Surgery Turned His Life Around
By Sophia Chang, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.
Apr. 10–As a boy with breasts, Scott Schulman lived a life of shame and daily humiliations, but it’s finally over.
Schulman, 20, and his father, Steve Schulman, have fought insurance giant Group Health Inc. in court for the past three years, seeking insurance coverage of Scott’s breast reduction surgery.
Scott had the surgery when he was 17 to correct gynecomastia, a condition of prominent breast growth in young men.
The Appellate Division of State Supreme Court ruled last week that the insurance company, GHI, must pay the family $5,000 toward the $7,500 operation by a plastic surgeon in Great Neck.
“It was never about the money. It was always about the principle,” said Steve Schulman, 52, a salesman from Oceanside who represented his family’s claim in court.
Scott Schulman said he was “ecstatic” at the appellate decision. “We’re a family of principle,” he said.
A GHI representative said the Schulmans’ claim was rejected because there wasn’t enough evidence showing a medical need for the surgery.
“We are committed to evidence-based medicine,” said Ilene Margolin, senior vice president for corporate affairs.
Gynecomastia often occurs in pubescent boys, with the growth subsiding after a period of months, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Scott Schulman cannot remember any time from boyhood on when he did not suffer from the condition, which was probably hormonally based.
“I would wear two shirts to school to flatten down. I did whatever I could to make myself feel more comfortable,” he said. When in 2003 doctors told him to lose 25 pounds, he lost 45 instead, he said, but the condition didn’t improve.
Steve Schulman said he feared his son would eventually suffer back or spinal problems.
“It’s not normal for him to be walking around with breasts,” he said.
The psychological pain was more difficult than the physical discomfort Schulman experienced. “Before the surgery, [the condition] was probably the most embarrassing, most secretive part of my life,” he said. He recounted being taunted at school, fearing exposure at the beach, and finding himself unable to talk to girls. “Why did I have to suffer this every day of my life?”
A junior at the University at Albany, majoring in English, Scott Schulman said the surgery has been vital to live a normal life.
“My confidence level just shot through the roof, and I want to do good in my life,” he said.
He now has a girlfriend and an eye on becoming a lawyer.
“You only live once, so make it the best life you can,” he said.
ABOUT GYNECOMASTIA
WHAT: Gynecomastia is the prominent growth of breast
tissue in developing males.
CAUSE: Unknown, though hormonal imbalance caused by puberty is one suspect. Other possible causes are marijuana use, pharmaceutical side effects or organ dysfunction such as kidney failure, chronic liver disease or an overactive thyroid. A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine also found a link between gynecomastia and topical exposure to lavender and tea tree oils.
PREVALENCE: One estimate from the University of Michigan Health System says about half of all 12- to 16-year-old boys in the United States have some degree of breast growth.
OUTCOME: In most cases, the condition eases after a period of months.
SOURCE: National Institutes of Health
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Copyright (c) 2007, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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