What is Gynaecomastia?
The word means ‘woman’s breast’ and is usually a variation of normal, women’s breasts vary in size and so do men’s. Male and female breast is identical under the microscope and both appear and grow at puberty; studies suggest 60% of 14-15 year old boys have gynaecomastia, reducing to 8% at 18 years of age and increasing to 30% in older men, which means very many thousands have the condition. If Gynaecomastia appears after puberty another cause must be excluded, including testicular and brain tumours; and certain chemicals and drugs can be to blame.