Gynecomastia

Male breast reduction is performed under general anesthesia. This allows you to rest peacefully while all changes to your upper body are completed. When you wake up, you will have no memory of the treatment process. After the surgery, Dr. Bitar will make sure you are comfortable by prescribing oral painkillers.

While the exact number of sessions required for male breast reduction in Washington, D.C. area, can vary, your journey will typically include a consultation, your surgery, and a series of follow-up sessions, which allow Dr. Bitar to check on your incisions, respond to any concerns, and make sure you are healing optimally.

While you may notice some immediate improvements in your chest contours after surgery, it can take up to a full six months for all residual swelling to fade, so take care not to judge your final results too quickly.

Yes. Dr. Bitar performs a wide range of cosmetic solutions tailored exclusively to his male patients. During your private consultation in the surrounding Washington, D.C. area, the doctor will review your options for a personalized combination treatment plan.

At the Bitar Cosmetic Surgery Institute, we take pride in providing the best possible surgical experience, anticipating potential problems or setbacks, and addressing them before they occur. This process encompasses preoperative preparation, the actual surgery, and postoperative care.

• General Complications
  General complications can occur with any surgery. Cosmetic surgery is typically a safe procedure performed on healthy patients and, like all surgeries, comes with a low risk. To further lower the risk of complications, we operate at a first-class surgery center with board-certified anesthesiologists and nurses. To avoid postoperative complications, we advocate for early mobilization – patients seen in our office one or two days after surgery – and active participation in their own postoperative care. When we create a partnership, the results invariably improve.

• Bleeding
  Bleeding after a gynecomastia correction is rare. Before surgery, our patients are tested to make sure they don’t have any common bleeding disorders by their own physicians and by lab tests. In our practice, the rate of significant bleeding is less than 1%. Very rarely, we will put drainage tubes in the breasts if we feel there will be some bleeding after the surgery. The blood will be drained into a plastic bulb that the patient can empty. Those drains are removed in the days after surgery.

• Infection
  The most important step in avoiding infections is to undergo surgery at a first-rate surgical facility with board-certified anesthesiologists and nurses. Patients are given the appropriate intravenous antibiotic coverage throughout the surgery. During the surgery, the patient’s skin surface is cleaned thoroughly. After the procedure, our patients are prescribed antibiotics to minimize infection. As a result of these extra precautions, our rate of infection after a gynecomastia correction is extremely rare.

• Nerve Injury
  In a gynecomastia correction, the incision is usually at the bottom pole of the areola and heals very nicely. We have not had any open wounds in our gynecomastia patients.

• Loss of Nipple Sensation or Nipple/Areolar Skin
  Loss of nipple sensation is a potential complication that may result from the removal of breast tissue and the surrounding fat. Temporary loss of sensation from a “stunned” nerve or a bruised nerve may occur in the time period after surgery, but sensation in the vast majority of cases returns within a few weeks. Loss of nipple or areolar skin has not been a problem.

• Asymmetry
  All the skin, fat, and breast tissue removed during gynecomastia correction is measured. If the breasts appear similar before surgery, then equal amounts of fat and breast tissue are removed from each breast. If the breasts are not symmetrical, then more breast and fat tissue is removed from the bigger breast to achieve symmetry.

• Smoking
  Smoking is an absolute contraindication in gynecomastia correction. The carbon monoxide and nicotine in cigarette smoke cause a severe reduction in blood supply to the skin during healing. This results in delayed wound healing, wound separation, skin or nipple death, and a higher risk of infection. Cotinine testing is performed in patients with a smoking history to ensure that they are safe when having this procedure.