Man-Boobs

As a kid, we often get tagged with various nicknames. Some we think are cool, while most other nicknames are downright mean. And for a guy who has been called “Tits” all throughout his life, the nickname that stuck with a guy named Merle Yost more than qualifies for the latter.

Featured in a Contra CostaTimes report, Yost suffers from gynecomastia, the enlargement of the male breast is the result of an abnormal increase in the glandular tissue. Generally, enlarged male breasts are not harmful, but try telling that to Yost.

By junior high, the skinny kid from Missouri had pronounced breasts. Yost began what would be a lifetime struggle with what's medically known as gynecomastia, or casually referred to by many as "man boobs."

"The girls would offer me their bras, and the guys would attack my chest," says Yost, now a 47-year-old licensed marriage and family therapist whose practice is based in Oakland.

Actually, the condition can now be corrected with plastic surgery for gynaecomastia. The procedure, which takes about 1-3 hours, calls for liposuction to remove the fatty tissue, and can be done under a general or local anaesthetic. Most patients can get back to their normal activities, exercise included, in about a month.

Unfortunately for Yost, he had to undergo in 1993 a sloppy job performed by a plastic surgeon who ended up removing much of his breasts and leaving fatty tissue under his arms. It’s a good thing that Yost ably dealt with setbacks such as this, coming up with a book and a website about gynecomastia. And with plastic surgery technology now much better than it was 13 years ago, Yost has undergone a second operation to correct his condition once and for all.

Hopefully, this will finally end the man-boob struggles of this man once known as “Tits”.