Dr. Blau Legendary Gynecomastia Surgeon to Elite Bodybuilders Exclusive Interview

Mon ami le Dr. Mordcai Blau is the country's top gynecomastia surgeon to pro-bodybuilders, elite athletes, and regular guys who want the best results from a male breast reduction procedure. Dr Blau's site has amazing galleries of his work on pro-bodybuilders like Dave Palumbo and interesting before and after photos of patients whose lives have been changed by his skilled hands. Cette semaine, I have an exclusive interview with the good doctor.

Hello Dr.Blau, how are you doing today?
I’m doing great George, how about yourself?

Fine thank you for asking, I’m getting ready to fly to the Arnold will you be coming?
I have had many e-mails and phone calls from patients who want me to come to the event. I’m very sorry to disappoint but I have a pretty packed schedule, and I have to be here to take care of my patients.I will have to wait to see the pictures in the magazines to see how all of my guys did. It is very rewarding to see former patients winning prizes for their hard work.

Now you are known as the Surgeon to the Bodybuilding pros. Who was the first Bodybuilder to become your patient?
Dave Palumbo was the first Pro to become a patient of mines. I had extensive experience as a plastic surgeon and some with Gynocomastia before Dave, but he was the first Bodybuilder who looked to me for help, this was well over 20 Il y a des années.

Dave Palumbo is a huge name in Bodybuilding. How did you first meet Dave Palumbo?
I was his Anatomy instructor in medical school. Dave is a very bright guy, very good student and did great in my course.

So you are also an anatomy professor?
I use to be, but currently I am too busy with my practice and I do not have the time.

Being his professor, how did Dave Palumbo go about asking you to become his surgeon?
At that time there wasn’t a lot of information readily available about Gynecomastia. There were many men who suffered from Gyno but did not seek correction for fear of scaring or bad results since at the time Doctors weren’t sure how much tissue to take out. There was an overall lack of experience since not many Surgeons were doing Gynecomastia correction at the time. Dave asked me a lot of questions about the correction procedure, being my student he was very impressed with my knowledge of Anatomy. As all bodybuilders, Dave did not want for the gyno to detract from his aesthetics, he wanted a correction. Since he already respected my knowledge of anatomy and I had some previous experience with the procedure. He decided to trust me with his physique. He is very happy today that he did.

How did you go from operating on a young Dave Palumbo to becoming the surgeon to the Bodybuilding pros?
Dave displayed my work at every competition he entered from then on. He was not shy about sharing his experience with other bodybuilders at the time. The response by competitors in the circuit was overwhelming, I was very surprised to learn just how many bodybuilders were in need of Gyno correction and just plastic surgery in general. There are many serious competitors who will fly from abroad to come and see me, I feel quite fortunate and proud when I see my work on the cover of the Bodybuilding magazines from around the world. I feel great knowing I can correct flaws that training could not.

For you as a surgeon, is there a difference in the procedure when operating on a body of Bodybuilder proportions as opposed to a regular person who is not built that way?
Yes there is, every operation and patient is different. When I perform a correction on a very lean person, I have to go about the procedure a bit differently. The bodybuilders are doing the operation to shape their chest and gain more definition of their pectoral muscle. Gynecomastia is not just the tissue you see beneath the areola, there is also what I call a “tail” an a “head”. The head spreads towards the middle of the chest, the tail grows towards the arm pit, the glandular tissue spreads over the Pectoral muscles and blurs definition. You must remove the tail and head to gain more definition in the pectoral muscle and to prevent the condition from coming back. This is especially important for a Bodybuilder who’s chest will be displayed and judged constantly by discerning eyes. It must look like there was never any Gyno to begin with.

How much mass do you usually remove in a Gynecomastia correction?
Each person is different and the volume of tissue removed can vary depending on the severity of the condition. I do always remove as much of the gland as needed to achieve the desired aesthetic looks and to ensure the condition won’t come back. If you take too much tissue out, there will be an indentation left. It’s a sort of depression or divot under the nipple that makes it look concaved. Taking the right amount is key, experience teaches you just the right amount to take.

Based on your own experience, how many people have a reoccurrence after treatment?
My own patients I found the reoccurrence to be less than 1%, I guarantee all of my work with a free revision if needed. I’m very experienced in my field and revisions are highly uncommon.

That’s why they pros call you “The Go-To Man” right?
[laughs] That must be the reason why I guess.

I know there are many really good Plastic Surgeons in the USA. I’m happy to be among a group of very bright individuals who can do wonders with the scalpel. But Gynecomastia correction is not a very common procedure and not many surgeons have the amount of experience that I have with it.

According to the American Board of Plastic Surgery, in America there are between 16 à 18 thousand surgeries performed to correct Gynecomastia per year. There are only seven thousand board certified plastic surgeons in the US. The average number of operations performed per surgeon falls in at about 2-3 per year. In my clinic I perform 2-4 Gynecomastia corrections per week.

Wow! That’s a staggering number of Gynecomastia cases you are treating compared to the average Cosmetic Surgeon. How long have you kept up this pace?
I have been doing over one hundred Gynecomastia corrections per year, every year for the past 20 years at least, you could say it is my specialty. But I still perform more Liposuction and breast augmentation that I do Gynecomastia corrections. There is just a higher demand for those procedures from my patients. Both male and female bodybuilders come to me for Liposuction of the belt area, and the ladies want implants to keep their feminine figure even while dieting to low body fat levels.

Also… For future reference George, I am a Board Certified Plastic surgeon. There are only about seven thousand of us in the USA. The term of Cosmetic Surgeon is used by Surgeons who perform aesthetic surgeries but are not certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery.

To become a certified Plastic Surgeon you must past a very demanding test. Its is not easy and it is common for Doctors to have to take it more than once. This is an important distinction when looking for a surgeon.

That’s very good info to know for everybody searching for a surgeon. Certification is a good question to ask when interviewing your prospective surgeon.

Who was the biggest bodybuilder to have graced your OR ?
I would have to say it was Craig Kovacs. Although I was used to having big bodybuilders on my operating table, I have to say the biggest guy by far was Craig Kovacs. He is like a giant, very tall and muscular; he dwarfs most people who stand near him. Even other bodybuilders.

He is huge isn’t he! What an impressive specimen. Do you think you can get him to visit us at EliteFitness.com?
[laughs] It has been a while since I have spoken to Craig, but just for you George, I will ask him to come visit next time I see him.

Dr.Blau, thank you for all your time today, it has truly been a pleasure.

Dr. Blau's practice is about 30 minutes from New York City. A third of his patients come from New York. Others are from New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and states like Texas, Florida and many others states and countries. They gladly help patients with accommodation when needed. For additional information, please visit his web sites at www.cosmetic-md.com et www.gynecomastia-md.com or give him a call to schedule a free consultation at 914-428-4700.

Auteur: George Spellwin