Pseudogynecomastia due to penicillin adjuvant

Abstract

To the Editor:— Bilateral breast enlargement in the male occurs in association with a variety of conditions, eg, cirrhosis, metabolic disorders of the testes and adrenals, and tumors of these and other organs. It must be distinguished from the uncommon carcinoma of the male breast. This case of bilateral, symmetrical pseudogynecomastia presents a rare cause of mammary enlargement in males, and an example of an unusual, untoward complication of therapy. Report of a Case:— This 42-year-old white man was admitted with a chief complaint of breast enlargement bilaterally of six years' duration. While on assignment with the armed forces in Chile in 1961, the patient thought he had contracted venereal disease and, accordingly, consulted a local physician to avoid reprimand by his superiors. On three successive days he received bilateral subareolar injections of a medication which an interpreter told him was penicillin. The patient was unable to explain why the