Assessment of color Doppler ultrasonography findings in gynecomastia

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the color Doppler ultrasound (US) findings of gynecomastia and compare them with sonographic Tanner staging to determine an additional diagnostic tool. Patients and methods: Eighteen male (mean age 13.87 ± 1.72) patients (36 breasts) with breast enlargement were examined with gray-scale and color Doppler ultrasound (US), and these were used to determine the Tanner stages. In addition, the arterial and venous flow scores were assessed. The resistivity index (RI) values were also measured at the medial, lateral, and retroareolar regions of the breasts, and the mean RI values for each breast were then calculated. Results: Gynecomastia was detected in 30 breasts, and the mean retroareolar thickness was 8.03 mm. Furthermore, arterial and venous flows were detected in 73.3% and 56.7% of the breasts, respectively. However, there was no correlation between the arterial and venous flows and the retroareolar glandular tissue thickness. The average of the mean RI values of the three regions of the breast was 0.62, and there was a statistically significantly positive correlation between the mean RI values of the breasts and the Tanner stages as established by US. Furthermore, there was a strongly significant positive correlation between the arterial and venous flow scores and the Tanner stages. Conclusions: Our research indicates that vascularity is correlated with breast development in patients with gynecomastia. Additionally, we determined that RI values might be as important as Tanner stages on US.