An IAS officer, a chartered accountant, a 12th grade student, all have one common complain of over-grown breasts, that cause them embarrassment and are seeking to get them removed.
Thirty-year-old Vineet Kumar, an IAS officer in training, is shyly sitting at a private clinic awaiting his turn to seek counselling. Until recently he was suffering from ‘gynecomastia,’ a condition in which a male’s breasts exude and sag.
In his seventh grade, Kumar suddenly bloated and gradually started to develop sagging breasts. “It was very embarrassing. I could not go swimming. I could not wear tight t-shirts. I was snubbed and ridiculed by my friends,” said Kumar.
Unlike popular perception, it has got nothing to do with being overweight or obese, Dr Rajat Gupta, Kumar’s plastic surgeon told DNA. “A hormonal imbalance during puberty leads to over formation of breast gland in men, which leads to them protruding from chest,” Dr Gupta said.
At Skinnovation Clinic in Model Town of North Delhi, Dr Gupta operates on at least three to four men who complain about the disorder and wish to have perfectly flat chests. One in ten men suffer from any of the four stages of gynecomastia, stage one being the mildest and four being the most severe.
At 26, Kumar went to a self-proclaimed ‘doctor,’ in Mumbai who promised a cure for Rs50,000. “I underwent a liposuction procedure. Three incisions were made in my body and after pumping in water, pulled out fat. There was pain, but my breasts kept sagging. The problem persisted,” Kumar said.
Kumar then approached Dr Gupta who conducted a perfect procedure. “An incision of three to four mm was yet again made on the sides, the hormonal gland was broken, and technologies like MicroAIR and VASER were used to ensure perfect removal,” said Dr Gupta. Most kids are in a dilemma over sagging breasts as they do not figure out that its a hormonal problem. Children are shy and do not discuss the problem with their parents, leading to development of an inferiority complex in them.
However, the frequency of the number of patients of gynecomastia has increased over the last few years in public hospitals too. This is due to increased awareness and willingness to seek help.
(With the inputs from Cheena Kapoor)
Steroids Booster
Doctors say that those who take steroids while gymming may develop hormonal imbalance leading to gynecomastia.
“We receive at least 2-3 cases, most of which are from educated backgrounds, a month,” says Dr P S Bhandari, Head of Plastic Surgery, Lok Nayak Hospital.
