6 min learnUp to date: Aug 25, 2026 05:43 PM IST
A 28-year-old company government in Delhi got here to see beauty and plastic surgeon Dr Rajat Gupta after dwelling with what he had privately regarded as “man boobs” since his early teenagers. The medical time period is gynecomastia — the event of extra breast tissue in males — however for him, it had merely been the supply of 15 years of embarrassment, avoidance and self-consciousness.
On examination, the findings had been basic Grade III: important glandular tissue behind each nipples, a noticeable layer of overlying fats, and gentle pores and skin laxity from years of seen fullness. Bloodwork dominated out a hormonal trigger. There was no remedy or complement historical past to clarify it. Clinically, it was idiopathic.
“What made his case memorable was not the medical findings, however the 15 years behind them. He described being teased in class altering rooms. He averted swimming by way of school. In his working years, he wore free shirts and layered clothes even by way of Delhi summers. He had by no means instructed his household in regards to the situation and had delayed pursuing a severe relationship as a result of he was afraid of being seen and not using a shirt,” says Dr Gupta. He had surgical procedure. Now the chief goes swimming, will not be afraid of courting and is extra assured. Excerpts:
What’s gynecomastia?
It’s the improvement of extra breast tissue in males. This is among the commonest but least mentioned situations in males’s well being in India. World estimates counsel that 32 to 40% of males expertise some type of it throughout their lives. For years, many Indian males hid it below layered shirts, dismissed it as “pet fats,” or handled it as a health downside they had been anticipated to resolve within the health club. The outcome was typically years of embarrassment, self-consciousness and avoidance, even when the underlying situation was neither their fault nor one thing they may appropriate by way of train alone.
Why are extra males coming ahead?
The silence is now starting to interrupt. 5 years in the past, I used to be performing 10 to fifteen gynecomastia surgical procedures a month. In the present day, that determine is nearer to 30 to 35. The situation itself has not modified. What has modified is that extra males are lastly selecting to stroll right into a plastic surgeon’s clinic as a substitute of constant to cover.
A part of the shift is cultural. Indian males, particularly of their 20s and 30s, are extra open than ever about how they really feel in their very own our bodies. Social media has flattened outdated taboos round males’s grooming and look. Consciousness is greater. Sufferers now are available in already understanding that gynecomastia is an actual medical situation, not a private failing.
The opposite half is entry. Board-certified plastic surgeons are extra seen, procedures are extra refined, and restoration is quicker than it was. Sufferers who spent years considering surgical procedure meant an extended, painful, seen course of are studying that scar-conscious methods have modified the image.
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What do the numbers present?
The medical shift I see is mirrored in nationwide knowledge. In accordance with the Worldwide Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgical procedure’s 2024 World Survey, 47,320 Indian males underwent gynecomastia surgical procedure in 2024, a ten.8% rise over the earlier 12 months. Gynecomastia is now the fifth commonest surgical beauty process in India, accounting for round 7% of all beauty surgical procedures carried out within the nation. Most sufferers I function on are between 20 and 40 years outdated, with the common sitting within the late twenties.
What’s the surgical procedure about?
On this case, we carried out surgical procedure utilizing the OCCULT method, which mixes ultrasound-assisted and power-assisted liposuction with gland removing by way of a small incision hidden within the lateral chest crease, avoiding any seen scar on the entrance of the chest. As a result of his pores and skin elasticity was affordable, no pores and skin excision was required. He was discharged the identical day, returned to desk work inside per week, and was cleared for the health club at six weeks.
The bodily restoration was simple. The emotional shift took him unexpectedly. At his three-month follow-up, he instructed me he had gone swimming for the primary time in additional than a decade. At six months, he had began courting once more. What he described as most completely different was not the mirror. The background nervousness he had carried for therefore lengthy had disappeared.
What are myths across the situation?
A number of myths nonetheless delay males from searching for assist. The primary is that gynecomastia is simply fats and can disappear with weight reduction. Gynecomastia is the expansion of glandular tissue, which is agency, hormonally pushed, and can’t be damaged down by cardio or energy coaching. Most of the males I see are already lean and match. Their chest is the one a part of their physique that has not responded to years of effort within the health club.
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The second is that the situation is uncommon or an indication of one thing being improper with them. It isn’t. Round 60% of instances are idiopathic, with no identifiable trigger. Others are linked to puberty, sure drugs, anabolic steroid use, or hormonal shifts. It’s a widespread situation, not a private flaw.
The third is that surgical procedure should imply massive scars, lengthy downtime, and visual indicators. Trendy scar-conscious methods have made the process significantly extra discreet than it as soon as was.
Why surgical procedure is the best choice
As soon as true glandular tissue has developed, no remedy, complement, or train plan can take away it. Hormonal drugs can generally assist in early puberty-onset instances if caught in a particular window, however for the overwhelming majority of grownup males, surgical procedure is the one lasting therapy. Ready doesn’t make it higher. It typically makes the tissue firmer and the pores and skin looser over time.
Liposuction can be utilized when extra fats is a major factor of the chest fullness. Gland excision is used when agency breast tissue is current. The gland is eliminated by way of an incision, often positioned round or close to the sting of the areola or in one other hid location relying on the method and anatomy. A mixture of liposuction and gland excision is commonly acceptable when a affected person has each extra fats and important glandular tissue. That is the strategy utilized in lots of the extra superior instances I see.
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In sufferers with substantial pores and skin laxity, pores and skin excision might also be required. That is extra widespread in extreme instances or after important weight reduction, when the pores and skin doesn’t contract sufficiently after the underlying tissue has been eliminated.
Probably the most troublesome step is the primary one: strolling right into a session. When you do, the remainder is easy.
