Gynaecomastia and BodyTite

For many years men have been embarrassed and reluctant to seek treatment for gynaecomastia, worried about scarring and an operated appearance. They are often self-conscious about their appearance, wearing tight vests and loose shirts to hide their “manboobs”. Some even resort to taping their chests and never removing their shirts on the beach. Recently, due to social media exposure, there has been greater acceptance of cosmetic surgery, resulting in more men seeking advice and correction on Gynaecomastia and BodyTite.

What is Gynaecomastia?

Gynecomastia is essentially an excess of tissue of the male chest which may consist of all or a combination of skin, fat and breast tissue. Occasionally there may be physical symptoms of pain and heaviness. This condition can be completely normal and occurs in up to 20% of males at specific periods of life, such as in childhood, puberty and old age, when hormone imbalances may occur. Often there is a psychological component which affects confidence, self-esteem and social development.

How to treat Gynaecomastia?

To address this problem, fat and breast tissue need to be removed with skin tightening.

With recent advances in Plastic Surgery techniques and technology, most gynecomastia surgeries can now be performed on an outpatient basis. This entails anaesthesia with local sedation or a general anaesthetic. The procedure may take from 1-to 3 hours, depending on the complexity of the surgery.

At Precision Aesthetics, treatments for gynecomastia include liposuction, BodyTite to tighten the skin and surgical removal of breast tissue if present.

BodyTite™

BodyTite is a minimally-invasive advanced body contouring and refinement procedure that allows patients to tighten skin and achieve surgical like results with no scars or sagging, less downtime and long-lasting, beautiful results that improve with time.

Dr Ching uses BodyTite skin tightening to enhance the results of gynecomastia surgery patients. This can be used with gynecomastia gland removal, gynecomastia liposuction or both.

Benefits of Using BodyTite:

• Non-invasive
• Minimal scars
• It is a revolutionary improvement on skin tightening
• It can be done under a local anaesthetic
• It is a short procedure which usually takes only one to two hours
• It is gentle on the body
• Immediate results that continue to improve up to 12 months after the procedure

BodyTite is more effective than other non-surgical procedures as it applies radiofrequency energy under the skin (rather than on the skin surface) to directly stimulate the fibroblast cells that produce new collagen. This reduces the bruising, swelling and the recovery time. Then there is the added advantage that the RF energy also assists in melting fat.

The most innovative part of the Gynaecomastia and BodyTite technology, however, is the ability to achieve up to 50% skin tightening (compared to traditional liposuction), which significantly enhances the appearance of the final result and is particularly beneficial for gynecomastia patients, as well as patients over 40 and with more significant deposits of fat.

Liposuction

With Liposuction small incisions are used to gain access, and a thin cannula is then inserted to suction out the fat. A local anaesthetic solution with adrenaline and lignocaine assists with preventing bleeding and pain control.

The surgical removal of breast tissue may be needed in certain patients with an excess of hard, fibrous breast tissue. An incision is made on the lower aspect of the nipple-areolar complex to remove this breast tissue. Initially, this scar is red but settles over time. If there are excessive amounts of breast tissue, a larger incision may be required. If excess skin is present, an incision all around the nipple is used to remove this excess skin.

After surgery, there be swelling, heaviness and a certain amount of pain. Bruising and tenderness will peak on days 2-3 and then subside by days 7-14. A vest garment is worn for 3-4 weeks to contour the chest and decrease swelling and is removed only to bath or shower. Patients can return to work after 1 week and start mild exercise at 2 weeks returning to full activities by week 4.

Gynaecomastia and BodyTite surgery has a high success rate and is an excellent operation to reduce and reshape the male chest. Still, patients need to be aware that minor adjustments may be required after the primary surgery to get optimum results.

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