go away. You forgot about it or you started to take even more supplements.

This may not have been your exact scenario but there are parts of it that may resonate with you. Gynecomastia or the benign development of male breasts is extremely common and normal. Up to half of adolescent boys may develop some breast tissue. While 75% of gynecomastia will resolve within 2 or 3 years of onset, there more often than not is a residual hint of a “knot” of firm breast tissue that remains beneath the nipple areolar complex that simply never resolves.

This manifests as “prominent nipples” or “breasts” in tight shirts or when shirtless and is often a source of jokes, “man boobs”, etc. This firm tissue is actually true breast tissue and will NOT go away with any changes in weight and actually has to be removed with direct surgical excision rather than liposuction, which can remove the remainder of the excess fatty breast tissue.

I want you to know that you are not alone. We don’t know if the increasing hormone enriched foods we consume or other additives in our diet has increased the incidence of gynecomastia, but it does seem to me that I have seen more and more men of all ages wanting to have intervention for the removal of the excess breast tissue.

As long as your male development has been normal, you’re not on any medications or supplements that is causing or exacerbating the condition, and you do not have a medical condition that may be causing the gynecomastia, the majority of the gynecomastia will resolve as I mentioned in 2-3 years. During this time, you may even feel like your breasts feel more swollen and larger at times and may even be tender. If your gynecomastia does not resolve, a combination of direct surgical excision and liposuction will remedy the contour deformity that has plagued you since your teen years. The surgery is very safe and is performed in 1-3 hours as an outpatient procedure.

I want you to first know that the majority of cases of male breasts are benign. twenty-five percent may be from medications or some underlying medical condition, which should not be ignored. A simple history and physical should determine whether this is a likely cause. Male breast reductions are becoming more and more frequently performed and are safe!