A rare few complaint of what is referred to as crater deformity following gynecomastia correction surgery. It is an indentation or depression in the chest that occurs post operatively resulting from:

• Gland removal alone without liposuction of surrounding areas (or)
• Excess removal of gland underneath the nipple areola complex without performing sufficient liposuction to level out or blend the surrounding tissues (or)
• Aggressive Liposuction

In the above situations, there is insufficient support due to excessive removal of gland / fat and the overlying skin tends to sink in, giving it a crater like appearance. The challenge is to excise and / or liposuction the right amount of gland and / or fat, which comes easy to an experienced and certified Plastic Surgeon.

The good news is that the depression can often be corrected by releasing the underlying scar tissue and fat grafting (fat transfer / fat injection / fat fill) using the patient’s own fat tissue to fill out the deformity. Fat provides a natural cushion to fill the area and provides a natural contour. Alternatively, a fat flap that covers the indentation can be performed. Here, a large piece of fat tissue with an active blood supply is rotated and positioned to fill the deformity. Liposuction of the surrounding fat / tissues can be further done for a smooth contour.

It is best that a candidate chooses a board-certified Plastic Surgeon to avoid such post operative corrections and get it right the very first time.

At Chennai Plastic Surgery, we employ a minimally invasive technique perfect over several years that employs both gland excision and liposuction thereby reducing the need for crater deformity corrections.