Exclusive | Meet the men getting breast reductions which is now the most popular plastic surgery among guys in the US
Brian Lewis Gonzalez spent most of his life trying not to be seen.Growing up in Brooklyn, he kept to himself, slouching and layering to disguise the excess breast tissue that made him the target of schoolyard taunts. “There were summers that I would wear two shirts just to feel comfortable enough to go outside, even if it was 100 degrees,” Gonzalez, now 44, told The Post.“And that was even when I wasn’t that heavy.”In his early 20s, a devastating breakup led him to put on weight, pushing him up to 300 pounds and further intensifying his deepest insecurity.“The additional weight made it much worse.
It looked very much like a pair of women’s breasts,” he said.“It was tough to socialize.
It was tough to do anything.”But even after he shed over 100 pounds his chest still sagged — a stubborn reminder of the gynecomastia he’d battled since puberty.Gonzalez, a porter in a residential building, had long dreamed of a permanent solution: a male breast reduction.In 2021, he finally made it happen, taking out loans and paying $10,000 to surgically remove the excess fat, glandular tissue and skin caused by his condition.“It changed my life,” he said.
“I had to get used to walking with my chest out and having confidence.Before, it felt like I was carrying around a big bag of rocks — that’s what my gynecomastia was.” Gonzalez is far from alone.
A growing number of men are seeking surgical treatment for gynecomastia, which is estimated to affect at least half of all men at some point in their lives — though in many cases, it occurs during puberty and resolves on its own.“Since 2020, I’ve definitely seen a steep increase in men doing consultations and going forward with gynecomastia surgery,” Dr.Claudia Kim, chief medical officer and lead cosmetic surgeon at New Look New Life in Manhattan, told The Post.
The procedure is now the most popular plastic surgery among US men, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.The grou...