Abstract
Background
Male gynecomastia is a commonly occurring aesthetic concern. Traditional liposuction, laser and ultrasound-assisted liposuction have many limitations, and excisional gynecomastia procedures can leave undesirable scars in the treatment of the enlarged male breast.
Methods
In this study, the authors report the use of radiofrequency-assisted liposuction (RFAL) in the treatment of male gynecomastia. A total of 59 males had their gynecomastia treated by RFAL technology, 47/59 by closed RFAL alone, and an additional 12 patients with RFAL combined with our personal technique of trans-mammillary glandular reduction. The RFAL device afforded strong RF current and thermal energy for glandular and adipose coagulation and liquefaction, together with strong soft tissue contraction forces.
Results
All patients were followed for more than 12 months, and all reported good to excellent breast contour results. There was one seroma and over 90 % of patients report being very happy with their contour, and no secondary surgical procedures were necessary. The authors report RFAL as new and potentially powerful option in the treatment of male gynecomastia, having the advantages of strong coagulation, liquefaction and aspiration of glandular tissue, simultaneous coagulation and aspiration with constant thermal monitoring, and very strong soft tissue contraction, eliminating the need for skin resection in the majority of cases. In minority of cases where there may be remnant glandular structures following RFAL, a simple, minimally intrusive trans-mammillary glandular extraction technique can be deployed that leaves minimal scarring.
Conclusions
The mixed technique presented in this study appears to be safe and effective. The RFAL mixed technique has proven to be superior to ultrasonic and power-assisted liposuction due to the skin contraction, having no limitation dependent on the quality of the patient’s skin.
Level of Evidence: Level IV, therapeutic study.
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Conflict of interest
Dr. Blugerman and Dr. Schavelzon received the device at no charge to conduct some studies. Dr. Mulholland is a paid consultant of Invasix and received the device at no charge to conduct some studies. Dr. Soto and Dr. Siguen have no conflict of interests.
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Blugerman, G., Schalvezon, D., Mulholland, R.S. et al. Gynecomastia treatment using radiofrequency-assisted liposuction (RFAL). Eur J Plast Surg 36, 231–236 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00238-012-0772-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00238-012-0772-5