Surgical management of gynaecomastia: Experience from a tertiary health facility in Southwest Nigeria

Background: Gynaecomastia is the benign enlargement of the male breast as a result of glandular proliferation, usually resulting in feminine appearance. The treatment is usually surgical for cosmetic reasons. Objective: To describe the local experience with the surgical treatment of gynaecomastia by conventional subcutaneous mastectomy. Methods: This is a retrospective study of all cases of gynaecomastia seen at the surgical out-patient department of the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, covering the period from January 2009 to October 2019.The data obtained included age, duration of symptoms, treatment, postoperative complications and type of anaesthesia. Results: A total of twenty-three cases were seen. The mean age was 26.4±17.5 years with an age range of 15 to 84years. The mean duration of symptoms was 2.9±3.6 years. About 70% of the cases were aged less than 21years. Twenty-one patients (91.3%) had a subcutaneous mastectomy, and local anaesthesia was deployed for the procedure in 16 (76.2%) cases. Two patients (9.5%) developed postoperative haematoma while one patient developed severe keloid at the surgical site. Conclusion: Subcutaneous mastectomy for gynaecomastia can be safely done under local anaesthesia and it gives a good cosmetic effect with minimal postoperative complications.