Gynecomastia
John T. Stranix
Alexes Hazen
DEFINITION
-
Gynecomastia refers to benign, excessive enlargement of parenchymal tissue in the male breast. The etiology of gynecomastia is multifactorial, often idiopathic, and affects up to 40% to 50% of men.1
ANATOMY
-
In gynecomastia, the excess glandular tissue is typically centered under the nipple-areola complex (NAC), with a predominantly fibrous component (FIG 1).
-
Pseudogynecomastia refers to diffuse fatty enlargement of the male breast related to obesity and demonstrates a predominance of adipose vs fibrous tissue.
-
-
Normal male breasts are flat in appearance with mild fullness around the NAC.
-
The male NAC diameter is normally 2 to 4 cm (mean 2.8 cm) and centered on the midclavicular line over the fourth intercostal space. Mean sternal notch to nipple distance is 20 cm.
-
The pectoralis muscle provides superior fullness to the anterior male chest that transitions inferiorly to flat tissue over the lower chest at the level of the inframammary fold (IMF).
-
A well-defined IMF results in a more feminine breast appearance.
-
PATHOGENESIS
-
Benign proliferation of male breast parenchyma occurs due to a relative increase in the ratio of free estrogen to androgen locally in the breast.2
-
Physiologic gynecomastia occurs in newborns (circulating maternal estrogens), adolescents (excess plasma estradiol during early stages of puberty), and men after age 65 (decreased testosterone production).
-
Neonatal and pubertal gynecomastia are typically selflimiting and usually resolve over several months to years.
-
-
Pathologic gynecomastia can result from various metabolic (cirrhosis, renal failure), endocrine (hypogonadal state, hyperthyroidism), oncologic (adrenal or testicular tumors), or congenital (Klinefelter syndrome) disorders.
-
Pharmacologic gynecomastia has been linked to a number of medications and occurs by several known mechanisms; however, direct mechanisms have not been identified for all associated medications.3
-
Gynecomastia does not increase the risk of male breast cancer development compared to the normal male population.
-
Patients with Klinefelter syndrome, however, have up to a 50 times increased risk of developing breast cancer.4 Due to the elevated oncologic risk in this population, an excisional technique should be used to provide a specimen for pathology analysis.
-
PATIENT HISTORY AND PHYSICAL FINDINGS
-
Clinical evaluation of enlarged male breasts begins with a detailed history and review of symptoms, focusing on elucidating known causes of gynecomastia and differentiation from pseudogynecomastia and tumor.
-
History should include age, onset and duration of enlargement, breast symptoms (pain, tenderness, discharge), medications, alcohol or recreational drug use, and social/psychological effects of breast enlargement. Past medical, surgical, family, and reproductive history should also be obtained.
-
Signs/symptoms of liver disease, malnutrition, kidney failure, hyper- or hypothyroidism, weight changes, adrenal disease, and malignancy.
-
-
Physical examination
-
Breasts should be assessed for symmetry, nipple abnormalities, glandular or fat predominance, skin excess, degree of ptosis, and nodules or masses. Approximately 50% of gynecomastia is bilateral.1 Axillary and supraclavicular lymph node basins should be examined in the setting of a suspicious mass.
-
Glandular tissue in gynecomastia is characterized by mobile, rubbery subareolar breast tissue.
-
Masses or nodules with abnormal firmness, overlying skin changes, eccentric location, or associated nipple discharge should raise concern for breast carcinoma.
-
Secondary sexual characteristics should be examined: body hair distribution, muscle mass, penile development, and testicular size, consistency, and symmetry.
-
Signs of systemic disease should also be evaluated: thyromegaly, exophthalmos, hepato- or splenomegaly, abdominal masses, ascites or cirrhotic stigmata, visual fields, cranial nerves, and fundoscopy.
-
IMAGING AND OTHER DIAGNOSTIC STUDIES
-
Laboratory or radiographic studies are not necessary in most cases of gynecomastia.
-
Mammography, and possibly biopsy, is indicated if findings on physical examination are consistent with a breast neoplasm.
-
Testicular ultrasound should be obtained in the setting of prepubertal bilateral gynecomastia, evidence of undervirilization, and/or a testicular mass.5 Endocrine labs are also appropriate in this situation; consider karyotype if Klinefelter syndrome is possible.
-
Laboratory testing should be directed by abnormalities identified on history and physical exam.
DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS
-
Physiologic
-
Drug-induced
-
Hypogonadism
-
Tumors
-
Systemic
-
Congenital
-
Familial
-
Miscellaneous
-
Idiopathic
NONOPERATIVE MANAGEMENT
-
The majority of patients with new-onset gynecomastia are best managed with reassurance and observation for 12 to 18 months.1,6
-
No detectable abnormality is found in up to 60% of patients on initial evaluation.5
-
-
Correction of underlying causes should be performed: discontinue offending medications, correct hormonal imbalances, address metabolic or endocrine disorders.
-
Medical therapy with testosterone and aromatase inhibitors has had limited success. Treatment with tamoxifen, however, has been shown to result in gynecomastia regression in recent randomized trials.1
SURGICAL MANAGEMENT
-
Surgical intervention should be considered for patients with a diagnosis of symptomatic gynecomastia of duration greater than 12 months.
-
Surgical treatment of gynecomastia has evolved to become increasingly less invasive through the use of liposuction and endoscopy; however, more severe cases often require open techniques with a higher scar burden.
-
Multiple classification systems have been developed to guide surgical management. The system devised by Rohrich et al.7 classified gynecomastia based on breast size and degree of ptosis.
Preoperative Planning
-
In addition to standard components of informed consent, the preoperative consultation must include a discussion of scar burden/location, possible need for direct excision of residual subareolar fibrous tissue, as well as the potential for undercorrection requiring a second-stage procedure.
-
Even patients with only mild gynecomastia may have a residual fibrous component that is not amenable to liposuction and requires excision.
-
-
Preoperative markings are performed with the patients in the upright sitting or standing position.
-
Prophylactic antibiotics covering skin flora are administered prior to skin incision.
Positioning
-
Surgery is performed under general anesthesia as an outpatient procedure.
-
Patients are positioned supine with arms abducted and secured to padded, adjustable arm boards. The hips are centered over the bed break, and the patient is secured with a safety strap.
-
Intraoperative assessment of adequate/symmetric resection requires sitting the patients fully upright in the operating room and they should be secured in a manner that enables this to be safely accomplished.
-
-
Sequential compression devices are applied to the lower extremities.
-
The entire anterior chest is prepped into the field to allow intraoperative symmetry assessment. Chest hair is removed with electric clippers as needed.
Approach
-
Patients with mild to moderate glandular hypertrophy (grades I and II) rarely have significant skin excess. Definitive treatment with suction-assisted lipectomy, power-assisted liposuction (PAL), and/or ultrasound-assisted liposuction (UAL) is frequently possible; direct excision of residual subareolar fibrous tissue may be required.7,8
Stay updated, free articles. Join our Telegram channel

Full access? Get Clinical Tree

