Adriana Cordova - Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery of the Male Breast

This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG

The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

Cosmetic and reconstructive surgery of the male breastis the first text entirely dedicated to plastic surgery of the male thorax and breast, and so compliments to Prof. Cordova, whose idea it was to embark on this project, and her coauthors, for their originality and thoroughness in this work, which fills a void in the scientific literature.

The idea was born some years ago, following studies published by the authors on the classification of gynecomastia and the subsequent reconstruction of the thoracic wall after removal of breast carcinoma.

The first spark of this idea evolved into the current text, which is a synergistic work, thanks to an interdisciplinary collaboration with anatomists, plastic surgeons, thoracic surgeons, and oncologists, working with various schools around Italy and Europe, who with their combined experience give this work an undoubted scientific and cultural value.

Perhaps, the thorax is the somatic element with greatest aesthetic relevance to the male body, holding great importance since it characterizes the entire male figure and is also exposed in certain social situations. However, until now, in scientific texts, very little attention has been given to the aesthetic standards of the male breast nor to its evolution over time. The first chapter of this volume is dedicated to the evolution of the aesthetic standards of the male chest through sculptural art, fashion, and cultural influences, an excursus that, from Greek classicism to the present day, brings together some interesting points and comments on the continuous interchange between nature and culture in order to define body shape.

Systemic anatomy is addressed with particular attention to the vascular anatomy and in light of current principles in angiosomes and perforasomes, which are the basis of the most recent techniques in perforating flaps and microsurgical flaps.

The common thread that runs through the text is the detailed description of the main pathologies affecting the male breast and thorax and the relative surgical solutions always addressed without neglecting the aspect of aesthetics.

The topics dealt with include oncological pathology of the skin; breast carcinomarare in the male sex but on the rise in recent yearsmastectomy and reconstructive breast surgery; congenital deformities; postsurgical fistulas; and transgender surgery involving feminization or masculinization of the chest.

Writing a skillful and complete text is not an easy undertaking, but the authors have succeeded in creating an essentially practical work, which indicates corrective interventions and, according to the case at hand, points towards the right principles to follow for the most suitable technical solutions, with the aim of helping the reader to develop a critical sense of dealing with pathologies on a case-by-case basis.

The text is characterized by clarity of presentation and fluid language; it is enriched by a complete and well-documented iconography, which adds to it an indispensable quality.

I believe that this text will be useful not only for plastic surgeonswhose work crosses the borders of different surgical specializationsbut for all surgeons who wish to be updated on the most current techniques in male breast surgery and who wish to obtain brilliant results also from an aesthetic point of view.

For several years, I have been thinking about writing a book on the plastic and cosmetic surgery of the male chest, moved by the little attention dedicated to male breast surgery compared to the female counterpart.

We have written this book during the year of my greatest professional commitment, as Head of the Department of Plastic Surgery of the University of Palermo; as Director of the Residency Program in Plastic Reconstructive and Cosmetic Surgery of the University of Palermo; as President of the Italian Society of Plastic, Reconstructive, and Aesthetic Surgery (SICPRE); and as President and organizer of the 68th National Meeting of SICPRE.

Therefore, I needed great support, and I would like to thank those who have worked hard together with me for the realization of this great project.

First of all, I have to say a big thank you to my coauthor Dr. Francesca Toia who, besides being a surgeon, a researcher, and the mother of Giovanni and of the newborn Claudia, has been in charge of the hard work of revision of the entire manuscript and coordination of all the authors of the book.

I wish to thank all the coauthors for their enthusiastic and firm commitment, in particular all the consultants and residents of the Department of Plastic Surgery of Palermo and the whole nursing and paramedical staff, who have patiently collaborated for photorecording of all the surgical procedures.