Introduction

This is a condition where a person who is assigned male at birth has extra fatty deposits in the breasts that make the person resemble someone who is assigned female at birth. People who are AMAB, and who identify as male, may feel self-conscious about this condition.

What Is Pseudogynecomastia?

The fatty deposits associated with pseudogynecomastia can occur for a variety of reasons. Most often, though, the condition occurs when someone carries excess weight. For this reason, the surgery to correct it usually involves both liposuction and skin removal. Although pseudogynecomastia doesn’t cause any real physical problems itself, it has been known to be associated with harmful conditions, such as breast cancer, in rare instances. Consult your doctor to see if you have any underlying conditions when you discuss the possible correction of pseudogynecomastia.

Gynecomastia vs. Pseudogynecomastia

Pseudogynecomastia is similar to gynecomastia, which is where those deposits are more like actual breasts than in a case of pseudogynecomastia. The “pseudo-” in pseudogynecomastia doesn’t mean that the condition is fake. It means only that it resembles gynecomastia.

Should You Get Gynecomastia Surgery?

People who are AMAB are good candidates for corrective surgery if they’re experiencing mental-health issues regarding their enlarged breast tissue. Generally, a surgeon will consult with your therapist and/or psychiatrist before proceeding with the surgery. As with any cosmetic surgery, you may not smoke nor drink to excess prior to the procedure. Both the nicotine and the alcohol inhibit proper healing, which could lead to complications, such as suture-line bleeding, tissue necrosis, or infection.

Additionally, if you take illicit substances recreationally, then you run the risk of developing gynecomastia, meaning that you’ll have to stop using those substances because doing so could undo the surgery you receive to correct pseudogynecomastia. The same holds true if you work out and use steroids as a performance-enhancing substance.

You should also be generally healthy and have no serious chronic illnesses. If the person seeking surgery is an adolescent doing so with parental permission, then the surgeon will usually recommend waiting because the condition could vanish on its own within as little time as a year.

The Importance of a Professional Consultation

Your surgeon will be able to go over all the possible risks with you while taking your complete medical history and list of current medications. Which medications you take could affect the timeline of recovery, or possibly even contraindicate the procedure, so it’s important that you give your surgeon the complete picture. Remember to include anything that you take that’s not prescribed, including recreational substances, and that you might have to stop taking something or change your medication before proceeding with the surgery. Also, you can usually pick how you want to undergo the procedure: general, twilight, or local anesthesia. Your surgeon will let you know if what you pick will work in your specific case.

Conclusion

Pseudogynecomastia surgery is not difficult, and the recovery isn’t usually problematic or long. Always be sure to get the procedure done for the “right reasons,” which means for you and your own health and not for anyone else.