Gynecomastia in Paraplegic Males: Report of Seven Cases

THE authors wish to report 7 cases of gynecomastia occurring in paraplegic males. These cases are believed to be significant for the following reasons: 1) Out of 32 paraplegic patients on our ward at one time, these 7, or 22 per cent of the paraplegic patients at that time under our observation, showed gynecomastia. 2) All of these patients were young males of military age, and all were paraplegic due to traumatic injuries of the spinal cord. 3) The physiologic implications of this syndrome may be of practical value as well as academic significance. Our attention was first called to this unusual syndrome by the patients on the paraplegic ward who had singled out one of their number by referring to him as “Mae West.” It was then apparent to us that this patient had developed a bilateral enlargement of both breasts, and, in a survey of the 32 patients on the ward at that time, 7 of the patients proved to have either bilateral or unilateral gynecomastia. Several stated that the enlarged breast was tender, and a few of the patients who did not show evidence of gynecomastia at that time believed that they had had enlarged breasts at some time during their illness.