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

Question

My research indicates that there is not much pain after surgery and nothing that Advil or Tylenol with Codine could not handle.

Tim Neavin, MD · Answer

Pain after gynecomastia surgery lasts a few days.  It is a surface operation.  We are not near any vital organs or nerves, and we stay above the muscle.  Routine oral narcotics is more than enough to combat any pain.

Michael Constantin Gartner, DO · Answer

Most of my patients don't feel too much pain following their procedure, and if they do it is well managed with non-aspirin or non-ibuprofen medications.

J. Jason Wendel, MD, FACS · Answer

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.

Ronald Schuster, MD · Answer

In my experience there is very little pain after my patients have had their gynecomastia surgery. I do use a lot of numbing medicine though.

Miguel Delgado, MD · Answer

Male breast reduction surgery is usually breast gland excision with liposuction. The most common complication that i see in my practice is post-op bleeding. Advil is a blood thinner and will cause bleeding which is very difficult to stop. It last in the body for almost 2 weeks. You do not want to take advil before surgery or after for nearly 2 weeks.

Mordcai Blau, MD · Answer

We perform over 200 surgeries each year.Pain is not common,except cases when the patient develops Haematoma after surgery.There may be discofot which can be treated with Tylenol.

Robert L. Kraft, MD, FACS · Answer

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.

Steven Wallach, MD · Answer

In general, the advil and any other NSAID's should be avoided before and after surgery because they can have an effect on the clotting system and cause bleeding.

Brian Klink, MD · Answer

Although correction of gynecomastia is well tolerated, I discourage the use of anti-inflammatories (advil, motrin, etc) due to the increased risk of bleeding and bruising. Stick with the narcotics (tylenol with codeine, etc) as prescribed.

Tom J. Pousti, MD · Answer

Thank you for the question.

	I have found that gynecomastia is often best treated with  partial excision of the prominent glandular tissue  as well as liposuction surgery of the peripheral chest area.  If the prominence of the chest wall is caused by adipose tissue, then liposculpture surgery alone may suffice.

	Regardless of the exact procedure performed, local anesthesia is used during the procedure.  This allows for a relatively comfortable immediate postoperative recovery. Afterwards,  for most patients, a few days of narcotics may be necessary.

	I would strongly suggest that you seek treatment with a well experienced board-certified plastic surgeon.

	Best wishes.

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

Answers (11)

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