Can an Injury to the Pec Area Trigger Gynecomastia?

asked 1 year ago by T71 in Mchenry, IL
Latest answer by Raj S. Ambay, MD
Question viewed 437 times
Tags: accident, swelling, treatment

I was hurt in 2008 at work lifting some heavy stone. I tore my rotator and labrum and had surgery in 2009. I also had a pop in my right pec that went from the nipple to almost under my arm. The area was 2 to 3 times the size of my left pec and black and blue for a few weeks. The swelling went down after about 6 months, but is still bigger than the left. My doctor sent me to a cosmetic surgeon that was unsure and said i may have damaged the pec minor, but also it looked like gynecomastia.

9 answers to Can an Injury to the Pec Area Trigger Gynecomastia?

The Gynecomastia has no relation to the injury

There is no literature about it,however It is not likely that the injury has relation to the gynecomastia .You should consult an experienced gynecomasia plastic surgeon to see If there is gynecomastia.Scar tissue is a possible explanation. see video

Mordcai Blau, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

www.cosmetic-md.com

Injury to pec area does not cause gynecomastia!

Your description is quite accurate for a partial muscle tear causing an intramuscular hematoma (which is what caused the bruising and swelling). This should have been diagnosed and evacuated at the time of the injury, but letting this collection of blood reabsorb over 6 months' time has left persistent scar tissue in the right pec area. Shame on your "cosmetic surgeon" consultant for failing to diagnose this, though 6 months after injury this may well have looked less like... more

Richard H. Tholen, MD, FACS
Minneapolis Plastic Surgeon

Ruptured Pec muscle

Sounds like a ruptured Pec muscle. A CT scan or MRI should confirm this diagnosis. But this is not gynecomastia. If the pec tore at its connection to the arm, it should be fixed earlier rather than later.

Raj S. Ambay, MD
Tampa Plastic Surgeon

Gynecomastia from trauma

It sounds as though you may have ruptured part of your chest muscles. They then balled up can are causing your gynecomastia. The treatment may involve slightly larger scars, but the excess muscle may be amenable to excision in order to improve the appearance of your chest.

Jeffrey E. Schreiber, MD
Baltimore Plastic Surgeon

Pectoralis injury deformity. Cause doesn't matter, cure is the same.

Even when a muscle tears and causes a deformity (the most obvious one is biceps tear), unless it is immediately repaired, it can't be repaired. What you can do is work on the soft tissue to disguise it. Liposuction or excision of some breast tissue can be part of the cure. Fat transfer or custom made implants for indentations.

Ritu Chopra, MD
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon

Gynecomastia

I doubt if the injury led to gynecomastia.Simply put,gynecomastia is excess breast tissue in men and nothing more.It also can be fatty tissue./so I don't believe the injury led to this.

Robert Brueck, MD
Fort Myers Plastic Surgeon

www.beauty-by-brueck.com

Can an Injury to the Pec Area Trigger Gynecomastia?

It sounds like you developed a hematoma from your injury that has now partially resolved, but you probably have scar tissue associated with the hematoma. You may have some excess breast tissue or fat on your breast as well, but this would not have developed from the injury.

Amy T. Bandy, DO
Newport Beach Plastic Surgeon

Chest injury

I tousns like you may have tore your pectoralis major in your accident but without an exam I could not say. It would not cause gynecomastia.

Steven Wallach, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Gynecomastia Not Likely Due To Trauma

In medicine you can never say never nor always, but it is very unlikely that you would develop gynecomastia due to an injury to your pectoral muscles. Your deformity may well be due to your previous injury, but if there is also gynecomastia present, it is probably coincidental and not caused by that previous injury.