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Kenalog Injections Possible for Gynecomastia?

asked 3 years ago by RiveFive in NY
Latest answer by Miguel Delgado, Jr., MD
Question viewed 3,308 times
Tags: non surgical

I'm a skinny with very mild gynecomastia. Can over-injecting Kenalog injections help cause it to atrophy a little--and thereby avoid traumatic surgery? Or does it not affect the gland tissue at all?

21 answers to Kenalog Injections Possible for Gynecomastia?

Absolutely not

Steroid injection are not the treatment for Gynecomastia and will cause problems. Steroid injections are used the reduce scarring in the incision and occasionally after surgery for deeper scarring.

Miguel Delgado, Jr., MD
San Francisco Plastic Surgeon

www.dr-delgado.com

Kenalog is only adequte for scar reduction

It has a place after gynecomastia surgery if the scarring is prominent ,but not in treating the breast itself for male breast reduction.But any way it was a creative but not a practical idea. see video

Mordcai Blau, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

www.cosmetic-md.com

Kenalog Injections Not a Good Technique for Gynecomastia

Kenalog injections would be a bad choice as a technique for Gynecomastia Reduction because it is so imprecise and may not be very effective against the dense breast tissue. The steroid injection may cause uneven, even disfiguring fat and dermal atrophy (thinning of the skin). I can understand your wanting to take a novel and non-invasive approach, but Kenalog injections for Gynecomastia Reduction is inadvisable and likely to cause a lot of problems with cosmetic deformity.... more

Paul C. Zwiebel, MD
Denver Plastic Surgeon

Terrible idea.

Thanks for the question - "Over-injecting" any medication is dangerous. Steroids can cause tissue atrophy as you've noted but it can cause atrophy to skin and is somewhat unpredictable. At best you'd get uneven lumpy results, at worse, open wounds, infection and tissue necrosis. Large doses of steroids can also cause systemic problems as well. Determine the cause of your gynecomastia (usually idiopathic) and consider ultrasonic assisted liposuction as a treatment from a board... more

Steven H. Williams, MD
San Francisco Plastic Surgeon

Kenalog is for scar treatment, not for gynecomastia

Kenalog injections are used to reduce hypertrophic post-operate scarring but are not used as a treatment modality for gynecomastia. Surgical treatment of gynecomastia involves either resection of breast tissue or liposuction, or sometimes both. Please see a board certified plastic surgeon who can better explain the options which would be applicable to your individual case.

Robert L. Kraft, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

Male breast reduction works.

Hi. That's not a good idea .If gynecomastia bothers you, you need formal surgical correction by a plastic surgeon.

George J. Beraka, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Not recommended.

Hello, Steroid injections are not a great idea here. The risk exceeds the potential benefit. I would see a good plastic surgeon of two to have the area properly evaluated to get your options explained. Best Regards, John Di Saia MD

John P. Di Saia, MD
Orange Plastic Surgeon

Proper Treatment for Gynecomastia

Steroid injections are not appropriate for gynecomastia. Non surgical treatment is only recommended if a known medical issue has caused the gynecomastia. If there is no identifiable cause then a combination of removal of the glandular tissue and liposuction produce consistent results. Dr. ES

Earl Stephenson Jr., MD, DDS
Atlanta Plastic Surgeon

Kenalog for gynecomastia

Interesting concept, but there is no way I would ever use kenalog to treat benign enlargement of the male breast. I would only use it to treat a hypertrophic or keloid scar. It can cause permanent purple discoloration of the skin, telangiectasias (little red blood vessels in the skin), and thinning of the skin as well as the underlying tissue. It's also unpredictable, so it couldn't be reliably used to atrophy any specific breast tissue. Surgery for... more

Carmen Kavali, MD
Atlanta Plastic Surgeon

The treatment for gynecomastia is surgery - liposuction and gland removal most commonly

The treatment for gynecomastia is surgery and not injections of any kind including Kenalog. If you have excess fatty tissue, liposuction is the best treatment. If you have excess breast gland tissue, excision is the best treatment. Most of our patients in New Jersey have both and need both treatments. Good luck! Dr. Parham Ganchi - NJ Plastic Surgeon

