If you have found that you have a case of true, gland-based gynecomastia and no amount of diet, exercise or even pharmaceutical solutions is getting rid of the offending tissue, then you have probably given some thought to gynecomastia reduction surgery.

If this is the case, you will definitely want to research more than one surgeon and keep one important thing in mind: It is up to them to sell their services to you, not up to you to convince them that you need the surgery. Several people may be so fed up with their gynecomastia that they are simply thrilled that somebody is willing to take a knife to them and help them get rid of it. But believe me, there are many, many plastic surgeons out there, with varying levels of expertise (and varying prices that may not necessarily be correlated to their abilities).

It may take an extra month or two of research to find the right surgeon, but you are going to have that body and that torso for the rest of your life. You will not regret having lived with gyno for an additional month in order to possibly improve the post-operation results for the next several decades.

With that in mind, here are a few questions to keep in mind as you shop around for the right surgeon.

Do not be afraid to ask for before-and-after pictures of the surgeon’s previous work. Even if they have some pictures available, you are entitled to ask for more if you are not 100% sold based on what you have seen. If they don’t have pictures that satisfy you, you can always look elsewhere. Try to make sure that your dissatisfaction is not entirely due to unrealistic expectations, however. You should be able to look at some “before” pictures of patients with gynecomastia patterns similar to your own. You should not expect to get identical results to them, but if there are several pictures of similar severity gynecomastia (pre-operation), you may be able to develop a mental ballpark for reasonable expectations.

You are entitled to ask about their surgical techniques. Various surgeons employ different methods of extracting gynecomastia tissue. There are several ways to skin a cat, or eliminate unwanted man-boobs, as the surgery videos on this website will illustrate. You can ask the surgeon why they use the method they do, and why it would be best-suited for your particular type and degree of gynecomastia. The ideal technique may vary depending on your level of body fat, the severity of your gynecomastia, the likelihood of excess skin following gland removal, and various other factors. Your surgeon should have good answers for why they would take a particular approach to your body.

You are entitled to ask questions that will help you determine what your realistic expectations should be. You should not simply have to settle for vague statements about how you should expect “good results.” It is true that there are risks involved in cosmetic surgeries and that doctors would be irresponsible to promise a specific result. But you can ask if they intend to remove gland or only do fat liposuction beneath the areola. You can ask if they intend to excise any lateral gland tissue extending from the nipple toward the armpit, or if they will leave that area as is.

There are a number of factors that you have a right to know that will affect your expected outcome and that the surgeon should be able to tell you in advance. There have been some cases where disappointed patients left the operating room and learned that their surgeon had only performed fat liposuction on the chest and left the gland tissue untouched. These situations should be avoidable by asking specific questions and making sure that you and the surgeon are on the same page.

You are entitled to inquire about the surgeon’s credentials and history. It is wise to ask how many surgeries a doctor regularly performs that are similar to yours. Experience is generally a plus. You can also contact the State Board and confirm the doctor’s medical record, including any complaints or licensing issues.

Regardless, remember that this is an elective procedure and if they want your money to go into their pockets, they should be willing to answer your questions and convince you that they are the right doctor for the job.

This video, as well, focuses more on the life impact and before-and-after comparison than the surgery procedure itself. That said, it does provide a glimpse at a fairly extreme case of gynecomastia and a snapshot of the positive impact that was achieved by addressing the problem.

This particular video focuses less on the procedure and more on the impact of the condition and the before-and-after story. In fact, the majority of the surgery footage is actually abdominal liposuction rather than gynecomastia reduction, and the clip really falls somewhere between surgery footage and a documentary piece. This clip appeared on Australian TV.

In this instance, the surgeon was Dr. Delgado and the patient was none other than Merle Yost, author of Demystifying Gynecomastia and creator of GYNECOMASTIA.ORG, a leading site on the condition and almost certainly your first go-to resource for support and information.

Merle Yost was actually undergoing a revision in this video, as his original surgery had not addressed the breast tissue at the sides of the torso, instead focusing exclusively on the front. The end result is quite promising for what had been a fairly severe case of gynecomastia.

The following is another video of a gynecomastia reduction procedure. This particular video is from Plastic Surgery: Before and After as seen on the Discovery Channel. In this case, the procedure is performed by Dr. Jeffry B. Schafer and he utilizes a different technique and method from the previous video shown on this site.

This video is of use in your considerations in a few ways.

First, it shows that there is a variety of different approaches to removing unwanted male breast tissue. You owe it to yourself to look into the various methods, educate yourself as to what might be the right one for you, and ask your prospective surgeon what technique they will use.

Second, it shows that there are some risks involved in surgery of all sorts, and that cosmetic procedures don’t always go off without a hitch. In this case, the patient developed an infection at the incision site on the nipple, and it appeared that he would require either revisions or a secondary solution such as tattooing a new areola to hide the scarring. It is possible that a properly and expertly performed surgery may still result in complications.

Finally, it shows that different cases and degrees of gynecomastia may warrant different approaches to tissue removal. Cases involving a great deal of unwanted gland tissue are less likely to result in a post-operation chest that looks flawless. It will be more difficult for the post-operation chest (with skin that used to accommodate excess breast tissue) to heal in a way that conforms perfectly to the underlying muscle. The results may still be an enormous aesthetic and psychological improvement, however.

It should be noted that while the previous (incident-free) surgery video shown on this site (with another doctor) featured a milder case of gynecomastia with less breast tissue, and was produced by the surgeon himself rather than an independent party, allowing for the possible selection after-the-fact of a textbook case.

The following is a video of gynecomastia reduction surgery. It follows the process from examination through marking of the incision lines, entry, removal of the head and tail of gynecomastia tissue, and post-operation follow-up.

In this instance, the procedure is performed by Dr. Mordcai Blau. However, this video is not intended as an advertisement for any particular surgeon, but rather as a primer for gynecomastia sufferers as to how the procedure may be performed and what to expect.

Note that different surgeons have different techniques and experience levels.