Gynecomastia surgery before and after: what really changes

What changes

• The firm disc behind the nipple is gone, so the nipple sits flat instead of pointing out
• The chest is flatter and the outline under a T-shirt is straighter
• With skin removal, the fold under the chest goes and the nipple sits higher

What doesn't change

• The muscle underneath. A flatter chest shows the muscle you already have; it doesn't add any
• Fat elsewhere. A fuller tummy or flanks stay as they are unless they're treated too
• Skin quality. Loose skin left behind after liposuction alone doesn't tighten much

When you see it

Day one: flatter, but swollen and bruised under the vest. Six weeks: you can start to judge the shape. Three to six months: swelling and firmness have mostly gone. The scars keep fading for a year or more.

Scars

• Liposuction: two or three marks a few millimetres long, usually at the side of the chest or the edge of the areola
• Gland excision: a short curved scar along the lower edge of the areola, where the change in colour hides it
• Skin removal: longer scars across the chest or around the areola, which take longest to fade

Judging a surgeon's photos

Ask to see the surgeon's own before and after photos of men with a chest like yours: the same grade, the same build, and the same operation. Good photo sets are taken from the front and both sides, in the same light and the same pose, at least a few months after surgery. Ask how many of these operations the surgeon does a year.

This site shows no before and after photos, because the only honest ones belong to a surgeon and the men who agreed to share them.

How long it lasts

The result is usually permanent, because removed gland doesn't grow back. The chest can fill out again if you gain a lot of weight, or if the cause returns: anabolic steroids, some medicines, or a hormone problem.

Questions people ask

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