Parham Ganchi, MD
Wayne Plastic Surgeon

www.ganchi.com

Kenalog injection for gynecomastia - a bad idea

If your gynecomastia is mostly gland tissue, the Kenalog will not work. If it is mostly fatty tissue, the Kenalog may cause some atrophy of the fat but it is unpredictable and could leave some contour irregularities or divots which can be very hard or impossible to fix. Your best bet for a nice result is surgical excision and/or liposuction to the chest. The incisions can almost always be done around the nipple If this is done properly by an experienced... more

Lisa L. Sowder, MD
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

Avoid Kenalog injections for the correction of gynecomastia

Kenalog is a very strong and effective medication. It works by really changing the tissue and helping contraction. This is the reason why is commonly used for the treatment of hypertrophic scars, and keloids. For these conditions, a very small amount of Kenalog is used. It is not advisable to inject Kenalog into the breast for the correction of gynecomastia. The results from the Kenalog injections are not predictable and will cause permanent changes to the tissue. These... more

B. Pat Pazmino, MD
Miami Plastic Surgeon

Kenalog and gynecomastia

Using kenalog to try to reduce gynecomastia is not a good idea and probably would not even help at all. Gynecomastia needs to be treated with surgery by either liposuction or surgical excision.

Steven Wallach, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Kenalog injections "Treatment" of Gynecomastia (Man Breasts) is a BAD Idea

Injection of corticosteroids (such as Kenalog) is NOT only not a proper treatment for gynecomastia, it is really a VERY bad idea. Surgery offers a controlled removal and shaping of the chest, injecting a medication (such as in MESOTHERAPY cocktail) or in your case, Kenalog, does not. Since NO DRUG preferentially liquefies both fat or breast glad tissue and corticosteroids are notorious for their effects on soft tissues, the results will be disastrous. You most like end up with an irregular... more

Peter A. Aldea, MD
Memphis Plastic Surgeon

Conservative treatment of Gynecomastia

Gynecomastia should be addressed by surgical excision or liposuction depending on the degree of skin redundancy and nipple ptosis. Kenalog injections have no role in the treatment of gynecomastia.

Raffy Karamanoukian, MD
Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon

Kenalog for gynecomastia is not a good idea

This would be way to unpredictable and could result in associated thinning of your skin, stretch marks, spider veins, as well as uneven contour. If your gynecomastia is small it is mostly likely dense breast tissue and would not respond at all to a Kenalog injection. A surgical excision, typically under local anesthesia, would be a great alternative and the best treatment option.

Jeffrey Zwiren, MD
Atlanta Plastic Surgeon

No to steroids for gynecomastia

This is not recommended and may result in disproportionate atrophy of the fat and skin with little effect on the breast. This has the potential to make your condition even more prominent with a lumpy-bumpy appearance. However, if you are expereiencing some degree of post-surgical fibrosis, Kenlaog may be beneficial in small and staged doses.

Otto Joseph Placik, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Kenalog injection for the treatment of male gynecomastia is definitely ill-advised

Injection of Kenalog for the treatment of male gynecomastia is definitely ill-advised. Please do not do it! I can assure you that the outcomes are fraught with potential adverse outcomes and complications. I would recommend that you see a board certified/eligible plastic surgeon experienced in body contouring. You may wish to inquire about Vaser® liposuction as I find this extremely helpful in treating gynecomastia patients. I hope you find this helpful.

Stephen A. Goldstein, MD
Englewood Plastic Surgeon

Do not do this.

This is not a good idea for the atrophy reason and others. Get liposuctioned out or directly excised. Either can be a small office procedure. But, do not do kenalog.

Scott E. Kasden, MD
Dallas Plastic Surgeon

Steroid injection for Gynecomastia does NOT work!

Steroid injection would most likely just cause fat and subcutaneous tissue atrophy, and not that of the breast gland. Unfortunately, there is no way to control the extent of atrophy of skin and subcutaneous tissue; therefore, the patient can end up with dents and areas of hypopigmentation of skin. Don't do it!

S. Sean Younai, MD
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon

Liposuction or direct excision

The short answer is no. First the steroids will work on the fat portion but not the glandular elements. But most importantly there is no way to control the effect from this injection. I would not do that! Liposuction, direct excision, or both works well.