Gynecomastia - a breast enlargement in men. Gynecomastia in men can wear a physiological nature, that is regarded as one of the variants of the norm. It happens pathological gynecomastia, against the backdrop of persistent violation of hormonal background. The most common pathological gynecomastia is symptomatic, that is a manifestation of some other, more serious diseases. It can be congenital hypoplasia of the genital organs, tumor diseases and reproductive organs, the pituitary, hypothalamus, thyroid, adrenal glands, liver.
Gynecomastia can also be true and false. True gynecomastia is characterized by the growth in the breast glandular tissue, and false - fat. There are also mixed forms of gynecomastia.
Gynecomastia has three stages: proliferative (breast tissue is actively growing), intermediate (starts to form the final state of education) and the final, when tissues were formed and designed by sprouting connective tissue - to form fibrosis.
Physiological gynecomastia
Physiological gynecomastia is developing at small age hormonal shifts, for example, in the neonatal period, in adolescence and in old age.
Gynecomastia develops after birth newborn boy in the case when he was in the blood gets a large number of female hormones mother. Adolescent gynecomastia is a result of disruption of the normal balance in the hypothalamus - pituitary - testes. Normally such violations are minor, so after 3-4 months adolescent gynecomastia goes.
In old age gynecomastia is developing in reducing testicular function and also a physiological, it quickly be corrected.
Gynecomastia - Causes
The reasons for true gynecomastia in reducing the blood levels of male sex hormones androgens (gipoandrogeniya) or increase the blood levels of female sex hormones estrogen. Reasons for this phenomenon can be different. Often the cause gipoandrogenii adult men is testicular atrophy due to disease, injury, tumors and adolescents - as a result of congenital malformations. Gipoandrogeniya developing diseases of other genital organs (eg, prostate cancer), diseases and tumors of the hypothalamus and pituitary gland.
Gynecomastia can also develop on the background of chronic diseases, such as cirrhosis of the liver when increased levels of estrogen. A common cause of gynecomastia can be hyperthyroidism - increased thyroid function, when a large number of thyroid hormones has a toxic effect on all organs and tissues of the body. Including thyrotoxicosis is an active transformation of male hormones in the female.
But sometimes identify the cause and can not - in this case speak of idiopathic gynecomastia. Teenagers also sometimes have problems - first physiologic gynecomastia becomes persistent, ongoing long. At the same time the true causes of such flows can not be identified.
Gynecomastia is accompanied not only by increased secretion of estrogen, but their accumulation in the body that promotes the proliferation of mammary glands. When a long-term gynecomastia become predominant fibrosis (growth of connective tissue) of the breast.
Gynecomastia in bodybuilding
Gynecomastia in bodybuilding phenomenon quite common when athletes take anabolic hormones, such as dianabol. All anabolic hormones are derivatives of the male sex hormone testosterone, under their influence is an active protein synthesis, which is why athletes who are engaged in bodybuilding, taking anabolic steroids to build muscle mass.
But the coin has another side: anabolic steroids are degraded in the body by the enzyme aromatase, which is produced by the adrenal glands. As a result of the male sex hormones are formed women - estrogen. They also are the "culprits of gynecomastia in athletes.
To avoid this effect, it is best not to increase at all in using muscle anabolic hormones, using only natural methods. Sports doctors for the prevention of gynecomastia sometimes prescribe anti-estrogenic drugs.
Symptoms of gynecomastia in men
Symptoms of gynecomastia in men may be different. Gynecomastia is diffuse and nodular, unilateral and bilateral. Diffuse gynecomastia appears as a painful compression in the breast
The seal in the breast - a cause for concern
Located behind the nipple. The seal is usually a blur, soft, or rather compact texture, smooth and fine-grained surface. Dimensions seal - from 1 to 10 cm in diameter. Bilateral gynecomastia is most often diffuse. For this is also characterized by the appearance of mastitis watery clear or slightly tinted with blood discharge their nipples, and some inverted nipples.
Nodal mastopathy
Breast - the mirror Women's Health
characterized by the appearance of dense small (smaller than the size of its diffuse gynecomastia), painless nodule with clear contours under the nipple. The nipple, the skin of the breast and areola skin is not treason, no nipple discharge. Unilateral gynecomastia corresponds to a node, but there are nodes with both sides.
Youth gynecomastia is considered a normal variant, but some teenagers a significant increase in breast cancer may be expressed to a large extent create their cosmetic and psychological problems.
Adolescent gynecomastia develops after the onset of puberty. If you have a teenager with no other signs of puberty, should be suspected endocrine disease, mainly hormone producing tumor.
In most cases, gynecomastia Teenager
Adolescent gynecomastia - hormonal changes the body
developing arbitrarily, including arbitrarily subjected to reverse development. But sometimes the effects are gynecomastia and after puberty is over. Then physiological gynecomastia becomes persistent. This type of gynecomastia - is one of the most common conditions in adult men go to the doctor. There is a disease in adolescence, since not progressing, the patient no hormonal disorders.
Benign and malignant tumors of breast cancer in men is rare, however, to avoid the serious consequences of late diagnosis of diseases such they should be kept in mind and conduct a full examination of the patient before prescribing treatment.
Treatment of Gynecomastia
Gynecomastia can be treated with conservative methods or using surgery. Conservative methods are effective only in the early stages of the disease if started fibrosis, reverse development is not.
To prescribe treatment, it is necessary to complete the survey and determine what caused the onset of the disease. Only then prescribed drugs - analogs of male sex hormones that suppress the secretion of female sex hormones and so on.
If conservative treatment was ineffective, or it was hopeless from the start, it is assigned to the operation - the entire breast tissue is removed (mastectomy). If the operation Policy Pay using endoscopic equipment, the results are very good - the surface of the chest is flat, there is no scarring.
But sometimes, if the breast is too large to make such an operation can not, in this case, it is usually carried out an operation to remove the prostate tissue, liposuction liposuction after the cut in the areola or in the underarm area. Often, and such operations are successful, but the surgeons usually warn that the motion (for example, by a show of hands up) may appear on the chest cavity of the funnel. This is due to removal of a large volume of tissue.
Gynecomastia surgery is eliminated completely. The appearance of breast cancer after the operation made in good clinic is little different from the appearance of a healthy mammary gland.
False gynecomastia associated with increased deposition of fat in the breast, treated initially with conservative methods. By reducing total body weight and sometimes disappears false gynecomastia
False gynecomastia - a consequence of obesity
. But this is not always, sometimes after weight loss is an increase in breast cancer. In this case, gynecomastia may be treated as using liposuction (a slight increase in cancer), and by means of a mastectomy. The feasibility of such an operation is not only a cosmetic effect, but also the fact that, under the body fat may be hiding the true gynecomastia, including junction, which tends to degenerate into a tumor.
Galina Romanenko
