What Is The Scarring Like After Gynecomastia Surgery?

Scarring depends on what sort of surgery you’ve had.

This can range from just liposuction where the incisions are small, and in my practice these are less than half a cm incisions in the areola, one or two in the axillary crease, and depending on how much fat there is, I occasionally add one on the side, but these are all small scars, less than half a cm, which usually fade over time.

In my practice the majority of my incisions are generally in the areola where it’s less obvious after the surgery, and when I do liposuction I make the incision in the axillary crease, in the armpit fold, usually not obvious.

In severe cases, for grade 4 gynecomastia, meaning a lot of loose skin, you may need excising or cutting out the breast and relocating the areola and nipple, for these cases the scarring in my practice is horizontal across the chest and it is advisable to seek second opinion and know what options are available to you. Other skin excision methods depending on severity, patient/surgeon preferences a nipple lift with upper part skin excision is done with scarring in the upper half of the areola or where you can be left with a round scar around the areola, after a donut procedure, which can leave a bit of wrinkling or puckering. Or you may have what we call a t-scar or sometimes a longitudinal scar, this depends on what skin excision methods the surgeon has performed. For very severe cases I prefer to do excision of the breast with relocation of the areola and nipple to a normal or closer to normal position, which leaves you with a flat chest but with horizontal scars across each side.

In terms of scarring, this depends on the patient, because everyone is different. For most patients, the fact that this has changed their life, gynecomastia surgery has improved their quality of life, for many the scarring is usually a non-issue and in my practice most patients don’t notice that they have a scar. It is important you know what options are available and you are willing to accept before going ahead.