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FEMALE-LIKE: Sabelo Maepa (not his real name) with his boobs. PHOTO: ANDREW HLONGWANE

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AN HIV-positive Mpumalanga man who developed breasts after taking ARVs five years ago had them removed at Johannesburg Hospital last year.

And today the man leads a normal life again after three years of shame.

In 2007, Sowetan reported how Sabelo Maepa (not his real name) developed female-like boobs from the side effects of the type of ARVs he was taking.

Maepa had been diagnosed HIV positive that year and his boobs began to grow a month after he started takingARV drugs.

He said he realised four weeks after being given ARVs that his breasts had started developing and informed doctors and nurses at the TB hospital in Standerton where he was admitted.

Roger Mixter, a plastic surgeon, described Maepa's ailment as gynaecomastia, or "man boobs".

Mixter said all men have a small amount of mammary gland tissue beneath their nipples and this tissue is usually small and inconsequential. In man boobs, this breast tissue starts to enlarge, said Mixter.

He said breasts that develop on a man can be made up of mammary gland tissue, fat or, most commonly, a combination of both.

It is usually caused by an imbalance in the two sex hormones, oestrogen and testosterone.

He said all men and women have both oestrogen and testosterone naturally in different amounts in their bodies.

"Hormonal imbalances can be caused by conditions ranging from pituitary problems to liver disease. Any man who develops gynaecomastia or man boobs must be evaluated to determine if there is an underlying cause, and have that cause treated if possible," Mixter said.

"Frequently, correcting the underlying problem can reverse the breast development."

• This article was first published in the printed newspaper on 14 June 2012

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Wed May 22 19:28:03 SAST 2013 ::

Jun 15, 2012

Mwelase

Indoda isiphenduke yaba Itshitshi yaphuma izimpuma mlotha. Jesus said no one is above Him that shall cure deases. sekuya emaphethelweni manje. where are the scientist?
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Jun 15, 2012

MOTHOnna

Di ARVs tse ditla ka KAK!
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Jun 15, 2012

BRA-MAFUTHA

ARVs????SH!t
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Jun 15, 2012

Polotona

Di tla ka KAK di ARVsnyana tse.
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Jun 15, 2012

iPhone4

That looks like a beautiful perfect B size, so women must stop paying for surgeries just get ARVs.
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Jun 15, 2012

edi

thats a 32a cup ntate..ke kopa dibra tsa gago please....shame man the pain of having breasts for so long..kwaaakkkment
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Jun 15, 2012

shrink7

@iPhone4
That looks like a beautiful perfect B size, so women must stop paying for surgeries just get ARVs.
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unfortunatly thats not the only side effect with this drug especially in females, other side effects are
buffalohamp, mokhaba, seshwapha, thin legs with screaming veins, facial disfigurations........
so good luck to any woman who tries this drugs for cosmetic reasons.
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Jun 15, 2012

Sasababy

It is high time all our clinicians are trained on HIV, when this guy reported this issue what didi they do? did they change his regime? I doubt! foolish people.
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Jun 15, 2012

kgagarapane1

is he gonna sue state?
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Jun 15, 2012

JoburgBlogger

Yo!!! imagine. This is one of those situations where you are caught between a hard place and a rock.

You dont take them your dying rate increases, you do teenage boobs. haaaaai!!!!!!!
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