For almost five years Raju (name changed) wouldn’t step out of home without tightly bandaging his chest. Always conscious of his enlarged breasts, he feared being bullied or touched inappropriately. Anxiety led to depression, Raju quit his studies, and then harmed himself. Luckily, his family understood what he was going through and got him treated for depression. Now, after undergoing gynecomastia surgery or breast reduction, Raju has a grip on his life at 24. But doctors say the number of Rajus is on the rise.

Docs See More Cases

Dr Nikhil S Shetty, associate professor in the department of plastic surgery at Mangaluru’s Justice K S Hegde Charitable Hospital, says the number of boys and men coming for treatment has increased by at least half in the last two years. Dr Rajesh Vasu, head of the department and consultant plastic and aesthetic surgeon at CARE Hospitals, Hyderabad, also says that they have observed a 50% increase in gynecomastia cases.

The reason for this sudden rise is not clear, but it could be diet, the pandemic’s sedentary lifestyle, or simply increased awareness about the surgical procedure, or even a backlog of cases from the pandemic years.