Explore Plastic Surgery - Dr. Barry Eppley

On this week’s Doc Chat Radio show on WXNT 1430AM in Indianapolis from 12:00 to 1:00PM on Saturday afternoon, hosted by Dr. Barry Eppley Indianapolis plastic surgeon,  the topic of body contouring in men was discussed. Male body reshaping generally includes liposuction, modified forms of tummy tucks, gynecomastia reduction, and chest reshaping.  Interviewing several patients, both before and after their surgical procedures, was done to listen to their concerns, apprehensions, experiences, and the results afterwards.

 

 Each year, plastic surgery in men becomes more popular.  As Americans live longer and healthier lives, the expectation of looking and being vital is important even into one’s sixties and seventies.

 

One of the most popular surgical procedures among men is liposuction. As with women, men are genetically designed to accumulate fat in certain areas. While women tend to accumulate fat in the hips and thighs, in men fat generally goes straight to the waistline. And for some patients, once this excess fat has accumulated, no amount of diet or exercise may be able to make it disappear. Such individuals are often excellent candidates for liposuction. I typically perform circumferential liposuction of the trunk for male patients, to improve the aesthetics of the torso not only anteriorly but also in profile and when viewed from behind. Another area where liposuction is commonly performed in men is the area below the jaw, where removal of fat can significantly improve the male facial profile. Liposuction of the anterior neck and the area below the jawline is frequently performed at the same time.

 

Many of my liposuction patients are very active individuals who have essentially ‘hit a wall’ in terms of improving their body contours through dietary modification and exercise. The boost they get from liposuction in recontouring their ’stubborn fat’ areas quite often motivates them to be even more intensive in their exercise and nutrition regimens. I have many patients who at one year post-op have a result that is perhaps 75-80% the direct result of body contouring surgery, and 20-25% is the result of their own efforts at maximizing the result of surgery through diet and exercise.

 

In men that lose a significant amount of weight, the abdominal skin may be left loose and sagging. In such patients a tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) or mini-tummy tuck can instantly restore a more appealing abdominal contour. While women undergoing abdominoplasty usually require abdominal wall repair (from prior pregnancy), in some male patients the tummy tuck consists of only skin and fat removal, which has a much faster recovery time.

 

Male tummy tucks are usually combined with liposuction of the abdomen, waist and chest. Depending on the degree of abdominal skin laxity, a male abdominoplasty may be performed with or without umbilicoplasty (the surgical creation of a new umbilicus or belly button. The surgical approach is always individualized to the particular needs (and goals) of each abdominoplasty patient.

 

Enlargement of the male breast is referred to as gynecomastia which can occur in response to certain medications or hormonal conditions but most often has no clearly identifiable cause. Gynecomastia may develop at any age, and may occur on one or both sides. In most patients it can be corrected with liposuction or with a combination of liposuction and direct excision (removal) of breast tissue and/or skin.

 

Surgical correction of gynecomastia produces a dramatic, positive change for patients with this troublesome problem, as it is usually a source of significant self-consciousness and embarrassment. For most patients the results are quite liberating, especially in terms of participating in athletic endeavors and relaxing at the beach or pool.

 

Whenever possible, my strong preference is to avoid skin excision and thereby limit the surgical scar to the inferior border of the areola. When a patient with gynecomastia has breast enlargement to an extent where too much liposuction is likely to produce a ‘deflated’ appearance, I often will stage the procedure, which allows time for the skin to retract to some extent between the two liposuction surgeries. In many cases this completely eliminates the need for skin excision, and in some it reduces the need for skin excision to that which can be accomplished with a peri-areolar scar only (instead of standard ‘inverted-T’ breast reduction scars).

 

Men interested in body contouring can arrange a consultation with Dr. Eppley by calling his Indianapolis suburban area facilities at Clarian North office at  317-814-4100 or his Clarian West office at 317-217-2200.

Tags: body contouring in men, dr barry eppley, gynecomastia reduction, indianapolis, male liposuction, male plastic surgery