Gynecomastia
The term Gynecomastia comes from the Greek words gyne (”woman”) and mastos (”breast”). In practical terms, this means abnormally large breasts in males.
The condition is relatively common in adolescent boys, and 90% of the time symptoms disappear in few years. But the remaining 10% of males are burdened with a social handicap that causes a deep psychological trauma. There are several potential causes of gynecomastia:
- Puberty. In 90% of teenage boys, gynecomastia goes away in less than 3 years.
- Steroid abuse
- Tumors. If gynecomastia is caused by a tumor, treatment is necessary.
- genetic disorders
- Disease. If gynecomastia is caused by a disease, the disease itself will need to be treated.
- Side effects of many medications. The problem can be solved if you stop taking a medicine or illegal drug that is causing gynecomastia.
- Castration
- Klinefelter Syndrome
- Gilbert’s Syndrome
Some men and boys have fat on their chests caused by obesity. This condition is called pseudogynecomastia (false gynecomastia) and is not the same thing as gynecomastia.
For many men, the best solution is surgery. That accomplishes the initial stage of the healing. The second stage is psychological redress. After years of hating his chest, the hurt feelings will not go away with the fact of breast reduction alone.