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Gynecomastia is really excess breast tissue, and it's a really very interesting phenomenon that's going on right now we're seeing in the practice. The number of gynecomastia patients coming in has exploded over the last two years. Young men, when they reach adolescence, have about a 30 to 75 percent chance of having gynecomastia, and as they go through puberty, their breast involutes because of the increased levels of testosterone and androgens, and their gynecomastia goes away.
Seeing a large number of young men in the 24 to 35, 40 range who have had the problem for a period of time and now, I think because of greater awareness, are coming in and starting to tell us about how self-conscious they'e been about it and how they want to have something done about it. More and more men have now come to the realization that they can have a relatively simple procedure. It takes about an hour to an hour and a half. Very little downtime. Very little scarring or post-procedural stigmata of, you know, "I've had it done." You can have it done on Friday and easily go back to work on Monday.
Five years ago, we saw maybe one or two Gynecomastia patients a month. I see, on average, six to ten a week. So, the numbers right there tell you how much of a significant psychological effect this is having on the men in this country and how they're being awakened to this procedure and how it's being offered now.
I think it's important that people have completely gone through puberty before they have their Gynecomastia treated because, as I said, when a boy goes through puberty, very often he has some breast bud development, but then that regresses after he goes through puberty. So a large percentage of the time, the Gynecomastia will go away. Now, there's another component to how men feel about their chest, and that has to do with weight gain. Many times men who come in that have significant Gynecomastia also have significant fatty tissue around the Gynecomastia and in their breast. So, the combination of the breast tissue and the fat tissue makes the Gynecomastia look much more prominent, and because of that, it makes the man feel much more self-conscious about it.
Seeing a large number of young men in the 24 to 35, 40 range who have had the problem for a period of time and now, I think because of greater awareness, are coming in and starting to tell us about how self-conscious they'e been about it and how they want to have something done about it. More and more men have now come to the realization that they can have a relatively simple procedure. It takes about an hour to an hour and a half. Very little downtime. Very little scarring or post-procedural stigmata of, you know, "I've had it done." You can have it done on Friday and easily go back to work on Monday.
Five years ago, we saw maybe one or two Gynecomastia patients a month. I see, on average, six to ten a week. So, the numbers right there tell you how much of a significant psychological effect this is having on the men in this country and how they're being awakened to this procedure and how it's being offered now.
I think it's important that people have completely gone through puberty before they have their Gynecomastia treated because, as I said, when a boy goes through puberty, very often he has some breast bud development, but then that regresses after he goes through puberty. So a large percentage of the time, the Gynecomastia will go away. Now, there's another component to how men feel about their chest, and that has to do with weight gain. Many times men who come in that have significant Gynecomastia also have significant fatty tissue around the Gynecomastia and in their breast. So, the combination of the breast tissue and the fat tissue makes the Gynecomastia look much more prominent, and because of that, it makes the man feel much more self-conscious about it.
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