How Visible Are the Incision Scars After Having Male Breast Reduction Surgery?

Your incisions will go through a maturation #process following #Gynecomastia #surgery. For the first few months they will be red and possibly raised and/or firm. As the scar matures, after 6-12 months, it becomes soft, pale, flat, and much less noticeable. You may experience numbness, tingling, burning, “crawling”, or other peculiar sensations around the surgical area. This is a result of the #healing of tiny fibers which are trapped in the incision site. These symptoms will disappear. Some people are prone to keloids, which is an abnormal scar that becomes prominent. If you or a blood relative has a tendency to keloid formation, please inform the doctor.Bruising and #swelling are normal and usually increase slightly after the removal of any tape or foam. The bruising will decrease over 3-4 weeks, but may last as long as 6 weeks. The majority of the swelling will be gone within the first 3-4 weeks. However, it may take 6-9 weeks to disappear completely. Also, as you heal, the area may feel “lumpy” and irregular. This, too, decreases with time, and massaging these areas will help soften the scar tissue. The #compression garment helps reduce the swelling, and the longer it is worn, the more quickly you will #heal. It can also assist in the retraction of the skin. If you have any concerns about #healing, its best to ask questions of your surgeon or their nursing staff.In the future, if you are concerned with scars, with your surgeon's approval you may be able to use scar management treatments such as Biocornuem,  Scar Guard, Scar Fade,  IPL L

In the vast majority of cases a peri areolar incision is
used when treating gynecomastia. This incision is made around the inferior
border of the areola and is extended slightly to each side. It’s hidden nicely
at the border of the areola with the surrounding tissue. As the scar fades,
it’s even less apparent.

                  In
contrast, breast reduction in women is much more complicated with much longer
incisions. This procedure not only reduces the size of the breast, but also
lifts the breast into normal position. The procedure results in a
circumferential incision around the areola, a transverse incision in the
infra-mammary fold and a vertical incision that connects the two.

                  Male
breast reduction is less complicated then female breast reduction. There’s less
scarring, fewer complications, shorter recoveries and shorter operative times.
It’s important to note that both procedures have high satisfaction rates. 

The scars for men are very different than for women. For the female, the goal is not to have an almost flat chest as it is for a man. To reduce the size of the breast in a woman there is usually a vertical scar from the areola down to the breast crease and then for many an additional incision across the breast crease for what is known as an anchor or inverted T procedure. For the man in order to remove breast tissue and fat an incision is made around the bottom half of the areola so that when it heals it is almost invisible. I also do a  tiny incision in the armpit for the cannula for liposuction and for the drain most of my patients have a hard time finding it. Depending on the severity of the gynecomastia breast determines the incisions, sometimes it can be less, in some cases it can be more if a second stage reduction is needed.

The scars from correction of gynecomastia surgery really vary depending on the severity. The most common type of correctin can be done leaving a scar either on the lower border of the areola, or as I prefer, through a small scar off to the side. As the breast becomes larger and saggier, some of the skin may need to be removed leaving you with a thin scar around the entire areola. For the most severe type I perform a nipple graft procedure which leaves you with a single scar along the entire inframammary creasr and another around the areola. I do not like the "T" scar as it is very un-natural for men.

Men's breast enlargement is a combination of excess fat and usually excess breast tissue that is centered right under the nipple, going outwards several inches.

The fat is treated by ultrasonic liposuction, in my practice. The incision is 1/4 inch and is at 6 o' clock under the areola.

The breast tissue, if present, is treated by enlarging the incision under the areola, following the edge of the areola, then carefully and incrementally removing the breast tissue with cautery dissection.

When healed, the incision(s) are barely visible.

Women's breast reduction involves an incision that goes completely around the areola, down the front of the breast, and often in the crease.  Larger amounts of breast tissue are removed and the nipple/areola is moved upwards. The procedure is considerably more involved and more time consuming.

THe scars for treating most gynecomastia are minimal and placed in areas that heal well.  They are rarely a problem unless a man has really large or hanging breasts and skin needs to be removed.  In these cases, the scars are a real issue.If this is your situation,  you need to discuss with your surgeon how visible they will be afterwards.

Man Boobs (aka Gynecomastia) affects up to 65% of men! I guess it’s one of those things we don’t talk about but there’s some really easy options to get this taken care of permanently. 
There are typically two types of surgically correctable gynecomastia. The first, is the result of excess fat accumulation in the chest. The second, is more excess breast glandular tissue and less of a fatty component. Oftentimes, it’s a combination of these two and there are some really great options to manage these.
The scars in all the options are minimal! They are usually hidden around the areola or away from the nipple as a small 2-3mm scar called a Pull Through Technique.
If it’s mainly fat, we have a couple options the first is wide awake flash recovery liposuction which is very well tolerated, doesn’t require going to sleep (but you can if you want to) and the second is a non invasive option like CoolSculpting or CryoLipolysis which is freezing the fat cells.These are both great options for patients which primarily fatty gynecomastia or pseudogynecomastia. 
The other group of patients we typically see, which is the majority, will have some fat but also a rubbery, more firm glandular component which tends to be centralized under the nipple area. For these patients, I like to use the Pull Through Technique along with liposuction. This involves a tiny incision away from the breast, concealed in an area of natural shadow, and through that incision we first liposuction all the fatty tissue and then use that same incision to remove the rubbery glandular tissue from behind the nipple. The scars are imperceptible and heals great. 
Both of these options lead to a masculine and flat chest surface that won't show through sweaters or shirts which is usually the main complaint I hear from patients with gynecomastia.

Ideally, scars from gynecomastia will ultimately fade so they they are ultimately barely perceptible.  I do everything possible to limit incisions with gynecomastia surgery.  In most men, incisions are limited to the border of the areola. These incisions typically heal very favorably. In patients with a significant amount of excess skin and fat, I will present a staged surgical option with the hope that there may be some skin contraction after the first procedure and therefore, I can limited the incision again during the second surgery and eliminate the need to scars on the chest. There should be no surprises about scars after gynecomastia surgery as your surgeon should let you know placement of incisions during a consultation.I do see men for secondary surgeries looking for improvement of scars. More often, I men seeking a revision who have have divots where too much fat has been removed, or who still have puffy nipples because the glandular tissue was not managed correctly. Gynecomastia seems like an easy straightforward procedure, but it takes expertise and finesse on the part of your surgeon. 

Thanks for your question. Assuming you do not need any loose skin addressed, you should expect two types of scar. One is from liposuction and the other is from removing breast tissue.The poke holes for liposuction are very small and ultimately look like a freckle. The scar around the areola is thin. It is hidden at the junction of chest skin and areola tissue. It tends to be a thin white line, but can take several weeks to get that. I recommend you meet with a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon.

After a male breast reduction procedure to treat gynecomastia, the amount of visible scarring will depend on a number of factors including the amount of fat and breast tissue that is removed during the procedure, as well as the elasticity of the patient’s skin. During male breast reduction, I use a small cannula and make the smallest incisions possible in hard to see areas on and around the chest to reduce the visibility of post-procedure scars. In my experience, even patients who are particularly prone to scarring or who have had large amounts of fat and breast tissue removed are still very satisfied with their breast reduction results.