Men and women are born with breast tissue (mammary glands and fat). Development of these glands (which do not function in males) and of the breast tissue itself usually stops when boys reach puberty. However, men are still at risk for conditions affecting the breast tissue. Breast cancer is a very rare cause of chest pain in men. Other causes may include injury or benign disease of the breast tissue. And pain that may seem to originate in the chest may be related to the heart or the muscles and tendons of the chest. There are some common conditions that cause chest pain in men. Such a condition is necrosis of the adipose tissue of the mammary gland. When breast tissue is severely damaged—regardless of the cause—a car accident, sports injury, or other cause—the tissue can die rather than regenerate. When this happens, a lump or multiple lumps may form in the breast. The skin around the lump may also look red or bruised. Fat necrosis in the breast is relatively rare in men. A physical examination of the breast may be followed by an ultrasound. It is a painless and non-invasive diagnostic imaging method that uses sound waves to create images of tissues on a computer screen. Fat necrosis of the mammary gland can appear in different ways on imaging images. In some cases, the doctor may not be able to definitively determine whether there is necrosis of fatty tissue or cancer in the affected area. The doctor may then order a fine-needle aspiration biopsy of the lump to determine whether it is caused by necrosis or cancer. Treatment for breast fat necrosis is not always necessary. The lump of dead cells can break down on its own over a period of weeks or months. If the pain is severe, surgery may be an option to remove the necrotic or dead tissue. Bibliography: Healthline. What Causes Breast Pain in Men?
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