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Laser-assisted lipolysis in the treatment of gynecomastia: a prospective study in 28 patients

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Abstract

Gynecomastia is the most common breast pathology. Numerous excisions and liposuction techniques have been described to correct bilateral male breast enlargement. Recently, there has been a shift from the open approach to minimally invasive techniques. This article reports a 5-year experience using laser-assisted lipolysis (LAL) to treat gynecomastia, and describes the surgical technique. Between January 2006 and December 2010, a total of 28 patients with bilateral gynecomastia were treated with LAL. Patients had a mean age of 36.5 years (range 24 to 56 years). LAL was performed with a 980-nm diode laser (continuous emission, 15 W power, 8–12 kJ total energy per breast) after tumescent anesthetic infiltration. The breast was evaluated objectively by two physicians who compared chest circumference and photographs. Patients were also asked to score the results using a visual analogue scale: 75 to 100 (very good), 50–74 (good), 25 to 49 (fair) and 0 to 24 (poor). The postoperative period for all patients was incident-free. After 6 months, 18 patients (64.3%) scored the results as “very good”, 6 as “good” (21.4%), 3 as “fair” (10.7%) and 1 “poor” (3.6%). Mean chest circumferences pre- and postoperatively were, respectively, 117.4 ± 11.1 cm and 103.3 ± 7.5 cm (p < 0.001), corresponding to a mean difference of 14.1 cm. Physicians scored the photographs as “very good” in 22 patients (78.6%), as “good” in five patients (17.9%), and as “fair” in one patient (3.6%). LAL in gynecomastia is safe and produces significant effects on fatty tissue, with a reduction in breast volume, together with significant skin tightening. Provided an appropriate amount of energy is delivered by an experienced operator, the results are both significant and consistent.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Pascal Servell for his careful review of the English language of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Médico Vilafortuny, Fundación Antoni de Gimbernat, Cambrils, Tarragona, Spain

    M. A. Trelles & E. Bonanad

  2. INSERM (French National Institute of Health and Medical Research) U703, Lille University Hospital, 152 rue du Dr. Yersin, 59120, Lille-Loos, France

    S. R. Mordon, N. Betrouni & F. M. Leclère

  3. Instituto Médico Láser, Madrid, Spain

    J. Moreno Moraga

  4. Department. of Plastic Surgery, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany

    A. Heckmann

  5. Department of Handsurgery, Vulpiusklinik, Bad Rappenau, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

    F. Unglaub

Authors
  1. M. A. Trelles
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  2. S. R. Mordon
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  3. E. Bonanad
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  4. J. Moreno Moraga
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  5. A. Heckmann
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  6. F. Unglaub
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  7. N. Betrouni
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  8. F. M. Leclère
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Correspondence to F. M. Leclère.

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Trelles, M.A., Mordon, S.R., Bonanad, E. et al. Laser-assisted lipolysis in the treatment of gynecomastia: a prospective study in 28 patients. Lasers Med Sci 28, 375–382 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-011-1043-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-011-1043-6

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