The gastric balloon, while a physical device, also works to help train patients mentally to eat healthier. The balloon teaches them to eat smaller portions and to stop eating when they are no longer hungry.  It helps people to learn their body’s clues that it has sufficient food and helps them learn to interpret and listen to those cues.

The balloon is inserted into the stomach by inserting it through a tube in the throat.  It is inflated when it is in place and remains for up to six months.  Because the acids in the stomach erode the balloon over time, it is comprised and filled with only safe materials and is removed before there is time for the balloon to begin leaking from the erosion.  The procedure is remarkably safe and the results thus far have been surprising.  While patients can often feel the balloon, particularly at first, they commonly describe it as the feeling of having ingested a great deal of water and note that it feels different but not painful.

While popular primarily in Europe, the gastric balloon procedure is becoming more commonly accepted around the world as a safe weight loss treatment.  This is an excellent procedure for people who have tried diet and exercise without success and are looking for alternatives to surgery.  While still a relatively new procedure, the gastric balloon is an option that is showing a great deal of promise.

While relatively safe and common, bariatric or obesity surgery is not without risk.  Because the surgery is only advised for obese patients who have health problems related to their weight, the complication risks with these surgeries are higher.  For this reason it is recommended that patients first try alternatives, such as medication in conjunction with diet and exercise.

For people who decide to undergo the surgery, there are a few options.  Gastric bypass is a common surgery that essentially involves creating a smaller stomach pouch, bypassing a large portion of the stomach and causing patients to feel full much faster.  This is by far the most commonly performed weight loss surgery.  Other options include gastric bands and resectioning of the stomach and small intestine.

While studies show that there are a significant number of complications, approximately 20%, following these surgeries, many are small and include bloating and diarrhea.  These effects are commonly controlled by medications and by eating smaller, more frequent meals rather than large meals three times a day.  These results are often outweighed for many by the fact that studies also show that these procedures decrease mortality rates from obesity related diseases as well as a decrease in the severity and symptoms of these diseases.

In short, obesity surgery is not for everyone.  If, however, medication, diet, and exercise have been tried but have not been enough, you may want to talk to your doctor about bariatric surgery.  For people who do not respond to conventional treatments, obesity surgery can change their lives permanently and considerably, helping them reach the weights they have always desired.

If the underlying illness and the gynecomastia itself are left untreated, the breast tissue can harden, leaving the sufferer with no other option than surgery. When the gynecomastia was caused by obesity and the sufferer has lost a significant amount of weight, a breast reduction is in order to alleviate the discomfort and sagging skin.

Causes of Gynecomastia

Turcios Disease is another term for gynecomastia.  It can happen to a male at any age and in many cases, no clear cause for the disease can be found.  In newborns and infants, a mother’s hormones cause an overgrowth of breast tissue in her son.  For adolescent boys, the overgrowth is most often caused by obesity, and the breast development can shrink or disappear if the boy loses a significant amount of weight.

Medications can sometimes cause the overgrowth of breast tissue that becomes gynecomastia.  Drugs for male pattern baldness, high blood pressure, acid reflux, and certain cancer or antipsychotic drugs have gynecomastia as a side effect.

Chronic diseases such as liver or kidney disease, or HIV treatments, will sometimes be managed by drugs that cause gynecomastia.  Ask your doctor for a complete list of side effects if you are taking any of these medications.

Decreased testosterone production can lead to late-onset gynecomastia.  Diseases of the hypothalamus or pituitary gland, or testicular tumors, cause the male body to produce less testosterone which may lead to the overgrowth of breast tissue.  Abuse of anabolic steroids and androgen-containing performance enhancing food supplements can have this unwanted side effect as well.

By far the biggest contributor to the condition is obesity.  Massive weight loss leads to sagging skin, which can never be targeted for treatments other than cosmetic surgery.  The social and psychological aftereffects of major weight loss can be marred by the extra tissue and skin left over on a man’s chest.

The Benefits of Cosmetic Surgery for Gynecomastia

Surgery for male breast reduction can be performed at any age.  Once the underlying cause of the overgrowth of tissue is addressed, breast reduction surgery can be approached as a treatment.  The self-consciousness of carrying the extra tissue on the chest can end.

At the consultation with the qualified plastic surgeon, you will hear about the various risks associated with the surgery.  Risks and complications are usually minor and pass with time.  Some people are mildly allergic to general anesthesia, so make the doctor aware if this is a known problem.  Noticeable scars are almost bound to happen, but the doctor will do his or her best to reduce scarring.

The boost in self-confidence is worth the minor risks associated with surgery.  Discuss cosmetic surgery to relieve gynecomastia with a qualified plastic surgeon as soon as possible.