Dr Norris performs male breast reduction in fully accredited facilities. This is for your safety and to ensure optimum quality of care throughout the operation and the immediate postoperative period. The procedure can be done under local anaesthetic with sedation or a full general anaesthetic administered by Dr Ross Foreman. You can expect the operation to take 1-2 hours.

The type of procedure you will have depends on the underlying cause of the gynaecomastia. If the enlargement is due to excess fatty tissue alone, then liposuction will be used to remove the fat-containing cells through very small incisions . If the enlargement is due to excess glandular tissue alone (usually lying beneath the nipple) then a small incision around the edge of the areola (periareolar scar) will be used and the tissue cut out rather than suctioned out. If the enlargement is due to a combination of excess fatty tissue and glandular tissue then it is likely you will need both liposuction and a surgical excision using a periareolar incision. In a very small number of cases, where the degree of breast enlargement is extreme, then a larger procedure may be required necessitating longer scars to remove excess skin as well as the fatty and glandular tissue. Dr Norris will tell you which technique is most appropriate for you after assessment of your chest at the initial consultation.

At the end of the operation the incisions are closed with absorbable sutures to save you the inconvenience of having them removed. A dressing is applied over the incisions and you will leave the hospital wearing a comfortable and supportive chest binder garment.

Male breast reduction is usually a day-only procedure. When you go home you will require a friend, family member or partner to drive you as you won’t be able to drive yourself for the first week. You will leave with written postoperative instructions, a prescription for pain-relief and antibiotics, and a follow-up appointment with Dr Norris for one week.

At home you will experience the most discomfort in the first 3 or 4 days after the surgery. Some degree of discomfort is normal and your chest will be slightly bruised, swollen, tender and sensitive to touch. Most of these symptoms settle quickly so that you can return to light daily activities at the end of the first week. You may feel comfortable enough to return to work at this time also. More rigorous and strenuous exercise and activities should not be started for 3-4 weeks.

At one week after the procedure you will have a follow-up appointment with Dr Norris in the consulting rooms. This is to check on how you are feeling, make sure the wounds are healing without problem, change the dressings, and reassure you that the postoperative course is going to plan.

If at any time before this first follow-up appointment, or at any time after this you note a problem or have any concerns at all please contact Dr Norris immediately.

The scars will be at their most prominent at 6 weeks and may remain this way for a few months. However, they will then begin to fade and become much less noticeable.