What is a “Crater Deformity” after Gynecomastia Surgery?
A crater deformity is an indentation underneath the nipple resulting from removing to much breast gland. The depression can be repaired by a fat flap which covers over the indentation or a series of fat injections.
About 45% of my gynecomastia cases are for corrective surgery. One common problematic result is referred to as “crater deformity”. This is where the surgeon has removed too much breast gland underneath the areola without blending in the surrounding tissue smoothly. The blending in of the surrounding tissue is often accomplished with liposuction. This is often performed first in surgery depending on the density of the tissue. This will give you an idea of how much tissue to remove underneath the nipple to achieve a good outcome.
How to Fix a Crater Deformity?
Fortunately, there are procedures available that can help correct this complication. Once the patient has fully healed from the first surgery, fat transfer, (also called fat injection or fat grafting) is a medical procedure that uses the patient`s own fat tissue to increase the volume in the subcutaneous area of the chest to fill out the deformity. The fat is harvested from one part of the body where an excess exists and then placed in another part of the body. Another popular technique is a fat flap. This is a large piece of fat tissue that is attached to its blood supply and can be rotated into the indentation deformity. The fat flap is a very useful technique. It would be optimal to avoid having to go through this process (avoiding extra surgical costs and downtime) by doing your homework and finding the right surgeon the first time.
Miguel Delgado, M.D. is a gynecomastia specialist and this is one of many complex gynecomastia revision surgeries. He performs over 150 cases each year and 45% of these cases are gynecomastia surgery revisions from patients who are looking for another option.
MIGUEL DELGADO, M.D.
Dr. Delgado, MD is a world-recognized plastic surgeon and specialist in the treatment of male breast enlargement, also called gynecomastia. He has developed new techniques and owns and operates gynecomastia.org, which has become the largest gynecomastia forum in the world. Dr. Delgado holds the two most coveted credentials; the certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and membership in the American Society of Plastic Surgery.