Can Men Manage the Pain from a Breast Reduction with Advil?

There is a lot of variability in pain patterns based on the individual patient. In gynecomastia surgery, I would expect there to be a difference in the degree of pain based on whether the procedure simply involved liposuction or if there was removal of breast tissue with alteration of the nipple-areolar complex. I would not recommend Advil in the post-operative period because anti-inflammatory medications increase the risk of bleeding and bruising. Your plastic surgeon will be able to recommend appropriate pain medication based on the extent of the surgery performed.

Pain is a highly variable and depends on patient to patient.

Many of my patients transition to ibuprofen or Tylenol after 1-2 days of pain medication.  This gives the body time to form stable clots so you would be less likely to bleed.

Typically, my patients do not need a lot of pain medication.  During the procedure, I do use a long-acting numbing agent (local anesthetic) so that the pain for the first day is not so bad.

You may also ask your doctor about pain catheters, little tubes that go in the surgical area and slowly drip numbing medicine into the area to avoid the need for heavy duty pain medicine. Many of my patients opt for this and like the convenience and lack of significant discomfort.

I certainly don't think pain catheters are mandatory. It's simply nice to offer them to patients who I think are going to have a low tolerance for the discomfort of surgery.

I hope this helps.