Gynecomastia vs. Lipomas

Left picture: In this case a marked bilateral gynecomastia is present. Right picture: The two masses of the chest wall are two large lipomas.

At a sight from the front, a bilateral asymmetrical gynecomastia seems to be present in both patients. Nevertheless, the pathologies in the left and in the right picture are different, if the age, the history and the local findings of the two patients are considered. Left picture: Here, a developing teenager is present in whom the enlargement has occurred during the development. Right picture at the top: In this toddler, the swelling of the breast has been present all along, although it has become gradually larger. Left picture: In this pathology a large areola and a prominent nipple are visible on both sides, and enlarged mammary glands are palpable. Right picture: Inspection and palpation of the breast are inconspicuous. In addition, the shape, and mainly the site of masses shows that the pathology is not a question of mammary glands; notice the transverse axis of the left mass running up to the midline, and the right mass which lies in the axilla on a view from the right side in the figure at the bottom of the same side.