A plastic surgery incision site becomes a scar, so when considering a male breast reduction, it’s important to understand the reasons surgeons choose the sites they do. For male breast reductions, the decision is primarily based on the composition of your excess breast tissue.
Your surgeon may recommend the axillary incision site, located in the armpit area. This site is primarily used for liposuction of fatty breast tissue; the surgeon can insert a cannula (a sharp medical tube) attached to a medical suction device and suck out excess fatty breast tissue. The armpit is farther away from the breast than the areola, so this site is not ideal for accessing glandular tissue with a scalpel.
The other option is the periareolar incision site, located on the border of the areola. Because this site is directly on the breast area, it’s easy for the surgeon to excise glandular tissue with a scalpel. Many male breast reductions involve the removal of both glandular and fatty tissue, so surgeons will sometimes use both sites during a procedure.
For larger amounts of breast tissue, it may be necessary to begin with a periareolar incision, cut down from the bottom of the areola, and then do a horizontal cut. This inverted-T incision allows for greater access to the breast area and more removal of drooping skin. It does leave a larger scar than the other two incision methods.
Discuss incision sites and their resulting scars with a plastic surgeon. The office of Dr. Vaishali Doolabh in Jacksonville is committed to helping you have the safest, most comfortable cosmetic surgery experience available, so contact us today for a consultation.